Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The day is warm and the breeze is cool as the pair walks through a scarcely shaded park. The trees, though small, add a nice decorative touch to the area that surrounds them. Multiple groups of people are laying about and enjoying a leisurely picnic in the sun. Xiao, too, wishes he could be one of them right now as opposed to dealing with his current situation. “Listen, I know people aren’t really your thing, but here me out,” Aether began, handing Xiao the milkshake he ordered. Xiao sighs, he knew the blonde was up to something because as of lately he’s been acting very suspicious. Whenever Xiao would glance over at Aether’s phone, he’d see multiple music shops open. This couldn’t mean anything good. 

The dark haired boy turns on his heel away from the small food kiosk and begins strolling down the cement paths, his friend in tow. “Aether, I told you I’m done with music, I stopped that a long time ago. I have a job at the dojo now, so quit worrying about me so much,” he states firmly but gently. His companion gives him a pout, phone in one hand and milkshake of his own in the other. 

Aether takes a long sip of his milkshake, wincing when he gets a small brain freeze before glancing back at his companion, “Please?” he pouts, golden eyes shimmering. The blonde knows Xiao is weak to him and his twin sister. After all, they are his best friends, so pulling a stunt like this is unfair and he knows it. 

He sucks in a sharp breath glancing away from the blonde as they walk through the park. “Fine, I’ll hear you out but that doesn’t mean I’m accepting your proposal,” he speaks, looking back towards his friend to see a very bright, eye-blinding smile. Aether really is too bright. 

The long haired boy moves closer to Xiao and shows him his phone screen, “Look, there’s this cute music shop right down the block from your house! You wouldn’t need to take the bus or train or even a taxi,” he smiles, showing the shorter boy the map on his phone. “ And they sell guitars there! Maybe you can find a new one to replace your old one. Or they can try to repair it.” In truth, Xiao already knows about this music shop and purposely failed to mention it to either of the twins in favor of avoiding this exact situation. They both have been breathing down his neck to get out of his house and do something other than work. What they don’t realize is just how difficult it is to muster up that much energy. Not only that, but he hates people. 

This was already beginning to drain what little energy he has left to exert today. “Okay, that’s nice, Aether, but why are you showing me this? I told you multiple times I’m done with music,” Xiao grumbles, taking an annoyed sip of his shake. He doesn’t miss the pout that reappears on the blonde’s face as he chews on his straw. This is exactly why he tries to never mention anything music related to him or his sister ever again. They know he would never accept any of their suggestions, so it boggles him as to why they keep on trying.

“Can you at least come see the store? Y’know, check it out, maybe meet the staff and see if you’d enjoy it? You never know unless you try,” Aether says, nudging Xiao’s side as he slips his phone into his back pocket, eyes full of hope. 

The shorter of the two sighs, breath cold against the summer heat, “fine, I’ll come check it out, but we’re not staying for long,” he says, knowing that if he did, he’d somehow get wrapped up in the blonde’s plot. At these words, Aether seems to brighten up, a smile reappearing on his face as he changes the direction of their feet. 

“I knew you’d say yes! Lumine owes me ten dollars,” Xiao rolls his eyes as he finishes off the last of his milkshake and throws it away in a nearby trash can. Meanwhile, Aether’s was still half full, the condensation dripping down the sides. Today, the boy wore his hair up in a ponytail, his bangs falling loosely over his face. His attire was nothing short of slightly erotic seeing as his shirt was cropped, his pants loosely fitting over his slender legs. Xiao has to admit, both Aether and his twin sister, Lumine, are very beautiful people. He, himself, can never compare, for not even the bright light they shine upon him can cleanse him of the dark that surrounds him. He cringes at how edgy that sounds and instead refocuses his attention to the surrounding area. A certain annoying red head would definitely call him an edge lord for that one.

They lived in a not-too-big, not-too-small city. Trees line the sidewalks and multiple groups of university students can be seen out clubbing or just hanging out and grabbing a bite to eat. This particular part of town is a popular hangout spot, seeing as multiple chains of restaurants shroud the area as well as a bunch of fun activities. The fairgrounds aren’t too far off either with the Ferris wheel standing tall above the buildings and out amongst the boardwalk. Shouting can be heard from the open arcade doors and groups of dancers can be seen filming videos in the city center with the water fountain as their backdrop. Overall, the city is a pretty relaxing, yet fun place to be and, though, there are lots of people out and about, it doesn’t bother Xiao too much because he doesn’t go out much to begin with. He mainly spends his days at the dojo teaching classes on martial arts and then coming home to crash on his bed and repeat. Somewhere in there he also remembers to eat and drink water, but that’s a small detail. 

It is then that they round the corner with the music shop now in sight. Aether’s milkshake is nowhere to be seen as the boy smiles at Xiao when he realizes he was looking at him. He gives a small— slightly embarrassed, smile back before turning to reface their destination. He’s beginning to grow nervous now, his hands slide in his pockets anxiously as he swallows hard. It has been almost two years since the last time he stepped into a music shop. After everything that happened, he vowed to himself that he would never make music again and he had stayed true to that, but honestly, it’s been really hard. Music is his escape and it turned into his tormentor. He believes there is no worse feeling than that. 

The bells on the door above their heads chime as Aether made his way into the store first, followed by Xiao. The shop is small, with only two or three practice rooms and a room for storage at the end of the hall. The walls are lined with various tools for many different kinds of instruments. They range from cleaning items to replacement items; from brass instruments to woodwind instruments and so on. A small counter can be seen to their left as they enter where a bang can be heard followed by a small “ow” and out appears an angel. Wait that’s not an angel that’s—

“Ah, hello! Welcome to Four Winds Music Store, what would you need help with today?” The boy asks, a smile plastered across his face as he rubs the spot on the back of his head where it hit the counter. Xiao is awestruck, there is no way someone this beautiful can ever exist. The boy in front of them stands at about their height with twin braids lining his face and bangs laying across his forehead. His hair is very fluffy— in a sense, and can even be described as unkempt, but that doesn’t take away from the beauty of his emerald eyes. They shine a bright green, almost slightly blue color in the natural light from the store windows and his eyelashes are impossibly long. 

It takes a moment for Xiao to snap back to reality, but by that time Aether is already talking, “hello! My name is Aether and this is my friend Xiao,” suddenly he feels hyper aware of his shaggy choice of clothing. He’s dressed in a thin sweatshirt and black sweats, whereas the boy in front of them is dressed in an assortment of rings and bracelets along with clips in his hair of clouds and rainbows. His nails are painted pastel orange, yellow, blue, and pink and his shirt is short sleeved a solid color of teal. The beautiful boy’s pants are jeans with rips on the thighs and knees, his shoes are just your typical sneakers. He gives off a sort of childish vibe to him, but Xiao has a sneaking suspicion that it isn’t his fault. 

“Hi, nice to meet you, my name is Venti. Please excuse my appearance, a friend of a friend’s sister came over to play and she decorated me and threatened to eat my food if I took it all off,” he laughs, reaching out to shake their hands. His smile is radiant and his hand is soft as it is enveloped in Xiao’s. He hopes his hand isn’t sweaty. “So, what brings you in today? Looking for some repairs or to try out something new?”

“Oh, actually, we just came to look around. My friend isn’t actually all that into—“ Aether is cut off by Xiao’s quick input.

“—Guitar strings. Would you happen to have any?” he asks, surprising not only Aether, but himself as well. He watches as the boy, Venti, turns to give him a once over, Xiao’s posture straightening as a result before clicking his tongue and putting his hands on his hips.

“Y’know when you walked in here, I didn’t peg you to be the musical type. You look like you’d be more into skateboarding and stuff,” Venti laughs, smiling at Xiao’s stiff posture and dark clothing. 

“Right!” Aether agrees, “my sister and I have been bothering him non-stop to get a hobby outside of his work but he refuses! He used to play guitar but stuff happened and he couldn’t anymore.” Xiao glares at his friend, crossing his arms as he shifts his weight to one foot. Aether just smiles, sticking out his tongue. 

“Well, that’s unfortunate. I’m glad you came in, you said you were looking for guitar strings, yes? Follow me,” the boy with the braided hair says, motioning with his arm to follow him down one of the aisles. Did he mention that the boy’s braids are teal-tipped? After a couple steps and some humming from the store owner, he makes a wide gesture to the wall of guitars and shelves of guitar parts. “Here is where they’d be. Do you need any help picking them out?” He asks, tucking a loose strand of hair from his bangs behind his ear. 

Xiao looks the shelves over before biting his lip, “I play electric and acoustic, but both of them don’t have any strings,” Xiao folds his arms over his chest and stares at the shelves. “Do you think you could give me some recommendations? My old ones were too thin and broke easily,” he lies. In reality Xiao’s guitar strings were cut— by himself. At his, Aether gives him a wide-eyed look of surprise as he glances between the two dark haired boys. Xiao just stares at him pointedly, daring him to say a word. Luckily, he gets the hint and keeps his mouth shut, but that doesn’t stop the smirk from growing on his face. 

“I’ll wait outside on the bench, the air conditioning is too cold for me,” the blonde lies as well, winking at Xiao before finding his way out of the aisle and out of the store as a whole. By the time Xiao looks back at Venti, he is already holding two packages of strings, one acoustic and one electric.

“These are my best sellers, you can look at the reviews online, but just from what I’ve heard here in the store, they seem to work astonishingly well,” the owner smiles, placing them both into the awaiting boy’s hands. Xiao looks the packaging over, reading the labels and descriptions as well as looking at the strings themselves. “If you want, I can bring down an acoustic and an electric to play so you can get a feel for them,” he suggests, one hand clasped on his wrist behind his back, swaying back and forth on his feet gently. 

Xiao’s eyes met his and he feels a blush try to creep its way up his neck and to his cheeks. “Uh, sure, if that wouldn’t be too much trouble,” he says as he shifts both packages to one hand to let his other hand fall to rest at his side. Venti only smiles brighter as he nods his head and shows Xiao to a practice room. There, he waits for the boy’s return as he sits on one of two chairs. The room is small, but not small enough to be claustrophobic, yet not big enough to fit more than five people. The room also appears to be soundproof with a small glass window on the door. 

Before Xiao could get too lost in his thoughts, Venti returns with one guitar slung across his back and the other in his hands. He closes the door and sits down on the edge of the chair next to Xiao, scooting it over a bit so he can be more in front of him before handing the quieter boy the one in his hands. Venti then slings the other guitar over his shoulder and rests his fingers loosely over the strings.

“Sorry, I assumed you were right handed,” the boy with the braided hair laughs, as he crosses his ankles. He observes the way Xiao eyes the guitar, strumming gently with his finger tips before it clicks that he forgot to bring guitar picks. It was no problem, though, as he reaches over to the bowl in the corner of the room grabbing out two guitar picks, handing one to Xiao who thanks him. 

“Thank you and it’s no problem. You assumed right,” Xiao says as he strums a chord on the acoustic guitar, switching every so often to make a rhythmic pattern. “Do you know how to play?” he asks, gesturing to the guitar in Venti’s hands before meeting his eyes. Once again a shy blush threatens to creep its way up his neck.

“Oh, yeah, I do,” Venti says, plugging the electric guitar into the amp and adjusting the sound. He uncrosses his ankles before positioning his hands correctly and sitting up straighter. Once he’s content with his position, he plays a little improvised tune, humming out a melody as he does so. To say Xiao is surprised is an understatement. To be honest, Venti doesn’t look like the type to actually know music. Xiao thought he just works here. 

Upon registering Xiao’s shocked appearance which just consisted of raised eyebrows and slightly widened eyes, Venti laughs, wiping a tear from his eye as he laid his hand over the strings to stop the vibrations. “What do you look so shocked for? Didn’t think I could actually play?” He smirks, a hint of a playful challenge in his tone. Xiao swallows, looking away from him as he clears his throat.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I didn’t think you’d be the type to actually know music.”

“I guess that makes two of us, huh? Guess we both gotta stop judging people based on first impressions,” he giggles, nudging Xiao’s side with his elbow. At that, Xiao seems to relax a bit, smiling slightly as he looks back down at the guitar in his hands. He too, strums out a fine, gentle, tune that Venti— once again— hums a melody for. 

They continue like that for a little while, going back and forth creating baselines and melodies and the like. Each time Venti doesn’t hesitate to add his humming to each new sound they come up with and Xiao likes to believe he is enjoying his time here. Wait. What?! He swore he’d never engage in anything music related again, but here he is sitting in a small practice room in a tiny music shop a block or so down from his house! He swallows hard, slowing the music to a stop. This causes Venti’s humming to come to an end and his eyes to open, sliding over to Xiao in question.

“So, what’d ‘ya think? Pretty neat, huh? No wonder they get so many good reviews,” and just like that Xiao’s downward spiral is put to a halt as he watches Venti’s unthreatening frame. His elbows lay rest atop his electric guitar as his face is cupped by the base of his closed fists, a soft smile plastered there.

“You were good— I mean— they, they were good. They sound good, I mean,” Xiao rushes out, an unstoppable embarrassed blush coating his cheeks as he averts his gaze from the gorgeous boy in front of him. Venti only giggles.

“Why, thank you,” he teases, “you weren’t half bad yourself. Got anything else you can play?” Xiao shakes his head, the blush long gone having been shoved down under his control. Venti hums.

“Is there anything else you can play?” Xiao asks. Venti’s grin grows mischievous.

“Why don’t you guess what instruments I can play?” he suggests, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. His eyes shine with mischief and his smile only furthers that aura of mischievousness. Xiao doesn’t know if he likes that or not.

“You look like the kinda guy to play the trumpet,” Xiao says, removing the guitar from his lap and setting it gently on the guitar stand. When he looks back at Venti, he has done the same, favoring a new position where his legs are crossed on his chair. His right elbow resting on his right knee, his chin in his hand as he looks at Xiao from his spot. Xiao meets his eyes briefly before laying an ankle across his own knee and crossing his arms.

“Funny you say that because I do,” Venti replies, smirk ever present. 

“Okay.. what about percussion?” He asks. Venti gives him a thumbs up. “The Cello?”

“Yup.”

“Harp?”

“You betcha!”

“Saxophone?”

“Yes I do.” 

“Bass Clarinet?”

“I’m kinda small, but I make it work.”

“Viola?”  

“I prefer the violin, but yes!”

“Flute?”

Venti smiles, “That’s one of my favorites.”

“This was a trick question wasn’t it?” Xiao asks, giving him a deadpan look.

“Hey, look, you finally caught on,” Venti teases, resulting in his chair getting shoved by Xiao’s foot. The boy with the braided hair only giggles. “I can play every instrument, at least every instrument I can get my hands on, but I prefer the Flute and Lyre.”

“The lyre? That’s a very old instrument,” Xiao comments, looking thoroughly impressed. He has never met someone before who plays such ancient sounds. Maybe he really shouldn’t have judged this book by his cover. Painted nails and hair clips included. 

“Mmhm! Indeed it is, but it takes just the same amount of time and dedication to learn as any other instrument,” Venti says, smiling as Xiao’s eyes rake over his relaxed form. 

“And as for the flute?” Xiao asks, eyebrows raised and head slightly tilted.

“I can play every flute there is, but my favorite is the Dizi. I find its sound to bring the most serenity and peace to my mind and body. I used to play it a lot when I was stressed.” Now that piques his interest. Xiao doesn’t express his culture too much outside of his home, mainly because of what he experienced with his adopted family. It pushed him away from his culture, though, a certain man with strong morals and strong sense for equality and balance showed him the good in the culture he seemed to be falling away from. One of the ‘goods’ he was shown was music and within that music was the very same Dizi Flute the boy in front of him is talking about. 

“Can you play it right now?” Xiao asks without thinking. Venti’s eyebrows raise as he blinks. 

“Sure I can!” the boy with the braided hair exclaimes excitedly. He uncrosses his legs and gets up to open the door, “I’ll be right back, the flute is in my room upstairs, so give me a sec,” he concludes before shutting the door behind him. 

Upstairs? My room? Huh. That must mean that the floor above this place is an apartment. Now that he thinks about it, Xiao hasn’t  seen any other employees. Does that mean he is the only one? 

His phone buzzes. Aether. Xiao panics, having forgotten all about his friend outside.

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[Sunrise] hey you were taking forever so i went to get food and go home

[Sunrise] dont stay out too long and remember to eat

[Me] Sorry, we got into talking about guitars and stuff

[Me] I’ll treat you to something to make up for it

[Sunrise] sweet, that means me you and lumine are going to go get bbq!!

[Sunrise] lmk when you get home, cya later!

Seen 16:37

———————

After a bit of waiting, Venti returns to the room, flute in hand. Said flute is a warm brown color with a tassel attached to it. Above the tassel, hangs a jade ring and overall, it is beautiful. Xiao stares at it openly and Venti lets him before holding the flute out for the boy to take. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it? I got it from a market outside of Liyue and fell in love instantly,” Venti admires his Dizi in Xiao’s hands as he turns it over to see every polished part of it. He cradles the jade ring and tassel in his hands, flipping it over to see both sides. It is as he had said; beautiful. 

Xiao hands the flute back to Venti and leans back in his chair, arms folded again. “Play me your favorite song,” he speaks, locking eyes with Venti. They hold the eye contact for a bit before Venti blinks down at his flute and smiles. 

Without any further statements, the boy with the colorfully painted nails and strange assortment of hair clips, closes his eyes and begins playing his favorite tune. At first, Xiao doesn’t know what to think or how to describe what he is feeling. The feeling is too surreal to describe. It feels like a weight Xiao refuses to acknowledge is being lifted off his shoulders and vaporized in the space above them. It feels like all the pain he is going through is battling the music that is flooding his ears— battling.. and losing. Xiao can’t remember the last time he felt so at peace in his life and in himself. Is this what it felt like to be free? 

He watches the boy’s fingers dance on his flute, creating new sounds the more fingers he places or removes. Xiao tries to count how many different notes he’s played so far but he’s long since lost count. Too lost in the music and the way Venti’s face relaxes or contorts depending on the part he plays. Suddenly the music isn’t the only thing he found ethereal. 

Soon the chorus hits followed by the bridge and then the song is coming to a close. Venti doesn’t immediately move the flute away, nor does he immediately open his eyes. Together, they sit in a few moments of silence before Venti’s eyes flutter open and he smiles down at the flute. “It’s been a long while since the last time I played this,” he states quietly.

“Regardless, that was absolutely amazing,” Xiao replies, still looking at Venti in awe. The standing boy smiles in reply, pulling out another Dizi seemingly out of nowhere and placing it in his companion’s unexpecting hands. Xiao shot the smiling boy a questioning look. 

“You seemed to like it a lot, so why don’t I try teaching you?” he asks sitting back down in his chair. He crosses one leg over the other, his flute resting safely in his lap, chin in his hand.

“For free?” the guitar player asks, eyeing the boy suspiciously. 

Venti only smiles, “Tell ‘ya what, this time can be my treat, but play time after will cost ‘ya.” He winks at Xiao, giggling at the way the other boy’s face scrunches up. “Deal?”

Xiao nods, “Deal.” 

Venti then scooches in front of Xiao, showing him how to hold the flute with his own. After a few adjustments to the angle at which he is holding the Dizi, the guitar player is able to get a nice, full, sound. The store owner smiles brightly, throwing his hand up for a high five and after a moment’s hesitation, Xiao raises his own to meet his in the middle. Now that he has that down, they are able to move on to the finger placements. Venti decides to teach Xiao a simple song, a nursery rhyme: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

“See, you’ve got it! You’re basically a natural,” the shop owner states encouragingly. He watches and listens as Xiao’s fingers shakily runs through the few notes that he knows. The flute sometimes does dull, making it hard to hear the note, but that’s nothing a little adjusting to the angle can’t fix. And soon enough Xiao has all the notes down, with the rhythm following suit. Albeit, slowly, but surely, Xiao is able to play through the whole song with minimal mistakes in only about an hour or so. 

Venti laughs as Xiao slouches in his seat, exhausted from his unyielding effort to play this damned instrument. “That was harder than I thought it would be,” Xiao sighs out, causing the store owner to giggle even more.

“Oh, c’mon, it wasn’t too bad; you did great!” He smiles at Xiao’s idle form, chewing his bottom lip hopefully. “Sooo..,” he pauses, “will you be coming back for more lessons?” Venti’s eyes glitter with hope from his spot in front of Xiao. His ankles are crossed and he’s leaning forward expectantly. 

How can Xiao possibly say no to that? He’s weak to cute things. 

He looks Venti over, sighing heavily as he lets his head fall over the back of the chair, arm over his eyes. At this, the boy with teal tipped braids knows he’s won, pulling a fist down towards his chest with a cheerful: “yes!” Xiao just huffs out a laugh shaking his head. 

“You’re gonna love it here, I’m super fun and I’m basically a master at this thing,” Venti says, standing up and then stretching. He glances at the digital clock on the small table: 18:02. It’s past closing time. “Oh, hey. I’ve gotta close up shop, but I’ve got time on Tuesday and Thursday at 17:00 to 18:00. Does that work for you?”

Xiao doesn’t even have to think about it because he knows he has nothing better to do and he gets off work just an hour before then. “Yes, it does. I’ll see you then?” he asks.

“Sure, thing! And you can just leave these here, I’ll clean it up later. As for the flute; consider it compensation for such a fun jam session,” the shop owner smiles. Xiao masks his shock very poorly. He’s allowed to keep the flute purely because the other boy had fun? With him?? Before he could think too much about it, Venti was opening the door for him and ushering him out into the main part of the store. 

“I’ll see you, then, and thank you for this,” the guitarist holds up the flute and nods only to quickly catch the case of said flute being tossed at him. 

“Can’t forget the essentials!” Venti smiles as he walks with Xiao to the door, “See you!” Xiao nods in acknowledgment as he turns and exits the store, hearing the same chime of bells he had heard earlier. The sky was beginning to darken, the clouds becoming a beautiful array of oranges, yellows, and reds.

He gently stores away the flute, grabbing out his phone to text Aether that he was headed home. 

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[Me] I just left the Music Store

[Me] Headed home now

[Sunrise] finally! you were in there for hours so much for ‘not staying long’

[Sunrise] what were you doing??

Seen 18:06 

——————

Xiao glances behind him, surprised to see Venti there– at the door– locking up the shop. He waves at Xiao through said glass door and he waves back, huffing out a soft laugh as Venti drops the blinds obscuring Xiao’s view of him. 

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[Me] Getting a flute

Seen 18:07

———————

After he sends that text, he promptly shuts off his phone and slips it into his pocket, smirking at the way it buzzes every two seconds with notifications from Aether. The blonde should consider this payback for getting him into this mess in the first place.

Chapter Text

Xiao’s alarm is the first thing that wakes him up this morning, though, for him, it’s not that big of a deal. See, he tends to be more of a late-night/early-morning type of person, so it doesn’t bother him that much. 

Turning off his alarm on his phone, he tosses his legs over the side of his bed and rubs his eyes, running a hand through his messy hair. The dark haired boy then stands up to stretch, letting out a quiet yawn as he does so. Normally, he would do minimal stretches here in his apartment before going to the dojo, but he is a little more tired than usual after having his social battery drained pretty thoroughly from yesterday’s activities. 

Xiao goes over to his closet, plucking his uniform off the hanger and folding it over his arm neatly. He heads off to the bathroom for his morning shower and daily routine of brushing his teeth and cleaning himself up. The shower is hotter than usual today, but Xiao doesn’t seem to pay it any mind as he steps right in, his mind too preoccupied with all his impulsive decisions last night. The guitarist groans, hanging his head and letting the water beat upon him. 

“No way I actually got roped into learning how to play the flute,” he grumbles, snatching his shampoo from the shelf in the shower. He squirts a genuine amount of it onto his palm before running his hands through his hair, making sure he gets every strand. Xiao isn’t too particular about his appearance, but that doesn’t mean he’d let himself go. At least, not entirely. His fashion sense still needs a lot of work. 

He lets the water wash away his shampoo and once the water runs clear of any bubbles, he moves on to his conditioner. Once again, he squirts the product onto his hands before running both hands through his hair. The warmer temperature feels nice for a change as he feels it caress his body. For a short man, Xiao certainly doesn’t live up to their stereotypes. He is very well built and can kick anybody’s ass should they try to mess with him. It doesn’t matter how tall they are or what they say, Xiao can definitely take them down. 

As he lets his conditioner sit, he moves to grab his soap, squirting some onto his palm before letting his hands run over his body. He stands just outside of the stream of water as he does so as to not have the soap wash off right away and scrubs himself clean, watching as the bubbles attempt to cover up his tattoo. He often gets many questions on it from strangers who find the design peculiar, so he resorts to covering it up. It isn’t that he doesn’t want people to admire it, he just isn’t good at the conversation that follows suit, so he thinks it better to rid himself of the burden all together. Though, the diamond that resides on his forehead is not something he can so easily cover. Most often, Xiao tends to get questions about it from the younger generations, the older generations seem to understand that it may hold a religious background and would not like to step into that territory and accidentally insult him. He appreciates it, but kids can be relentless.

He sighs at the thought, thinking of a quiet girl named Qiqi. She attends his dojo from time to time and she is secretly Xiao’s favorite from his younger classes, not that he’d ever let anyone else know that. Speaking of the dojo, he’s going to be late if he doesn’t hurry up, so he rinses himself and his hair off before shutting off the water and stepping out. He dabs his face with a towel, before ruffling it on his head and dressing properly, the black belt around his waist tied securely. Before exiting the bathroom, the guitarist brushes his teeth quickly. 

Xiao tosses his towel in the dirty laundry bin before grabbing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He slips on his shoes and tosses a jacket over his uniform so as to try and not stand out as much. He could just change at the dojo but he didn’t feel comfortable enough doing so, so he continued to just change at home. Yawning once more, he skips breakfast and grabs his house keys, stepping out the door and locking it. 

The guitarist makes his way down to the bus stop and waits patiently. He normally wouldn’t even need to take the bus, but his bike is in the shop right now getting a new paint job. Recently, he decided he would get the same image that resides on his arm, on his motorcycle. Xiao thought it to be a nice way to break up the “boringness” and appease Aether and Lumine. Speaking of which, he forgot to message “good morning”.

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[Me] Good Morning you two, I’m headed to the dojo rn

[Sunrise] morning xiao! have a nice day at work me and you know who are going to get more shots at this cool mountain range  

Seen 09:47

———————

The twins happen to be well renowned photographers, traveling everywhere and meeting a bunch of different people along the way as they get various shots of surreal locations. Xiao is always amazed at how they just seem to pull you into each picture they take. 

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[Sunset] morning, we’re going to qingce to be exact 

[Sunset] i get to pick out the souvenir this time aether cuz you got to last time

[Sunrise] fine but xiao knows i always pick out the better ones!

[Sunset] dream on rapunzel

Seen 09:50

———————

Xiao chuckles at his two best friends and shuts off his phone, pocketing it. Those two always make it a point to bring him back something from their travels ever since they started that job. Now, Xiao has a whole bookshelf dedicated to their gifts which range from figurines, to keychains, to snowglobes. The guitarist appreciates every single one he’s given. 

At that moment, the bus decides to show up, so Xiao makes his way over to the open door and pops coins into the slot. He chooses a spot near the middle of the bus because it’s where people don’t really sit; they normally flock to the front or back of the bus. Said bus begins moving and Xiao’s eyes catch on the small music store just down the block. The blinds are now lifted, letting in the natural sunlight and the open sign is flicked on. From where he sits, it’s hard to see inside the shop, but he can make out a few people wandering in and out of aisles and a very friendly boy with braids helping them out. He looks away.

The bus ride isn’t long as he watches the trees whizz by alongside the street lamps and other vehicles. Today is just another warm, June day with big, fluffy, white clouds overhead and a brightly shining sun to provide sight to all creatures. Xiao takes a deep breath in before letting it out heavily, enjoying the quiet hum of the engine. 

He feels the bus come to a halt and that’s his cue to get up and leave, so he does exactly that. After looking behind him and checking his seat to make sure he didn’t drop anything, Xiao exits the bus and walks what little way is left to the dojo. When he makes it there, the bell above the door jingles and he can already see the other instructors ready and waiting. While Xiao doesn’t own the place, he has been working here for long enough to basically call it his own, though, he’s still had his fair share of bad experiences. 

“Hello, Master Xiao,” a boy with bright blue hair greets with a bow, “how are you?” Xiao offers a small smile in return as he lets his backpack slide off his shoulder and onto the bench in the shoe area. 

“I’m fine, thanks for asking. And you, Chongyun?” Xiao asks as he slips his shoes and socks off as well as his jacket. He shakes out his sleeves and twists his upper body in a stretch as he waits for a reply.

“I am well, thanks for asking— um,” the shy boy starts, “do you think I’ll be able to get my black belt this next testing?” He asks honestly, a hopeful look in his eyes. Chongyun has been at this dojo for as long as Xiao has worked here (two years) and he never fails to make Xiao’s heart melt in such an honest way. Chongyun is not only very respectful, but he has a heart of gold and strongly desires to do the very best he can. If anything, Xiao admires Chongyun for his work and dedication and respects his pursuit of his craft. The thing is, the boy gets easily overwhelmed; new events and situations can easily be way too much for him and it causes him to falter and mess up. This oftentimes is very discouraging to the young martial artist, but that’s nothing his friend (boyfriend?) couldn’t fix. 

Xiao isn’t too sure what goes on between the two of them because it really isn’t his business, but it’s rare that the other blue haired boy— whose name he’s learned is Xingqiu— doesn’t pick Chongyun up after his time spent here. And the guitarist doesn’t fail to miss the red that often coats the young martial artist’s cheeks when he’s hounded for an opportunity to be observed as a muse for his friend’s martial arts novels. 

“Try your best to keep a cool head and I think you’ll do just fine. I know you have it in you to pass that test,” Xiao encourages, which earns him a bright smile from the boy in front of him— who, of which, is taller than him. The older martial artist loathes that fact, but keeps it to himself. 

Together, the two head into the dojo, only after bowing and reciting what is needed as a sign of respect. From then on, Xiao’s work day runs smoothly; more and more of his students show up ready for class and once everyone is here, they all bow and begin warming up. Xiao watches as each of his students settle into their normal routine with the friends they’ve come to make at this dojo and it warms his heart. He knows what it feels like to find such life long friends in a place you don’t really expect to and even if the life long friends he had come to make are gone now, he can’t help but bathe in their memory. 

Once warm-ups are over, he makes his way over to Chongyun, seeing as he will be the only one doing the advancement test this upcoming week or two, he focuses his time on him. The other masters are off to help the others. 

“All right, so what is it that’s been giving you trouble within the material?” He asks, his hands on his hips.

The bright haired boy sighs, “It’s the change from doing the kicks on one side to doing them on the other. I just can’t seem to grasp the switch.” Xiao nods, a hand under his chin as he looks over the boy’s frame. He then goes to stand besides Chongyun so he is also facing the big wall mirror. 

“Watch my feet,” the instructor says calmly as he gets into a stance, “count for me.” Chongyun does as he’s told and watches Xiao go over the moves he’s been struggling with. He watches the way Xiao’s feet lift off the ground almost as if he’s flying for a second before landing gracefully with a thud. The older boy’s hair flutters against his cheeks and forehead as he spins in various different forms, pretending to hit an invisible board to demonstrate how it should be done. And once the numbers reach their peak, Xiao closes his sequence off in the finishing form before being told he can now bow, and he does so. He looks back over to Chongyun to see a hard face of concentration before he nods once, and slams his closed fist down on his palm. 

“Okay! I think I’ve got it,” he moves to the spot on the floor Xiao was just in and prepares to begin moving when the counting starts. When the instructor starts counting, Chongyun begins going through his practiced moves with new found confidence, only hesitating a moment before reaching the part he struggles with the most. Xiao watches intensely as Chongyun flawlessly moves through the bit he was oh so worried about just moments before and he nods his head in approval, arms crossed over his chest.

When Chongyun finishes the sequence and bows, he turns to give Xiao the biggest, brightest smile he’s ever seen and it startles him a bit. “I did it! I understand how I should switch it around now! Can we move on to breaking the boards?” Chongyun asks eagerly, fisted hands brought up to his chest in excitement. Xiao uncrosses his arms with a nod and goes to grab the practice boards. These boards are designed to be harder to break than the actual wooden boards, so when it comes to breaking the actual boards, it should be a breeze. 

Before Xiao even holds up the fake board to break, he holds up his hand where the board would be and motions for Chongyun to kick it. The younger boy obliges and once they’ve run through each board positioning and the instructor is satisfied with the strength of his kicks, they move onto the actual practice board. Chongyun readies himself and when Xiao nods, his student kicks the board in front of him with a shout, snapping it in half. The blue haired boy smiles brightly, getting back into position to kick apart the next board. 

Chongyun is able to flawlessly break the practice board in half each and every time he kicks it, even when he switches legs and Xiao couldn’t be prouder. When the shy boy in front of him first walked into this dojo, he was nowhere near as confident as he is now, but look at him go. He’s going to get his black belt this next testing period and Xiao just knows it. Once Chongyun has put his mind to something, he gets it done and getting his black belt is just another ‘something’ in his ‘Goals to Achieve’ list.

“Well done, I expect to see a black belt around your waist after this next testing period,” Xiao comments, earning a determined nod from the younger boy in front of him. He dismisses Chongyun and watches as his sweaty form makes his way over to the always present, Xingqiu. The lighter haired of the two gives his friend a high five and gets a grossed out face in response. From where Xiao stood he could faintly hear complaining about a sweaty palm and how bad he smells and the instructor can’t help but to let out a small laugh. 

He checks the clock and sees it’s about to be time for his next class, so he waves Chongyun and his friend(?)— he still wasn’t sure— goodbye. Xiao sighs, stretching his back and shoulders before sitting on the ground to stretch his legs. The rest of his classes go by slowly now that his favorite older student is gone (once again he wouldn’t let anyone know that) and soon it’s time to leave.

When the sun starts to dip lower in the sky is when the guitarist knows his daily duty has been fulfilled, so he says goodbye to his fellow instructors and grabs his things before exiting the building. Xiao inwardly groans at the sticky heat as he makes his way to the bus stop and waits once more for it to arrive. When it does, he, once again, sits in the middle and stares out the window, watching all the cars and pedestrians move past his gaze in colorful blurbs. 

There are more people present on the bus, but that is to be expected at four in the afternoon— and like before, his eyes catch on the small music store. The lights in the store seem to be battling the sun for the better light source and this time he can see more clearly in through the windows, but the shop moves by too fast to make out anything more than just an adult helping a child pick out an instrument. 

When the bus comes to a stop, he hops off and starts his walk home, already exhausted. Xiao grabs his keys from his backpack and unlocks the door to his apartment which was on the first floor. The way his apartment is built is as follows: there is a small path that leads from the sidewalk to his sideways steps that lead to his front door. One has to walk around the railings and up the stairs to greet the door that leads to his apartment. There, on the front of the building, is his living room window that— if not for the curtains— would allow anyone to see directly into his home. 

Once inside the building, to the left is a solid wall, to the right is a small shoe rack put there by Xiao. One has to step up the small step from the door onto the main flooring to follow the hall in front to the rest of his apartment. Eventually, to the right, is the open wall that leads to his kitchen and living area; forward— past the kitchen and living room area— is the bathroom and across the hall from that is his room. The guitarist’s room has its own walk-in closet alongside it being a very spacious room in-and-of itself. 

Xiao’s stomach growls, the consequences of not eating breakfast or lunch catching up to him. He normally has a lunch packed in his backpack for himself for work, but the events of yesterday caused him to forget such an important detail. Keeping healthy and fit is not something Xiao likes to push to the side, so he makes sure he supplies extra food to pack in his backpack for tomorrow before he takes his warm plate of food and sits at the island to eat. There, he scrolls through his phone and the only social media he has, to see Lumine and Aether’s updated page with new pictures from their adventures to Qingce Village. 

From what it looks like, Lumine and Aether were allowed special passes into the big cave that resides in Qingce Village to take pictures. Xiao can tell from the way the pictures are taken and how they feel that they were taken by Aether. He has gotten good at recognizing the differences between the twins over all these years and the pictures were no different. He continues scrolling. Now, there are pictures from the biggest peak in the village, with dragon statues littering the rim of a small body of water. The sun can be seen falling in the background of these pictures; Lumine. 

The reasoning behind Xiao’s choice of contact names for them is simple: Lumine prefers sunset photos, Aether prefers sunrise photos. And that’s why he can tell that this picture of the Qingxin flower— his favorite flower— is Lumine’s. The guitarist makes sure to like each photo before shutting off his phone and eating in silence. The rest of the night goes by as usual and he finds himself drifting off to a dreamless sleep.

                                                                                            *

Xiao has never been more nervous for a Thursday afternoon. It’s drawing increasingly closer to the end of his shift and he has only grown more and more stiff. It’s gotten to the point where he was told to stand out of the way of the youth martial artists because he isn’t being of much help. So, here he stands, in the corner of the dojo, just watching the people in front of him as he counts down the minutes to closing. When the clock finally strikes 16:00, Xiao almost jumps out of his skin as he is gently reminded that he can leave.

The guitarist grabs his backpack and heads out the door, still stiff as a board. He has an hour grace period before the chaos that is his first flute lesson begins. Does this count as his first flute lesson or did Tuesday count as his first lesson? He isn’t sure. 

When he arrives home, he quickly showers and redresses, making sure he is properly groomed before checking his backpack to make sure he has what needs. Xiao’s backpack is sort of like a comfort item to him, the weight of it grounds him in situations where he begins to drift and this is one of those situations. 

The time to leave has finally come, so Xiao swipes his keys off the counter and slips his shoes on. He closes and locks the door behind him inhaling deeply and holding it for a second or two before releasing it in one long, exasperated breath. As he walks, he can’t help growing more and more nervous. What is he even nervous for? It’s just simple flute lessons, nothing more and before he knew it, he arrived at the shop.

With a jingle, Xiao opened the front door and made his way inside. Looking around, not seeing anyone in sight, he tries calling out in a small, clearly anxious voice, “Um, hello??” That’s when loud footsteps can be heard running down the steps at the end of the hallways before a very out of breath Venti appeared before him.

“Hi! I didn’t think you’d actually come,” he said as he walked over to Xiao, regaining his breath.

“Why wouldn’t I come? We made a deal,” the guitarist asked, clearly not understanding where the boy in front of him is coming from. Venti gives him a quizzical look before shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, which further confused Xiao. 

“Don’t worry about it. Anyways, have you brought your flute with you?” Venti asks, hands on his hips with a tilt to his head. Xiao reaches into his bag and rustles about for a moment before he presents his gifted flute to the shop owner. “Great! Already on the right track, follow me this way, we can use the same practice room as last time.”

Xiao follows him quietly as he’s led to the place where this all began. He checks the number on the door and sees it’s practice room one which isn’t much of a surprise seeing as no one was using a practice room that day either. 

“Make yourself a home, I hope this room isn’t too stuffy and uncomfortable,” Venti says as he steps into the room first, holding the door for his new student. Xiao can see that the guitars and their stands that were previously here are now gone, replaced by two music stands and two chairs. Venti’s flute rests neatly on a chair with a practice book on the stand in front of it, so Xiao makes his way over to the other seat, setting his backpack down on the ground.

“It’s fine, this room doesn’t feel stuffy at all,” he reassures Venti as he watches him move the empty music stand. 

“Oh, that’s good, I would hope I don’t scare you off on your first official practice,” he replies. So it’s his first practice. Got it. The store owner then sits down on his respective chair and sets his flute in his lap. He flips the book in front of him open and scoots his chair and the music stand closer to Xiao so it’d be easier for him to see the notes. “You know how to read music, yes?”

“I do,” Xiao replies, watching Venti skip a couple pages to a very basic and very short song. Today, the boy forewent the hair clips and bracelets and his nail polish was already chipping off. Instead, he’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt with a kitten eating ramen on the front and jean shorts. From the way Venti is sitting, you’d have to look hard to see that he is actually wearing anything underneath at all— when he stands up, though, that’s not the case. 

“Okay, cool. That means we can start right away with learning notes via this short song,” Venti turns to face Xiao, holding his flute up and placing his fingers in a certain order, “this is your starting pitch in the normal scale. Unlike the basic flute you see all the time, the Dizi doesn’t have any pieces that you press down and it covers the holes for you. This flute requires you to cover every hole entirely with your fingers alone.” Xiao tries not to be overwhelmed by that statement as he holds up his own flute, mirroring the way Venti’s fingers are placed. 

“Great,” the shop owner plays the note, “now go ahead and try it out.” Venti watches as his student raises the instrument to his lips and attempts to make a sound but it comes out dull sounding. He giggles, gently twisting the flute so the mouth piece is in a better position. Xiao, with pink dusted cheeks, tries again and the sound comes out full and beautiful.

Venti claps, “Awesome! You’re such a quick learner, here, this is the next note.” The boy with the braids, readjusts his fingers and plays this new note before looking at Xiao expectantly. In response, the martial artist turned flute player looks at Venti’s hands before looking at his own and making the proper motions before bringing the flute up to his mouth. This time, the sound comes out full the first time and Venti smiles brightly. 

Xiao can’t help the blush that coats his cheeks from the constant praise as he watches his teacher change his fingering for the third time. Venti shows him all the notes necessary to know for a beginner and Xiao picks it up surprisingly quickly. The store owner can’t remember the last time he had a student so skilled. 

Xiao sets the flute down gently in his lap, slightly out of breath from holding the notes long enough to make sure they sounded correct. “Want some water?” the braided haired boy asks.

“If it’s not too much of a bother,” Venti only smiles as he gets up from his seat and sets his flute down on it. Xiao watches his hands become engulfed by the sleeves of his sweatshirt, almost forming paws if it weren’t for the tips of his fingers still showing. He still cannot believe someone can be this pretty and he sure hopes he isn’t embarrassing himself too much in front of a very skilled flute player. He wonders if there will ever be a time where he can hear Venti play it again.

Xiao’s eyes flick to the abandoned flute on the chair and then the door. He wonders if he’ll get in trouble if he looks at it. Well, to be fair, Venti did let him hold it before. So, with that logic, the guitarist gracefully picked up the Dizi and holds the tassel in his hand once more. He questions the meaning behind the tassel as well as why his doesn’t have one. Does it make the flute sound any better or worse? Maybe it’s just decoration? 

He doesn’t get to think much longer, though, when Venti gently opens the door to the music room again, holding a glass of water in one hand. He catches Xiao in the act of admiring his flute and the martial artist gives him a sheepish smile. Venti only closes the door once more and hands the water to his student. With a small ‘thanks’ Xiao takes the water and sips from it. 

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind if you touch my flute; just don’t break it, of course,” Venti laughs, an arm slug over the top of his chair, his other hand coming to rest on the opposite wrist. His left leg is bent across the seat of the chair, with his right leg hanging over his left ankle. His body is now completely turned towards Xiao, he doesn’t know what to do with this newfound attention. 

“..Is there.. any meaning behind this tassel?” he asks, fidgeting with the loose ends. Venti’s eyes grow darker and his smile turns bittersweet. Maybe he should have kept his thoughts to himself. 

“Sort of. It was just my brother’s,” the flute player says softly.

“Was?” Xiao asks, looking Venti in the eye, though the shop owner couldn’t meet his for they were locked on the flute.

“Yup, my twin brother to be exact. It was his tassel, but it’s my flute. He was actually the one to introduce me to music and the freedom that comes with it,” he reminisces. The martial artist can’t help but feel like there’s more to that story, but he has no right to push him any further. “You can have one of your own, y’know.” Venti’s eyes finally meet his, they’ve regained their usual brightness to them.

“I can? I didn’t see any in the shop last time I was here, or when I walked through earlier,” he says confusedly. 

“That’s ‘cause you’re not looking in the right place!” Venti speaks happily as he brings his hand across his chest in a swiping motion, index and thumb extended. “We have all sorts of colors and designs in this place! Some are longer and some are shorter and some are heavier and some are lighter. It all depends on which one you like the most, so what’s your favorite color?”

“Uh.. green,” the martial artist responds hesitantly. 

The store owner’s eyes sparkle and a big smile splits his face, “really?! Me too! Well, I lean more towards teal than green-green, if that makes any sense.” Xiao nods in understanding and sucks in a sharp breath as his teacher abruptly stands up and holds out his hand, “Let’s go look at some for you!”

He hesitates, staring at Venti’s outstretched hand and before he realizes it, said hand is retracting, “oh, sorry, it’s a habit,” the boy with braids states, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Xiao coughs to clear the awkward tension, “it’s fine, I just didn’t expect it. Let’s go pick out a tassel.” At this, Venti’s bright smile returns as he watches Xiao set down his almost finished cup of water, both flutes now in hand. He hands Venti his own flute which the latter accepts gratefully. This time, Xiao is the one holding the door open for Venti as he practically skips his way out of the practice room and into the main part of the store, braids bouncing. 

The guitarist follows his cheerful teacher to the front of the store where the cash register is and watches as he goes to stand behind it. The counter in which the cash register is placed is glass allowing a view inside of it to look at the many differently displayed tassels and charms they were just talking about. Xiao sets his flute down gently, on the counter next to Venti’s as he peers inside the box, eyes running over all the differently colored items.

“You said you like green, right? What about these?” The flute player unlocks the counter and slides the door open to reach inside, grabbing three different options of green charms. He lays them out before Xiao and leans his weight on the counter in waiting.

The guitarist inspects each tassel, holding them up in his hands and to the light to see how the charms attached to them shimmer. Once he’s done inspecting each item, he sets them all back down in a neat line and lays a hand on his chin. Venti bites his lip absentmindedly in anticipation as he watches Xiao’s eyes slide over his products. 

His student sighs, “I can’t choose.”

“Wanna match?” Venti suggests, dragging out the vowels in the word ‘wanna’ hesitantly. It takes a moment for Xiao to process the question which leads Venti to begin trying to cover up and take back the suggestion. “Well- I mean- only if you want to, that is, don’t stress over it too much it looks like you stopped breathing. Are you breathing? Hey!” 

Xiao’s attention is snapped back to a very anxious looking shop owner when he feels a flick to his forehead. The guitarist brings a hand up to press the place where he was struck. “Sorry, you really did look like you stopped breathing. Did the question bother you that much?” he asks, retreating from his tippy toes and back onto the ground fully. Venti had to stand on them in order to reach Xiao over the counter. Both of them aren’t very tall, to say the least. 

“No, quite the opposite,” the look of surprise on Venti’s face is the only thing that makes Xiao realize the words that just left his mouth. Now it was his turn to try and stutter his way through this mess, “I mean, like, it doesn’t bother me all that much, if at all. In fact I like the idea. Wait- that’s not-.“ Xiao buries his face in his hands at the vicious grin that spreads across his teacher’s face. He can’t help but feel like he somehow lost. 

Venti giggles, a slight pink dusting his cheeks as he picks up the tassel and charm that most resemble his own. Xiao watches with similarly pink-dusted cheeks with his chin in his palm as Venti skillfully ties the charm tassel onto his student’s flute. With no more exchanged words, he pays for the new decor and takes his flute back in his hands once the shop owner gives him his receipt. 

Venti holds up his own flute and Xiao does the same, “see look, they match!” Xiao’s flute charm almost looks identical if it weren’t for the darker shade of both green and red on the jade ring and red tassel hooked to it. He nods. Then Venti’s phone buzzes and the former checks it. “Oh, wow. I didn’t even notice the time. That was my reminder to close up shop,” he says before pocketing his phone.

The guitarist nods once more before taking in his surroundings. There’s no one here besides them. “You’re going to do it alone?” he asks innocently. 

Venti nods, “yup, I’m the only employee, so I kinda have to,” he smiles, moving from behind the counter to begin his clean up. Xiao watches as he makes his way down the isles, straightening and returning everything to their rightful places. 

“Here, let me help you,” he tries, only to be stopped by his teacher’s words.

“That’s very nice of you, Xiao, but I don’t have the money to pay for another employee,” he smiles bittersweetly, before returning to his duty.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m doing this of my own accord, you can think of it as compensation or the flute if you really need to,” he states firmly, unwilling to watch this very kind boy do all this work by himself. Speaking of which, that was the first time the formerly mentioned very kind boy said his name. Xiao liked the way his name sounded on Venti's tongue. 

Venti hesitates, eyeing his student suspiciously before sighing dramatically and sagging his shoulders, “fiiiiine, I guess you can help me out, but I’m not paying you even if you ask. You said this service was free,” he pouts cutely. Xiao gives him a thumbs up in return before taking orders from the shop owner on where things belong and the like. 

Together, they worked as a team straightening out the store, making sure everything was all neat and tidy for tomorrow. A couple of times, Venti would unintentionally bump into Xiao’s back trying to find the place where things belong. He’s just too surprisingly focused on getting his work done for a seemingly lazy person. Xiao wouldn’t mind, though, his mind would hyperfixate on the phantom feeling of the places where their bodies made contact before said feeling disappeared completely. 

Not too long after they started would they finish with Xiao checking out all the practice rooms and grabbing his water and backpack out of the one they used as well as the practice book Venti had provided. He downs the rest of his water and hands the empty glass to Venti when he holds out his hand for it, assumingly to take back to where it belonged. When the guitarist tries to hand the book back as well, Venti places the tips of his fingers gently on the top of the book and pushes back towards Xiao. “This is yours to keep, what else would you use to practice?” he jokes.

“Oh, right, I forgot,” the guitarist then places it into his backpack and readjusts it on his back. 

“Speaking of which, you should just practice the scales we went over today. They should be on, like, the first two pages,” Xiao, nods, looking a bit nervous and Venti tilts his head. “What’s wrong? You look worried.”

“Right, um, I don’t know if I’m going to remember that and I don’t have anything to write on-“ before Xiao could finish speaking, the flutist swipes a pen off the counter and goes to grab Xiao’s arm before he pauses and looks at his student.

“Can I?” he asks with a click of the pen. Xiao nods, holding out his wrist for Venti to write on. Instead of extending his arm sideways and allowing Venti to write on it that way, he extends his arm forward like a dumbass so his teacher has to stand perpendicular to his chest in order to write down his reminder. This causes Venti’s body to be scarily close to Xiao and he can lightly smell the refreshing scent of Cecillia flowers wafting off of him. He holds his breath. 

With another click of his pen Venti announces the completion of his task, “there, all done! Now you won’t forget.” Venti smiles at Xiao as he looks down to read what his teacher wrote. His eyes blow wide at the heart drawn onto his arm next to the neat ‘practice flute scale’ printed lettering. When he looks up at Venti and points to his arm with his mouth slightly ajar and eyes questioning, he only giggles, “I thought it was cute.”

The guitarist had to agree, it was very much indeed, cute. Too cute. He closes his mouth and shakes his sleeve back down his arm. “Right, well I’ll see you Tuesday, then. Have a nice night,” Xiao responds, making his way to the door with Venti following close behind. 

“Sure thing,” Venti replies and he holds the door open for Xiao as he exits. With a small wave, the shop owner closes the door and locks it. The martial artist watches as the boy with braids slips the shutters down over the store windows and shuts off all the lights. He looks back down at his arm and moves his sleeve up the tiniest bit, just so he can see the heart. 

Oh no. 

Chapter Text

“So, you think he’s not the least bit interested in you?” Lumine asks, giving Xiao a deadpan stare.

“There’s no way he isn’t! He drew a heart on your arm!” Aether points out, grabbing Xiao’s wrist for emphasis. 

After Xiao had left the music store last night, he immediately texted the twins a picture of his wrist and captioned it ‘help’. Of course, his best friends being the best friends that they are, forced him to meet up with them the following day after work so Xiao could spill the beans. 

“Guys, it’s literally only been a week. We’ve met twice— twice!” Xiao protests, taking his wrist back from Aether and shoving a fry dipped in cheese in his mouth. 

“You say that, but a week was enough time for you to take at least some amount of interest in him,” Lumine, the ever so observant of them, points out. 

Xiao grits his teeth, eyes locked in a glare at his female friend. The way she always knew how to make Xiao admit to things he didn’t want to bring to light always disturbed him. It felt like she could just invade his brain and speak what he’s thinking. 

“Exactly! If you can develop at least a tiny bit of interest, then it wouldn’t be impossible for him not to be able to do the same. What’d you say his name was? Vinnie?” the longer haired twin asks, stealing one of Xiao’s fries which earns him a glare as well. 

“Venti. His name is Venti and I’d rather not talk about this. You guys are blowing this whole small crush thing way out of proportion,” he grumbles, taking a sip of his drink. It’s soda which is a rare liquid for Xiao to drink. He normally just asks for water. 

“So you admit it’s a crush!” Leave it to Aether to hear only what he wants to. Xiao places a hand over his eyes and drags it down his face at his poor choice of words. This is getting exhausting, the guitarist isn’t good with feelings to begin with so this is just overwhelming him and making him frustrated. 

“Okay, that’s enough Aether. We’ve teased him pleantly,” Lumine says, deciding to play hero even though she’s just as guilty. “But,” he knew there was a catch, “you have to promise to keep us updated. You clearly take at least some kind of interest in him and him, you. I don’t see why you should be stressing, just let it happen. Maybe it’s a good thing,” she concludes, snatching back her drink her brother was stealing sips from. Seriously, he has his own food, but he insists on taking from both Xiao and Lumine. 

“Fine, I will. Can we please drop this topic now?” he asks, pushing around the undipped fries lazily. Lumine stares, eyes moving over to her brother before nodding her head in Xiao’s direction. Suddenly Aether’s eyes light up and he turns towards his martial artist friend.

“Xiao! We forgot to tell you; we’re hosting our birthday party at a club. Lots of our friends we’ve met on our journeys will be there. You’ll be there too, right?” the blonde asks, finally eating his own food. 

Xiao doesn’t hesitate, “of course I will. I’m always there for your birthdays,” though this is true, that doesn’t make Xiao any less uncomfortable at the idea of being in a hot and sweaty nightclub to celebrate his best friends’ birthdays. He thought he already made it clear that he isn’t a people person, but it’s not his party, it’s theirs, so he won’t try to change their minds for his own sake. 

“Great, it’ll be in two weeks on Wednesday night because that’s the only time we could get. The club said they make too much money on the weekends to give it up for some birthday party,” his sharp tongued female friend says, wiping her hands off with a napkin. 

“Right, I’ll be there. Am I meeting you guys at your place before? Or are you coming to mine?” Xiao asks. He pushes his food to the side, deciding he’ll save it for later. Talking about his complicated and newly developing feelings really wiped him of his entire appetite. Lumine notices this and frowns. 

“We’ll be coming to yours, if you end up getting hammered there’s no way you’re getting home on your bike. You’d probably die,” the shorter blonde states, “so, we’re taking the car.” 

Xiao nods, doubting he’d even take a sip of alcohol as he crosses his ankles under the table and checks the time. It’s getting late and he wants to get home; it’s not that he had anything too important to do tomorrow seeing as it was Saturday, but he did have a lot of processing to do. A nice long sleep would do just the trick. So, with a stretch to his limbs, he gets up and steps out from the bench.

“All right, well, it’s getting late so I’m gonna head off,” Xiao says, opening his arms for the hugs he knew would be coming. Aether was the first to plant himself in the martial artist’s arms, squeezing tightly. Xiao, of course, did the same. While he didn’t really fare well with any type of affection, he’s grown used to hugs from the twins. 

With a small ‘see you later’ Aether releases Xiao and goes to take out the empty containers of food that were left on the table. Lumine was the next to place themself in Xiao’s arms. Both of them weren’t that affectionate of people, but somehow they didn’t mind the hugs from each other. Aether is probably the one to blame for getting them both so used to such intimacy. 

“Make sure to tell me if there’s something going on. We’re best friends for a reason, Aether too,” Lumine comments as she wraps her arms around Xiao. He nods against the blonde’s shoulder, before releasing her and looking at her worried expression. The guitarist just pushes her face away with his hand playfully and puts her in a headlock.

“I will, I promise. I’m not going to put you guys through that again,” he states firmly, a small smile on his lips. Aether comes back to see this and smiles fondly, going to join in and make it a group hug— if you can call Xiao’s headlock on Lumine a hug, that is. 

The guitarist is lucky to have such friends in his life, while times may have been rough with all of them at one point, they never split up. Xiao couldn’t be any more grateful for that. 

After their hugs and goodbyes, Xiao takes his leftover food from the table and begins making his way back to his bike. They’re eating in the same local park Aether and Xiao were in when this whole thing started and while his house is within walking distance, he’s lazy and tired. So, when he reaches his newly painted bike, he safely secures his food, slides on his helmet and swings his leg over it, starting the engine. Only after kicking up his kickstand does Xiao pull away from the curb and head home. 

*

The following morning Xiao rises out of bed at around 8AM and begins his long day of chores. After a neglectful week of washing clothes, the guitarist gathers his garments and tosses them into the washing machine and takes the proper steps necessary to start it. Once it’s running, he then prepares food for himself and chows down on it while watching videos on his phone. 

Xiao doesn’t have a TV and that doesn’t bother him at all, in fact, he sees it as a waste of electricity. He knows he would never watch it, so what’s the point in owning one? The martial artist finds that it’s easier to just do things on his phone anyways. 

When Xiao hears the jingle that the washing machine emits when it’s done washing, he promptly stands up and goes to switch over his laundry. He accidentally drops some socks which he just picks up and throws into the dryer— the dust will come off anyways— and makes sure everything is set before starting that machine as well. 

While his dryer is running, he cleans up his mess of food and washes the dishes before putting them away. Xiao likes clean spaces because having an unclean space is aggravating to him. Things always get knocked over and people step on stuff and break it. It’s such a hassle, so the guitarist tries his best to keep his place clean. Some (Childe) may argue that that doesn’t even matter because Xiao’s place is scarcely decorated anyways, but, like always, the home owner in question ignores him. Life is peaceful when you don’t listen to the opinion of a fiery-haired Snezhnyan Diplomat. 

Soon enough he hears the same jingle play once more, so he goes to retrieve his now clean and dry clothes from his dryer and begin folding them. Tasks such as this are so time consuming and tiring and a lot of the time the martial artist wishes he could just hire someone to do it for him, but he’d never do that. So, he gets to folding. 

He picks out and arranges each item into piles as he folds them, hating the way the clothes make the tips of his fingers feel; he’ll have to ask Zhongli why that’s happening. 

When he finishes putting away his clothes, he sighs with his hands on his hips. Now time for his worst enemy: grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is the chore Xiao hates the absolute most out of all of them because it requires him to make a public appearance. While he can handle dealing with people, it’s exactly as stated. He’s just dealing with them, if he could, he’d not be outside his house at all. Actually, the twins forbid him from ordering things online unless he absolutely had to because they were afraid he’d never leave his house other than for work. In all honesty, this was a good thing, it kept him from being a shut-in. 

So, without further ado, he grabbed his backpack, keys, and jacket, before exiting his house and making his way to the market. Even though it’s still pretty hot today, he’d rather suffer a little bit of overheating, than bring attention to himself from not wearing a jacket on his bike and getting red marks from bugs hitting him. Plus, the market wasn’t that far away. 

As he rides, he passes Four Winds Music Store and glances at it while waiting for the red light to change. The door was fully ajar letting in the warm summer breeze and the wind chimes’ jingles can be heard even over the loud rumbling of traffic. The sun is too bright to see directly into the store, especially with his helmet on, so he turns his attention back to the road and continues on when the light turns green. 

When he arrives at the market, he parks his bike safely away from other vehicles and slips his helmet off his head, carrying it with him because he doesn’t trust it to not be stolen. Xiao then makes his way into the open market bustling with people. It smells like various plants here ranging from vegetables to flowers from foreign lands. This market is the best place to get produce because it’s all fresh. 

The guitarist navigates his way through the crowd and picks out everything he needs from his mental checklist: cabbages, steaks, noodles, a new pair of chopsticks, milk, tofu and almonds— for obvious reasons— and bread. Not a big amount of food to be purchasing, but he is only one person. 

When Xiao is standing picking out which bread to buy, a little girl that reaches up to about his waist with blonde pigtails calls out to him, “you have really pretty hair mister,” she says. 

Xiao turns to look down at his little admirer, his left arm is cradling his helmet which is cradling his items to purchase. This is new, he’s used to getting compliments on his tattoo, but his hair? “Oh, uh, thank you,” he looks around, “are you.. are you here alone?” he asks worryingly. This part of town isn’t very dangerous, but that doesn’t mean you should just let your child roam free. 

“No, not at all! Albedo is with me!” she exclaims like Xiao is supposed to know who that is. At that moment a very distraught looking man with long blonde hair and pasty white skin comes up to greet them. The young girl turns around to greet this stranger of Xiao’s, “Albedo!”

“I’m terribly sorry; I am Albedo and this is my younger sister, Klee. She has a habit of running off on her own,” he states, taking his sister by the shoulder and bringing her against his side. Apart from their strikingly different eye colors, the two look very much alike. 

“No, it’s all right. I’m used to working with children,” Xiao relays, shifting his helmet in his arms. He watches the young girl turn to her older brother and pull on his shirt, using her other hand to point in Xiao’s general direction. 

“Look, he has green hair like Ms. Sucrose. Maybe this is her brother too!” the girl— Klee— exclaims happily, jumping up and down. She turns to Xiao, eyes big and bright, “hey mister, what’s your name? Are you Ms. Sucrose’s brother?” she asks.

“My name is Xiao and I’m afraid I don’t know who this ‘Ms. Sucrose’ person is,” he replies, glancing up at Albedo. Albedo only gives him an apologetic smile. 

“Klee, Ms. Sucrose doesn’t have any siblings. She’s an only child, remember?” The girl's brother states softly, patting her head. In his right hand is a bag filled to the brim with a different assortment of groceries, assumingly for the both of them. 

Xiao offers a slight smile to the small child before him when she pouts at him. When she sees his awkward smile her pout immediately turns into a bright big smile of her own and it startles him for a moment. Klee then takes the martial artist by his free hand and goes to stand next to him. She smiles up at her big brother. “I don’t believe you, so I’m taking him to Ms. Sucrose right now! She wouldn’t lie to me!“ the young blonde states, beginning to pull Xiao away from his bread. 

The martial artist throws a panicked and desperate look to Albedo and all the blonde can do in return is shake his head and offer an apologetic look. So, Xiao just accepts his fate and lets himself be dragged all the way to this mysterious Ms. Sucrose with green hair. 

When he arrives, he’s greeted by a beautiful, petite woman with long green hair and round glasses framing her face. In her arms is a potted plant that’s getting dirt all over her nice sweater. She doesn’t seem to mind, though, as she turns to look at Klee, startling when she notices Xiao. She almost drops the aforementioned potted plant, but Albedo comes to her rescue, catching it and placing it back into her awaiting arms. 

“O-Oh, thank you. Hello again Klee, who have you brought with you?” she asks with a slightly embarrassed blush coating her cheeks. Xiao watches as Albedo absentmindedly brushes a lock of Sucrose’s stray hair out her eyes, which causes the woman to blush even more, attempting to hide behind her potted plant subtly. 

“I’ve brought your brother!” she says proudly, tugging on Xiao’s hand for emphasis, “see look, he has green hair like you do!” She throws her arms up dramatically in Xiao’s direction and suddenly all eyes are on him making him feel very small. He shrinks ever so slightly. 

Sucrose gives Albedo a questioning look, “I tried to tell her he wasn’t your brother, but she didn’t believe me and insisted on dragging this poor stranger here so you could tell her yourself,” the blonde man explains. 

“Oh, Klee,” the woman kneels down, so she can be at eye level with Klee. Her potted plant rests on her elevated knee, “Mr. Albedo is right, I don’t have a brother, but I think it’s very nice of you to try and find one for me.” She takes the young girl’s hands in her own when she starts to tear up, “I promise I’m not sad that I don’t have siblings. After all, I have you and Mr. Albedo,” she states gently as she brushes bubbling tears from Klee’s eyes. 

Xiao takes note of Albedo’s exasperated huff at the use of ‘mister’ before his name and turns back to the girls as they hug it out, plant now on the ground. When Sucrose stands, she holds out a hand for Xiao to take, “He-Hello, I am Sucrose. I apologize for.. for Klee’s actions. She did it with good— good intent,” she stutters. Xiao takes her hand firmly as Albedo bends to pick up her discarded plant. 

“Xiao, nice to meet you,” he says in reply. The woman— Sucrose— is dressed in very lovely attire with brown high waisted pants with a black belt and a flattering white shirt. Over her shoulders hung a grass green sweater, tied in a knot around her neck. Her jeans were cuffed and her sneakers were neatly tied with just a bit of sock poking out the top. On her head sat golden sunglasses. 

Albedo, in turn, wears a royal blue knitted sweater (which seems very hot for this weather but who is Xiao to judge) with grey pants and black boots. Accents of gold could be seen throughout his attire such as the golden rings on his fingers and the golden necklace around his neck. 

Speaking of his neck, Xiao takes note of a very peculiar looking tattoo of a golden star. Albedo seems to notice his staring and brushes a hand against his own neck, “ah this. It’s a recreation of a bleeding effect that took place during one of our experiments. Sucrose and I were testing a liquid on a paper towel; and mysteriously, it always bled into a star shape. I thought it was beautiful, so I got it tattooed here,” he explained. 

Xiao nods his head, taking in the word ‘experiments’ to digest at another time. “Well, I’ll be on my way then,” the guitarist states, shifting his helmet to his other hand. As he turns to leave, Klee grasps his hand and places something in it— a small hair clip. He looks at her questioningly.

“An apology gift for not believing you when you told me you didn’t know who Ms. Sucrose was,” she said, her hands clasped behind her back. Xiao smiled, closing two fingers around the clip and patting her head with his remaining extended fingers. 

“It’s no problem at all. Now you know,” he said, retracting his hand from her head and waving goodbye to Klee and her supervisors. They wave back and Xiao heads off to purchase his things. It’s only when he’s ¾ of his way home that he realizes he never got his bread. 

*

It’s Tuesday now and Xiao’s sitting in the practice room waiting for the return of his flashy teacher. When the guitarist first walked in, his breath was stolen from him at the sight of Venti’s appearance. He wore a black halter top that cuffed around his neck ever so slightly and a sweater? Jacket? Wind breaker? Was slipped off his shoulders and zipped up the front. He also had on washed out white jeans and his usual sneakers. It’s such a plain outfit to be wearing, but that doesn’t make Xiao any less hyper aware of Venti’s slim shoulders. 

“Right! Time to get started,” Venti states, as he takes a seat next to Xiao. “Did you practice at all over the weekend?” he asks, as he sorts out their shared music stand. Xiao nods. He did, in fact, practice. He was so worried about not embarrassing himself today that he practiced his scales and mouth placement on the flute all day on Sunday and even in the afternoon on Monday. He wouldn’t tell Venti that, though.

“Great, good to know. Why don’t you show me how much you practiced?” his teacher asks, with a smile. Venti turns the page to the scales he told his student to practice and waits patiently. 

Xiao sucks in a sharp breath before nodding and bringing his flute up to his mouth. With much hard concentration not to mess up and embarrass himself, Xiao, with shaky fingers, plays his scales. Venti’s face grows impressed as a proud smile plasters across his lips. He slaps Xiao on the back when he finishes.

The guitarist lets out a grunt, “good job! I would expect nothing less from my amazing student!” Venti smiles, going to turn the page. He makes sure the book is flat against the music stand before pointing to a small song, “Think you can play this now that you know the notes?”

Xiao eyes the page, seeing that the only difference between this song and a scale is that it skips a couple notes every now and then. Thinking he could at least give it a shot, he nods, “I think so, yeah. I can try it.” 

With slight hesitance, Xiao barely struggles his way through the song, taking into account the fact that it’s in 4/4 time. His flute squeaks from time to time, though, which causes Xiao to blush embarrassingly. 

“It may help to take off your jacket,” Venti says, pinching and pulling up on Xiao’s jacket sleeve. Xiao hesitates, should he show Venti his tattoo? Or will it be too off-putting? He didn’t seem to find the diamond on his forehead off-putting, so.. maybe? 

Xiao slips off his jacket and places it over the back of his chair. When he turns around to face Venti, the store owner's eyes are locked on the colorful tattoo residing on Xiao’s right arm. Feeling the need to explain, he says, “it’s a tattoo I got back when my old band was still around.” When he gets no reply from Venti, he moves his arm towards him in an invitation, “you can touch it if you want.” 

Venti’s eyes light up and he smiles brightly, reaching out his hands to grasp at Xiao’s arm. Instead of his initial words being something about the tattoo itself, it was actually about Xiao’s arm. “Wow, you feel very strong,” he comments, thinking nothing of it. Xiao’s face is in flames, so much that he has to turn away in order to save any remaining part of his dignity. 

“Thanks, I work at a dojo so staying physically fit is a must,” he explains, face still turned. He can feel Venti’s soft fingertips trace over the lines engraved into his skin and it’s oddly calming. His teacher turns his arm over and admires the lines that run just a bit below the top of his forearm. 

Randomly, Venti remembers, now seemingly out of his trance, “you mentioned something about band? Can you tell me about it?” Xiao takes his arm back from Venti’s grasp and turns to face him once more.

“Oh, back when I had just tipped over into adulthood, I had a band called ‘The Five Yakshas’. We worked under Morax Music Majors,” Xiao ran a hand down his inked arm, “I was the lead singer and guitarist.” 

Venti nods in awe of this new revelation when something seems to click and he gasps. Unable to control his spurt of energy, Venti excitedly slams his hands down on Xiao’s forearm and leans in close with a bright smile and shiny eyes, “YOU KNOW ZHONGLI?!” he shouts.

Admittedly, it takes a moment for Xiao to process what was just said to him considering his sensory overload, but he does reply, “ You know Zhongli? ” he parrots disbelievingly. Venti nods his head enthusiastically, hands never leaving the guitarist’s arm.

“That old fart and I go way back, he used to help my brother promote the shop. They had sort of like a business contract,” Venti replied. Xiao cringes at the title of ‘Old Fart’ given to his beloved mentor, but decides to ignore it for now. “How is he nowadays? I haven’t.. I haven’t kept in touch,” he admits sadly.

“He’s.. fine, but his fiancé is suffocating,” Xiao grumbles, “Childe is such a pain in the ass, honestly, out of all the people in the world he could have chosen Zhongli just had to choose the most annoying person I’ve ever come in contact with. That’s not even the worst part! He’s his fiancé ! They’re getting married which means I’m gonna be stuck with that red-headed bastard for the rest of my life,” the guitarist rants, never missing a beat. As if catching himself in the act, Xiao’s face is struck with realization and he goes to apologize to Venti only to be met with a dopey smile. 

“I think that’s the most I’ve heard you talk ever since we met,” Venti giggles, attempting to stifle it, “who knew all I had to do was get you to talk about Zhongli’s apparent fiancé to get you to loosen up a little.” he shoves Xiao’s shoulder with his own and the guitarist finds that he doesn’t mind the playful behavior. In fact, he shoves back.

“I have a feeling you and that orange haired psycho would get along just fine,” he comments, trying his best to ignore the feeling of embarrassment at having ranted out his frustrations to Venti. “You mentioned you knew him, but didn’t keep in touch?” Xiao tries, hoping his teacher won’t react too badly. 

Venti’s smile grew sheepish and he removed his hands from his student’s arm, but didn’t seem to be uncomfortable, “right, him and I go way back to when the store was first opened,” a pause, “back when my brother was still alive.” Xiao takes a moment to process what he’s hearing and scratches at his cheek ready to tell Venti he doesn’t need to continue if it brings back bad memories. To his surprise, the shop owner doesn’t give him an opportunity to say as much.

“My brother loved music and actually he was the one to introduce me to it. I immediately fell in love, but the music scene just wasn’t for me. I didn’t have the confidence nor the.. artistic touch that’s needed with all artists to even make it big,” Xiao was ready to sympathize and tell him that that wasn’t true, but he wasn’t sure why. In truth, how would Xiao even know what he’s saying is true? He’s never heard Venti play enough to even make a judgement on his skill and talent level.

The shop owner continues, “with that insecurity the back of my mind, my brother was like this shining ray of light. He was so much better than me and he was everything the music industry could have asked for, but he was humble. He refused to kick up a fuss even though he had such an amazing talent and instead opened this music store,” he gestures vaguely around them. His eyes never met Xiao’s, instead they were locked on his fingers that he was picking at. 

“Zhongli was appreciative of his talent and they formed a mutual business contract together. Zhongli would help spread his name through magazines and his clients and my brother would, in turn, give him amazing potential musical stars to sign labels with.My brother was delighted by this. He insisted that instead of making a big name for himself by simply singing and creating music, he would use that amazing talent of his to teach others and help them get big in his place. He found nurturing young artists into solid talents was more of an awarding achievement to be proud of than to keep it all to himself,” Venti stated, cleaning his already clean nails.

“And then..?” Xiao tried, hesitantly. To his relief Venti didn’t seem to mind the question at all. The store owner straightened his back with a sigh and finally met Xiao’s eyes with a sad smile.

“He died and I lost myself and shut everyone out,” the guitarist couldn’t help but be a little startled at that revelation. He had assumed such a fate could have met Venti’s brother, but having it confirmed by the man himself felt strangely unnerving. “He was a great person with so much potential and people hated him for it. And as always, alongside fame comes fear. Fear of being harassed, outed, bullied.. killed. He was stalked relentlessly by a young artist who loathed the fact that my brother wouldn’t take her under his wing. He had told her plenty of times that she lacked the real love of music he was looking for in his students. Upon hearing this, she grew outraged and staged an entire plan over months and months to ensure my brother ended up dead by the end of it.” 

Venti shivers and Xiao wants to offer some form of comfort, but he isn’t sure how. So, all he can do to show Venti that he feels for him, is listen. “Long story short, her plan worked and now my brother is gone. The cops found her almost immediately, though, it’s like she didn’t even attempt to hide. During the trial she didn’t even look the least bit remorseful and she even told me straight to my face that I’d be next if I ever tried to ‘pull the same shit’ again. I ended up getting a restraining order for her even though she’s in prison right now.” 

“After my twin died I..,” his teacher swallowed and averted his gaze, ashamed, “I got into a bad habit that I still haven’t broken. It’s a bad way to cope, I know, but I can’t help it. Everyday I’m reminded of him because this is his store not mine. I haven’t even got the heart to change his name off the business cards,” Venti rambles, voice growing frustrated with himself. Xiao understands that feeling all too well and he puts a comforting, yet hesitant hand on his companion's shoulder. 

“I’m.. sorry that happened, if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know,” Xiao offers, looking Venti in his beautiful green eyes. Venti smiles gratefully, placing his hand on top of Xiao’s. 

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” he replies, removing his hand from Xiao’s. The martial artist does the same and watches as Venti fidgets with the tassel of his flute. “Sorry, I made you listen to me ramble. I didn’t..,” Venti’s bangs fall in front of his eyes and Xiao is sure he hears a small sniffle as his teacher not-so-discreetly wipes away at a tear, “I didn’t have anyone to talk to back then. So, you listening means a lot to me.”

Xiao feels his heart ache for the shop owner before him, understanding that feeling of loneliness on a personal level. Back then, he isolated himself and wouldn’t see reason. Not from Zhongli, not from the twins, not from anyone. “Venti, listen, I may not have been there to see it happen or to help you out and I’m honestly not all that good with feelings, but,” he pauses, “I think now is as good of a time as ever to start learning.” To be completely honest, Xiao had no idea where that came from, it didn’t even sound like him, but something inside his chest told him that what he said felt right. 

Venti gives him a watery-eyed smile and nods gratefully as he fiercely wipes away at his remaining tears. With a now determined nod, Venti gives Xiao a thumbs up to signal his return to normality and the guitarist mirrors this motion. “You mentioned you used to be part of a band..?” he asks. 

Xiao nods, “I was, like I said, working under Morax Music Majors. Zhongli was my mentor— actually, he wasn’t just mine, he was ours. Bonanus, Indarias, Menogias, and.. Bosacius. Back then I went by ‘Alatus’, my given name. Me and my brothers and sisters from the orphanage formed a band once we got out. It was called The Five Yakshas”.” 

Venti tilts his head, “so ‘Xiao’ is not your given name?” The guitarist shakes his head. 

“No, ‘Xiao’ was a name given to me to help me find peace within myself. Alatus is the name given to me by my adopted parents. They weren’t the best of people and they really.. skewed my view of the world, so when I finally turned 18 I left immediately and formed the band with my brothers and sisters,” Xiao explains, leaning back in his chair comfortably. “The Yakshas were my escape from reality and just when I thought things couldn’t be looking any better, I met the twins again. Aether and Lumine, my best friends from the orphanage.” 

Xiao watches as Venti listens to him carefully, mouth slightly ajar in anticipation. He stifles a smile at his cute appearance, “Now life was great as I was riding my euphoric high and we got signed to Zhongli’s label. We produced only one album before the band got disbanded.” 

“Why.. did it get disbanded? It sounded like everything was going well for you guys and I’m sure that old geezer wouldn’t just kick you to the curb like that,” Venti asks, genuinely confused and unable to see the unrevealed reality as a possibility.

“We were performing live and the place got shot up. Turns out some content creator on a video making website wanted to get lots of views and become rich and famous off of it. He thought the only “logical” way to do that was to shoot up a concert. That concert just so happened to be our debut,” Xiao states like it was nothing. 

Venti’s mouth opened and closed trying to find comforting words to say to his student, but he found himself speechless for once. All he could offer was a small, “I’m sorry,” to which Xiao shook his head.

“There’s no need to apologize for something you weren’t involved in. I just wish.. I could have done something. It’s not fair that I was the only one to make it out alive,” he explains, eyes downcast.

Suddenly, Venti finds his voice, “it’s not your fault in the slightest.There was nothing you could have done. You couldn’t possibly have foreseen this incident happening.”

“I know, but maybe if I had just paid attention to social media more or maybe canceled the show and made us practice some more this wouldn’t have happened. I was the leader, Venti, if only I had been more aware, maybe they’d all still be alive today and I wouldn’t be—” Xiao cuts himself off. The survivor's guilt is eating him alive— has been eating him alive for years. If only he were a little more—.

“Xiao, look at me,” Venti squishes Xiao’s face between his soft palms, forcing the martial artist to look at him instead of his floor, “pardon my physical actions, but seriously, you can’t keep beating yourself up for something you never could have stopped. I get that it’s hard losing someone, but you should be focusing on them and what you can do for them now that they’re gone over the ‘what if’ scenarios. Trust me, I get it. I really, really do.”

Venti’s eyes were rimmed with a bit of red from his earlier tears, but now his eyes were filled with determination and stubbornness. Xiao found himself getting lost in them as he nods, feeling the way Venti’s hands shift with that movement. All too soon, the shop owner releases his face from his grasp and goes to stretch. 

“Well, that was a therapy session I half-heartedly knew I needed,” Venti jokes, standing from his seat and fishing out his phone from his pocket. “Mind if I take down your number? I think it’d be better to chat outside of the music store than to keep using our planned lesson times to hangout,” he says, not feeling bad about using their planned lesson times as a chat time at all. 

“Oh, uh, yeah sure, here,” Xiao retrieves his phone from his jacket pocket on the back of the chair and unlocks it. He hands it to Venti so he can punch Xiao’s number to his phone before handing it back to the martial artist’s awaiting hands. “Aaannd, done! My number shoulder be in your phone now, so we can plan meetups outside this stuffy store.”

With a ding, Xiao’s phone screen lights up with a text from an unknown number:

————————

[Unknown] guess who >:)

Seen 18:32

——————

Xiao lets out a huff of air with a smile on his face as he decides to play along.

————————

[Me] That one music store owner with the blue tipped braids?

[Unknown] ! D: howd you know?!

Seen 18:33

——————

Venti giggles from where he’s standing in the room and Xiao can’t help but laugh along. 

————————

[Me] Just a guess

Seen 18:33

——————

After Xiao names Venti’s contact, he shuts off his phone and packs his stuff in his backpack, picking up his jacket from the back of the chair. It’s way past closing time and both of them clearly needed some sleep after their conversation today. It was strange Xiao even opened up to Venti in the first place, but for some reason he felt like it would be okay to let it happen. To be fair, he was a friend(?) of Zhongli’s after all. 

“Need help closing up?” Xiao asks, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and holding the practice room door open for Venti to exit through. 

“Not exactly, but it’d be appreciated and, of course, unpaid,” Venti teases, winking at Xiao. This made the martial artist scrunch up his nose and the shop owner couldn’t help but burst out laughing at the display of emotions. “Ohh, my archons— your face!” Xiao feels an embarrassed blush creep across his cheeks as he averts his gaze, standing stiff as a board. 

“It was unexpected, let’s just get to work,” the guitarist mumbles shyly, which further fuels Venti’s laughing fit. Once the boy with braids calms down, they begin their newly developing routine to close up shop together whenever Xiao has practice. Venti finds that he appreciates Xiao’s company and Xiao finds that he appreciates Venti’s as well. Together, the two move effortlessly in sync, cleaning up dropped items from the store and straightening out each practice room, including theirs. 

By the time they finish, the sun has moved further into the night sky creating a beautiful golden hue over the room. When Xiao turns to Venti— who is scribbling down sales in a notebook on the counter— he finds his breath being stolen from him as he gazes upon the only other occupant in this shop. 

There, Venti stands, draped in the golden rays of the setting sun. His skin looks as if it’s glowing, and his eyelashes look incredibly soft as they brush against his cheeks whenever he blinks. Xiao watches as Venti absentmindedly bites his bottom lip, tapping the back of the pen on the counter to create a clicking noise as he rereads what he wrote. He really— truly was ethereal. 

The beautiful boy with braids then clicks his pen one final time before slotting it inside his notebook and putting it away somewhere under the counter. When he looks back up at Xiao, he smiles and waves, “don’t stare too much, I might just start feeling insecure,” he jokes. Xiao’s face heats up at having been caught and he turns to leave the store. Venti’s loud giggles can be heard over the chime on the door.

The store owner leans his weight on the counter and stretches his left arm out and holds it up to capture Xiao’s attention with a farewell wave, “don’t forget to text me!” he shouts as the door of the music store shuts. Xiao’s face remains heated the entire way home. 

Chapter Text

Xiao opens the door to Four Winds Music Store and is greeted by a sight he really did not expect to see. There Venti stands, balancing on an uneven chair as he tries to get an instrument down from the wall for a customer standing not far behind him. Though, it’s not the fact of there being a customer this late into the day looking for an instrument that catches him off guard the most. It’s when Venti suddenly begins to topple over on the chair.

Without thinking, Xiao immediately drops his backpack, shoves the customer out of the way and tries his best to make it to Venti in time to break his entire fall. Unfortunately— or maybe still fortunately— Xiao catches only the upper half of Venti’s body as he hooks his arms underneath the small store owner. 

With a welp, Venti’s back collides with Xiao's chest as he closes his eyes tightly preparing for the painful part of falling. When it doesn’t come, Venti slowly opens his eyes and looks up at Xiao who is gazing down at him. With a shy smile Venti says, “Hi.”

“Hey,” the guitarist replies, helping Venti up to his normal height. Once the flutist is standing up right again, he brushes off his clothes and turns back to the customer as does Xiao. “Sorry about that, I moved without thinking much of it,” the guitarist apologizes to the frazzled customer. 

“It’s no problem at all, if anything you did the right thing. I was just in your way seeing as I was too shocked to move,” he admits, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. 

Venti smiles, “sorry I scared you, I’m a bit vertically challenged, but it’d have felt wrong had I made you grab it down,” he explains, handing the instrument to his customer. Xiao watches as the shiney clarinet is passed over to the awaiting hands of the other man before them and notes how excited he looks to have it. “You said yours was old and you needed a new one; I assume that means you can play?”

The man with dark hair nods enthusiastically and brings the mouth piece to his lips as Xiao turns to retrieve his backpack from the floor. Once the customer knows he has the attention of both his listeners once more, he begins playing a smooth jazzy melody that Xiao finds himself swaying slightly to. 

Venti, on the other hand, makes it no secret that he enjoys the music as he claps his hands along with the instrumentalist’s playing. He smiles brightly when the little segment of free music ends, “that was amazing! Did you ever compete or play with a jazz band of any sort? You’ve really got the talent to do so!” 

The customer scratches his cheek shyly as he converses with Venti, feeling a bit out of place, Xiao makes his way to their practice room and sits down on his chair. Once he’s settled in nicely, he takes out his phone and scrolls through Aether and Lumine’s page, liking every post. Only after he closes his dms with Venti, of course.

The two have been texting non-stop since they exchanged numbers and it was like heaven and hell for Xiao at the same time. On one hand, he liked the thrill of having a crush and getting to progress their relationship as clearly more than just friends. On the other hand, that exact same bit of thrill terrifies him. What if he messes up? What if Venti gets to know him more and decides he doesn’t wanna keep up their flute lessons? What if he thinks Xiao smells weird?

The guitarist scoffs at his thoughts as he remembers the many annoying conversations about this exact same topic with the twins. Each of them tell him over and over that he should ‘let it happen’ and that it’s ‘definitely a good thing’ or that ‘he needs this’. And worse of all, his best friends played the ‘no friends other than us’ card and Xiao can never beat that one, he’s tried. 

The guitarist looks up from his phone when he hears the click of the door opening and in comes the ever-smiley, Venti. “Hey! Sorry to keep you waiting, it turns out asking him if he played for a jazz band unlocked unwanted hidden memories and I had to deal with the aftermath,” the shop owner says as he takes his seat before Xiao. 

“It’s no problem at all, I understand you’re the only employee here. It’s 45 minutes into our practice time, though, so I don’t think we’ll be able to do much,” the guitarist explains. He feels a lot more comfortable and a lot less stressed around Venti which makes talking to him pretty easy. It’s the same way he feels around Aether and Lumine, but that’s a little different considering there are only platonic feelings residing there. 

Venti nods and there’s a pause before he suggests, “you wanna hangout after hours then?” Xiao can’t help the way his eyebrows raise or the way his mouth falls slightly ajar at the very suggestive offer; that is, only before Venti clarifies himself with a bright red face. “No! I meant- I mean- like, y’know hangout in the park or something, maybe get something to eat! I- No way; I didn’t mean for it to sound like that I-“ 

Xiao burst out into a laughing fit, albeit his ‘laughing fit’ is more like an extended and louder version of his very subtle, very restrained laugh. Wiping a tear from his eye when he calms down enough to speak again, the guitarist replies, “normally I’m the one stuttering and saying unexpected things. Oh how the tides have turned.”

Venti finds himself smiling, cheeks still slightly heated, as he knocks his shoulder against Xiao’s. “You know what I mean, so is that a yes or a no?” he asks, looking hopefully at his student. How could Xiao ever say no to those eyes?

“Yeah, for sure. We can go get something to eat and figure out the rest from there,” the martial artist suggests. He then grabs his backpack and flings it over his shoulder as he makes his way out into the main part of the store. 

And as always, they clean up shop and Venti jots down the sales. Once he completes that task, he calls over to Xiao, “hey I’m gonna go change real quick, stuff work clothes.” Xiao only nods and leans against the counter as he watches Venti’s form run up the stairs, his braids bouncing with each step. 

When he returns, he’s dressed up in an oversized sweater that’s tucked into his shorts slightly with a bit of his collar showing. His name tag is no longer present and his socks and shoes remained the same as before. Xiao noticed he now has a little backpack of his own hanging off his shoulders. 

With a small wave and a smile, Venti returns to Xiao’s side, “shall we go?” he asks, opening the door for the martial artist. Xiao nods and they make their way out of the shop, Venti turning around and locking it before they walk away completely.

“Any place in mind you’d like to eat at?” the guitarist asks politely, looking over at his teacher.

Venti hums, “do you like ice cream? There’s his cute ice cream shop that sells really good ice cream. They even have my favorite and it tastes perfect!” 

“I don’t eat sweet things all that much,” Venti pouts, just a bit, “but I’m willing to try it,” Xiao concludes. Venti’s eyes sparkle and his mouth grows wide with a massive grin. 

“Yes! You’re gonna love it! It’s my favorite so you have to!” his hyper teacher explains. They find that the conversation drops to a comfortable quietness with only Venti’s humming being heard as they walk. Xiao brings himself to relax easily with the soft melodies that leave Venti’s closed lips. He has no idea what he’s humming, but it sounds lovely and it's a nice background noise for their peaceful walk to this supposed ‘cute ice cream shop’. 

When they arrive, Venti bounces his way into the store with Xiao following close behind. Together, they walk up to the counter and peer into all the different ice creams they can choose from. 

A worker greets them, “hello, welcome to Hot Ice. What can I get for you?” Xiao looks her over, she’s a plain girl with brown hair and big brown eyes and her smile is sweet and genuine. She must enjoy her place of work.

“Hi! Can I get two scoops of the mint chocolate chip ice cream? In a waffle cone by the way, if that’s not too much to ask,” the flutist replies, hands clasped in front of him as he patiently waits.

“Of course! And for your friend?” she looks at Xiao who looks at Venti who looks back at Xiao. 

He scratches his cheek as his gaze flicks back to the worker, “uhh, chocolate?” 

“How many scoops?”

“One is enough,” he replies and she nods with a smile. Venti nudges Xiao’s side with his arm and a smile bordering on a laugh. Xiao can’t help but feel the need to defend himself, “I’ve never been here before!” he whisper-shouts and Venti has to put a hand over his mouth to stifle his laugh. 

The worker who watched this encounter speaks up, “will that be in a waffle cone as well?”

This time Venti replies instead of Xiao, “yes, thank you!” The flutist leads them off to the side a bit more in case any more customers come in and ask for ice cream of their own. They watch as the kind young lady makes them their desserts, handing Venti his before handing Xiao his. 

“That’ll be 6.50 for you both, then, and 3.25 if you’re paying separately,” she smiles at them as she waits politely as they both grab out the materials needed to pay their dues. Their hands bump each other as they both reach forward to pay for their sweets causing the two to look at each other. 

“Please, I insist ,” Venti smiles mischievously. Is he daring me to try and not let him pay?

“No, I insist. It’s only 6.25,” Xiao replies, moving his hand with the money held in it forward more. 

Venti eyes him, leaning in more as he takes his free hand and places it on Xiao’s wrist. He brings it away from the worker and he slides the money to her, all the while maintaining eye contact with Xiao, “ I was the one who asked to go get ice cream, plus it’s your first time here. I’m paying, ” he says with no room to argue. So, Venti can be stubborn when he wants to as well? Xiao sees how it is.

With a sigh, Xiao pockets his money and Venti’s victorious giggle makes it hard for the guitarist to keep a smile off his face. “You win this time, but next time I’m the one paying,” he replies, watching as Venti is handed his receipt. He pockets the white piece of paper without even looking at it.

“Thank you for coming! We hope to see you again,” the lady calls after them as they leave the shop. They both politely wave as they continue their walk, albeit aimlessly now. 

“So,” Venti trails, hints of mischief in his voice, “there’s gonna be a next time?” Venti teases, licking his ice cream and wincing when he gets a brain freeze. 

Xiao scoffs out a laugh, taking a lick of his own ice cream before it starts running down over the napkins and onto this wrist. “I wouldn’t mind a next time,” is what he chooses to reply with and Venti smiles over at him. 

“You’re, like, super cool, y’know? You look all tough and really strong, but you’re such a big softy. Pretty shy too,” Venti teases some more. Xiao can feel his cheeks heat up slightly at his comments and he tries to hide his blush behind licks of his ice cream. 

“Is that so?” he replies as they turn a corner. The street lights begin to flicker on as the sun drops deeper in the sky, hanging just above the horizon. Mondstadt’s climate is unpredictable during the spring and autumn seasons, but during winter and summer? Ugh, it’s sadly the most consistent time of year. 

The winters are freezing cold with ice and snow attempting to bury you and your house every morning and the summers are hot and humid, sometimes there’s a nice breeze that comes in from the coast, though. So, nights like these are as previously mentioned: hot and humid. Though, the sun dipping below the horizon does cool down the area quite a bit to the point where the heat is more bearable. The ice cream also helps.

They find themselves in a park back near where they live, the same park Xiao frequents with the twins. Though, this time, he finds himself in the sports area instead of the picnic area. A basketball court, to be precise. They find a bench and seat themselves in it after setting their backpacks aside. 

“Do you know how to play basketball?” Venti asks, licking his fingers clean of the ice cream that dropped onto his hand. Xiao watches the action closely, a little too closely.

“I don’t, my eldest brother was the one who was really into sports. I was just into martial arts,” he replies, still finishing his ice cream. How’d he eat that so fast?  

“Well, you’re in luck, it seems there isn’t even a basketball here. There is a football, though, there’s not much to that game when there’s only two players. I suggest we play on the grass, though,” Venti comments, standing up and grabbing his backpack to move just outside the court and to the grass.

He places his backpack a ways away from where they were sitting and instructs Xiao to place his opposite of Venti’s from where he’s standing. These will act as their goals. 

When Xiao finishes his ice cream, he licks his lips clean of the residue and watches as Venti’s eyes catch on the movement. He smirks as Venti shuffles the ball between his feet and begins to move forward towards Xiao. The guitarist readies himself for the battle over the ball that is sure to come. 

Suddenly Venti picks up his pace and runs straight towards Xiao and in one swift movement, Xiao sweeps the ball from out under Venti’s feet and takes it to the flutist's end of the field, successfully scoring his first goal.

“Hey! I thought you said you only did martial arts,” Venti pouts, his hands on his hips.

Xiao smirks, “did I forget to inform you that the martial art I participate in is Taekwondo? I’m pretty good with my feet,” he taunts, kicking the ball back to their invisible centerline.

“Oh, now you’re just getting cocky!” Venti smiles, challengingly. Xiao walks up to the centerline slowly, making sure his teacher grows more on edge with the challenge he now faces with his student. Venti backs up as per the rules of the game and allows Xiao to make his first move. 

He kicks the ball forward diagonally, but it’s captured by one quick movement of Venti’s foot. The flutist takes the ball away from Xiao successfully and doesn’t hesitate to kick it all the way down their makeshift field and directly into Xiao’s backpack. 

Xiao can’t help the surprised and incredulous look, “how did you do that??” 

Venti shoots him a smirk from his spot a few feet away from the guitarist. “A good friend of mine has a little sister who just loves a good game of football. For a seven year old she puts up quite a fight,” he replies, turning to go retrieve the ball.

Xiao watches as he reaches the ball and lines himself up for a kick straight towards Xiao. Xiao, of course, easily receives the ball against his foot and realigns it with their invisible centerline. When Venti returns to his place in front of Xiao, the guitarist backs up to give him a little space as he watches the flutist intensely. 

Venti kicks the ball past Xiao, but he’s quick to react and swipes the ball right from under his feet, taking it just far enough away from him to make a safe kick knowing Venti couldn’t block it. The ball knocks over Venti’s backpack and the guitarist turns to his teacher triumphantly. 

“Not talking so big now are we, teacher?” Xiao smirks. He watches as Venti’s face visibly flushes from the title and he turns his face away from Xiao, crossing his arms in a pout. The guitarist laughs, going to get the ball and placing it back on the centerline. 

Venti makes his way to his place in front of Xiao, but he’s closer than normal, unusually so. Xiao pushes that thought to the side as he kicks the ball right between Venti’s parted legs, he dodges Venti’s frame and catches the ball with his feet once more. Effortlessly, he kicks the ball right into his backpack. 

Xiao retries the ball and kicks it to Venti who’s waiting at the centerline. Once the ball is placed neatly on the invisible line, Xiao kicks it past Venti again, but it’s immediately stopped by his teacher’s foot. Venti and Xiao breathe hard as they try to keep the ball away from each other in almost a sort of dance. 

One wrong move and Xiao is knocked on his ass and the ball is rammed into his beloved backpack. From his spot on the ground, he watches Venti smirk down at him in a cute, victorious smile, “I would say you’re good, but not more of a challenge than Klee,” he laughs, resetting the ball. 

Klee? Where had he heard that name before? He didn’t have much time to think about it when a hand was presented to him. Despite his heaving breathing, Venti offers Xiao aid in standing up, which Xiao gratefully accepts, also breathing hard.

Once they’re back in their positions, Venti kicks the ball and Xiao goes to receive it, but the shop owner loses his footing— presumably from his fatigue— and crashes right into Xiao. The guitarist instinctively protects Venti’s head with his arms, and uses his body to break the flutist’s fall— not like he has a choice anyways considering the direction they’re falling. 

With a grunt, they land on the ground and lay there for a moment both just breathing hard from their physical exertion. “You okay?” Xiao asks when Venti raises his head to look at Xiao once the guitarist's hands were removed from him. 

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry you had to take the brunt of the fall, though,” he laughs lightly, not yet moving to get up from Xiao’s embrace. His hands have now moved from Venti’s head to his upper back and the shop owner finds that he likes the warmth.

“It’s all right, wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to catch you,” Xiao smiles softly, albeit with a little hint of a smirk. Venti flushes, hiding his head in Xiao’s chest. The guitarist can’t help the butterflies he feels in his stomach.

“Twice in one day too,” he mumbles against Xiao’s dark grey shirt. His sweatshirt had been discarded a while ago before the heat of the game even began. His loose pants weren’t easy to navigate the game in, but that didn’t stop him from giving his teacher a real challenge. 

Venti rolls off Xiao with a sigh, laying next to him on the grass instead of on top of him. The stars are hard to see with all the street lamps, but they’re far enough away from the basketball court to where they can still be visible. 

They lay there in silence, catching their breath and counting the stars. Xiao glances over to Venti to see that his teacher is slowly falling asleep, arms outstretched across the grass and legs the same way. He looked like he was trying to make a snow angel in the grass. 

“I think that’s enough for today, it’s getting late and you look like you really need to sleep,” Xiao says, breaking the silence. Venti’s eyes snap open and he suddenly becomes more alert as if he was unaware that he was falling asleep. 

He rubs his eyes as he sits up, grass sticking to the back of his sweater, “yeah.. yeah we can go home,” he yawns, standing up and walking over to his backpack. Xiao watches as his very tired teacher slings the backpack over his shoulder before returning to Xiao’s side. Xiao picks up his own backpack and tosses it over his shoulder, kicking the ball back towards the basketball court for some kids to find later. 

Xiao guides a very sleepy Venti all the way back to the music store and doesn’t leave until he knows Venti is safely inside with the doors locked and the shutters down. He was surprised the shop owner even made it home, he looked about ready to pass out more and more with each step he’d take. 

The guitarist yawns, walking his way home, now, instead of Venti’s. He texts the twins goodnight and his eyes catch on the time. 23:37. Had they really been out eating ice cream, playing football, and star gazing for so long? Xiao smiles to himself. They really had, hadn’t they?

*

“It does, technically, mean I beat you,” Xiao says, crossing his arms as he leans back against the chair. He’s watching Venti scribble down notes in Xiao’s practice book. After their Thursday night game of football, the two have been debating all weekend over who the real winner of that match is. Whether it be a tie or Xiao being the victor. 

“That’s not fair, I say the game is still on-going!” Venti pouts, crossing out page numbers Xiao has learned and mastered already in the, now, three weeks of their growing friendship. The two have grown extremely close; exponentially so after that night of ice cream and star gazing. 

“Yeah, sure, believe what you need to in order to keep avoiding my obvious win,” Xiao smirks. Venti pouts, hitting him with the back of his pencil. Xiao snatches it away from him and knocks the flutist on the head with it firmly, but not firm enough to hurt. Venti, in turn, snatches it back and continues crossing out pages and making notes here and there. 

————————

[Sunset] you remembered to take off tmr right?

[Me] Yes, I did 

[Me] I’ve got everything ready

Read 17:34

——————

“Who’s that?” Venti asks, closing the practice book and leaning back on his chair as well. Xiao glances up at him with a look of surprise before the realization hits that he’s asking who he’s texting.

“Oh, she’s my friend, Lumine. She was just asking if I had taken off work tomorrow for her birthday party at the club,” he sighs, shutting off his phone and resting it on his knee.

“A club? You? I didn’t think you to be the type,” Venti laughs.

Xiao shakes his head, “I’m not, but it’s their birthdays and I wouldn’t miss one for the world. It’s their party and it’s their choice, so I’ve gotta deal with it,” he concludes.

“Gotcha, that’s very sweet of you, Xiao. She— they? Must mean a lot to you,” he tries, unsure.

“They, she’s a twin, so it’s actually her and her brother Aether’s birthday that I’m going to. I already picked out their gifts and everything,” he replies, smiling lightly. “Honestly, I’d be more comfortable with you there,” he says out loud by accident.

“You would?” Venti smiles— beams, eyes filled with adoration. 

Xiao blushes, scratching his cheek awkwardly as he turns away, “I mean, is there any reason I wouldn’t be more comfortable with you around?” Xiao says, trying to play it off like he meant to say that out loud. 

Venti giggles, tilting his head with a soft smile matched with soft eyes, “I’d be happy to come along if your friends would allow me,” he replies. Xiao finds himself smiling back and he turns to his phone, bringing up Lumine’s dms again.

————————

[Me] Lumine

[Sunset] what

[Me] You mind if I bring a plus one?

[Sunset] just asked aether he said doesnt mind and neither do i 

[Sunset] who are you gonna bring? zhongli?

[Me] Venti

[Sunset] VENTI!? you mean that guy youve been crushing on for like the past month???

Seen 17:47

——————

Xiao blushes, attempting to hide his phone screen from Venti subtly. Hopefully he didn’t see that. There’s no point in denying it anymore, though, not to Lumine and Aether at least. 

————————

[Me] Yes that Venti 

[Sunset] say less

[Sunset] i just told aether and now hes freaking out you better not go back on this we’re excited to meet him

[Me] I’ll tell Venti 

Seen 17:51

——————

Xiao switches over to his and Venti’s dms, smiling at the last few funny messages before typing in the address to his house as well as the date and time. “I’ve sent you my address, we’ll meet there first and drive there with the birthday boy and girl. I hope it’s not too short of a notice to close up the shop for tomorrow?” 

Venti smiles happily, “no, not at all. I do own this store after all and I’m its only employee,” he reasons. Xiao nods, standing up to stretch and prepare getting ready to close up shop.

They clean up the practice rooms and today Venti gives him a cinnamon roll to eat on his way back home. Xiao’s never had one before, he doesn’t tell Venti that, though, he’d definitely make fun of him for it. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Xiao asks as he holds the door open, ready to leave.

“See you tomorrow,” Venti smiles with a wave of his hand. Xiao smiles back and shuts the door behind him, beginning his journey home. Instead of the anxiety he previously felt over going to the club tomorrow, he now felt giddy and excited. 

Is he allowed to be excited?

Chapter Text

Xiao turns around to face his friends with his back now to the full body mirror. “It’s too plain,” Aether says from his spot on the couch. The blonde is sipping from his new cup that Xiao gave him as he looks Xiao up and down. When the twins first arrived at his house, he greeted them with hugs and handed them their gifts with a ‘happy birthday’. He gave Lumine an expensive, designer, crystal fly hair piece as well as her favorite candies and perfumes and he gave Aether the cup he is drinking out of as well as candies and a new camera. He had given Lumine new film for her cute polaroid as well, but Aether needed a new camera because he accidentally smashed his. It’s a long story. 

“Xiao likes plain clothes,” Lumine counters, brushing out some wrinkles in her friend’s clothes. The two have been fighting over his outfit choice all day. They insist that he has to look his best; not for them, no, no, no. For Venti. When the guitarist reminded them who’s party this is, they brushed it off and said that Venti thinking he’s hot is way more important. 

“Can’t I just wear what I picked out?” Xiao asks, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He really doesn’t get why he can’t, he thinks his choice of clothes is perfectly fine. And plus, what if Venti found him to just be showing off or something which is not true at all.

An immediate reply is given from both of them, “no.” The martial artist rolls his eyes as he swipes the jacket being handed to him from Lumine and goes to change into the final outfit they offered him.

It doesn’t take long at all for Xiao to throw everything on and make it look somewhat decent. The teal jacket makes him look like he’s going to go skiing, but that’s probably just because it’s slightly cropped and quite poofy. The shirt underneath the jacket is plain black and has no sleeves, sort of like a tank top with a bit of a turtle neck that compliments his black cargo pants. The martial artist’s hair is tied back, with Bobby Pins keeping some stray hairs in place, his bangs still falling loosely around his face. 

The twins said the theme is shades of blue and when he had presented the outfit he chose they completely shut him down and got him brand new clothes to wear for this party. But here he is with only a little bit of blue on him— mainly black— and rings aligning his fingers. There’s a pink tint to the white clouds on his jacket, though, and obviously his socks and shoes are black. His hair is the only other thing even close to blue on him. 

When he steps out from the bathroom Aether chokes on his drink mid-sip and Lumine smiles triumphantly. “This is the one,” she says, “come here and sit down so we can do your nails and make up.”

“My what and what??” Xiao asks as he lets himself be pulled to sit on the couch. He tumbles back with an ‘oof’ when his back collides with the couch before sitting up and letting his hands and face be prepared for their do-over. 

“Xiao, you’re a pretty hot dude on your own, but your crush is coming over and we need to be the best wingmen there are to have ever existed,” Aether says, getting up from the couch to come help his sister out. He motions for Xiao to hold out his hands and when he does, Aether slides glow in the dark bracelets over his wrists and grabs the nail polish to start painting his nails black. 

Before Aether can even crouch down, Lumine invades Xiao’s personal space and taps his cheek, “clothes your eyes. I won’t go too heavy on the make up, but you’re definitely going to be 10x hotter with it. Venti will love it,” she teases, seeing the frown on his lips and the blush across his cheeks. 

“You guys are blowing this way out of proportion,” Xiao grumbles, feeling Aether pull and push on his fingers as he paints them with smooth, even brush strokes. “Why are you blowing on my fingers?” the guitarist asks, scrunching up his nose.

“So it dries faster, Venti should be here any minute, if you told him the right time that is,” Aether replies, moving on to Xiao’s right hand now.

“I did,” the martial artist confirms, getting hushed by Lumine so she can focus on Xiao’s eyes. She gently slides the red eye makeup across his left eyelid, making sure it’s pigmented before moving on to darkening his eyelashes so they’re more prominent. Xiao scrunches his nose up at the feeling. 

Aether sighs, capping the nail polish and putting it off to the side, “now we wait for the first coat to dry and then put on another one,” a knock, “oh, that must be Venti,” he says, standing up to go to the door. Xiao’s heart is pounding right now and he feels himself begin to sweat; the jacket he’s wearing slips off his shoulders and rests in the bend of his arms when he shifts nervously.

“Oh, wow ! You look amazing !” Aether comments when he opens the door. Xiao hears some shuffling and a polite thank you. “You really didn’t have to get me anything, but the flowers are so nice! I appreciate it. Come in, Lumine is almost done with Xiao.”

Xiao hears the door close as Lumine begins working on his right eye now, tapping his nose with the makeup brush when he attempts to open his eyes and look at Venti. “It was really no trouble at all, I’ve got some for your sister as well. I’m Venti by the way, nice to meet you and sorry for coming on such a short notice,” he replies.

“Of course, I’m Aether, this is my twin sister Lumine, and that’s the infamous, Xiao,” he jokes. He can assume Lumine turns her head to look at Venti seeing as he feels one of her hands leave his face to shake Venti’s.

“You look great, stunning even! No match for this guy right here,” she nudges Xiao’s knee with her elbow and he hears Venti laugh as Xiao scoffs, shaking his head with his eyes closed. 

“Just finish the makeup so I can open my eyes, I swear you’re trying to make me go blind,” he grumbles. They all laugh and Lumine does as she is asked and finishes up Xiao’s makeup swiftly. When she’s done, she taps his cheek for the final time and tells him he can open his eyes. When he does, they immediately slide over to Venti.

Xiao is awestruck. There Venti sits on his couch wearing that outfit. The martial artist doesn’t know what to think. From the teal almost sheer top he’s wearing that runs down his arms in loose-fitting sleeves with gathered fabric at the end; to the seemingly oversized pristine white pants that have a gap in them on Venti’s left thigh. And is that— is that a tattoo? The left leg of Venti’s pants have a gap in them that holds the top part of the pants and the bottom part of the pant leg together by two pieces of fabric on the sides. This allows for a space just big enough to be able to see the colored geometrically shaped tattoo that resides there on left his thigh.

He, too, appears to be wearing makeup, not much, but enough to accentuate his eyes that the black star-shaped sunglasses on his head hopefully won’t hide. Venti doesn’t even get a chance to take in much of Xiao either as he is now being the one fussed over. 

“Drop the braids, they’re taking away from your pretty face,” Aether says, as he gently undoes them. He goes to grab a curling iron and some hair spray, saying that he needs to make his hair more ‘voluptuous’. Venti only laughs and Xiao can’t help but smile at his friend’s antics as well. 

“Are your ears pierced? You should wear these, Xiao refused to wear a more decorative earring so he’s only wearing one black stud,” Lumine rolls her eyes as she hands them to Venti to put in his own ears, not wanting to invade this stranger's personal space too much. 

Venti giggles as he slips them in his ears effortlessly without needing a mirror, “yeah that sounds like him,” he teases, shooting Xiao a knowing look. Xiao just rolls his eyes and goes to put his jacket back in its original place on his shoulders, “leave it down, your tattoo really adds to the look,” he comments.

“So does yours,” Xiao replies smugly, “I didn’t know you had a tattoo.”

“You never asked,” Venti replies just as smugly, a smirk playing on his lips. Aether returns with the curling iron and hair spray and gets to work on Venti. He curls the longer bits of his hair ever so slightly, so they appear more wavy than curly. Xiao watches this process as it turns from just the front parts of Venti’s hair, to the back and sides of his hair as well. By the end of it, his hair is gently brushed out and sprayed with hairspray and— wow, wow. It’s amazing how just a little change to something like one’s hair can completely make or break a look and Xiao is loving it. 

When the twins finally leave Venti alone and Aether refocuses his attention on coating Xiao’s nails with their second layer of polish, Xiao speaks, “sorry about them. They’re photographers and have a habit of styling people to match certain atmospheres,” he explains.

“It’s no big deal at all, I don’t mind it and I trust their input, because damn,” Venti turns to look into the full length mirror in the living room, back to Xiao, “they did a really good job on my hair.” Xiao couldn’t really focus on Venti’s words, for he was focusing on one of his other aspects. His back. Venti’s shirt is an open-back shirt. Xiao feels faint.

The cloth wraps around his neck and clips together at his nape. Venti’s shoulders and arms are fully covered, but the rest of his back is exposed and the remaining cloth comes to collect at his waist to be gathered into his pants. Xiao can see his teacher’s soft looking back with a few beauty marks scattered across his creamy skin. The guitarist just can’t seem to keep his awe for this man out of his expression. 

“You’re staring,” Aether singsongs in a hushed tone as he finishes up the last few of Xiao’s finger nails. This causes the martial artist’s head to snap forward instead of in Venti’s direction as he fights a raging blush from appearing on his cheeks. He can’t believe he was just caught staring at Venti by one of his lifelong best friends. Embarrassing? He thinks yes

“All right, now that Aether’s done, double check your things and then we can all head out to the car together,” Lumine instructs, right as Aether caps the nail polish and sets it off to the side where it won’t get lost. 

Everyone does as they were instructed with Xiao checking his pockets for his phone, wallet, and house keys. Once they’ve all announced that they’re all set, they head out the door with Lumine leading the way and Xiao being last so he can lock the door after he shuts off all the lights. 

When Xiao turns around, the guitarist is startled by the sight of Venti waiting for him for a reason he isn’t really sure of. Once his initial shock is over, he smiles at Venti, “hey, what’s up?” 

“Nothing, I just think..,” Venti trails as he plucks his black, star-shaped sunglasses off his head and pushes them onto Xiao’s face, “that these would look better on you.” Xiao’s so glad these sunglasses are hiding his eyes right now otherwise Venti would be able to see just how affected he is by that comment.

With one fluid motion, the guitarist takes the sunglasses from his face and places them onto his head so he can actually see instead of being almost totally blind in the darkness outside. (Only after he collected himself, of course).

 Venti smiles at him and loops his arm through Xiao’s, “is this okay?” he asks, hesitantly, ready to let go if Xiao said it isn’t. The guitarist nods, securing Venti’s arm in his to assure him of that fact. His teacher’s eyes grow impossibly soft and mirthful, but they’re soon quickly shifted to the car in surprise when Lumine honks the horn. 

The two smile at each other sheepishly and walk down the steps of Xiao’s apartment together. Xiao opens the back door of the car for the shop owner and shuts it gently behind him before going to the other side of said car and getting in as well. 

“Archons, we were about ready to leave you guys there,” Aether laughs, plugging his phone into the aux. The sounds that come from the speakers of the car aren’t that of his own playlist, but of Lumine’s. They have this thing where whoever is driving got to choose the music, so as of right now, that is Lumine. 

When everyone is buckled in safely and securely, Lumine pulls away from the curb and heads towards their destination. The entire car ride just consists of a very bipolar playlist, as well as the windows down (not too much as to not mess up their hair), the sunroof open, and all of them but Xiao singing along to said bipolar playlist. Xiao can feel the car shaking from the powerful vibrations coming from the speakers and he wouldn’t be surprised if they got a noise complaint the following morning, but, honestly, he doesn’t care. 

The crisp, summer night air of Mondstadt calms his growing nerves just a bit the closer they get to approaching the club. He focuses on keeping his breathing under control and his mood in check so he doesn’t ruin this event for everyone even though he’s beginning to feel increasingly more nauseous. The twins know of Xiao’s severe anxiety in social situations, especially crowded spaces because of what happened during his— their debut. But, Xiao had told them he would be here and he will be here. 

He breathes in through his nose slowly and out through his mouth just as, if not, slower. This relaxes some of the tension in his shoulders and he’s able to refocus on the current moment in time as they pull into the packed parking lot of the club. Xiao can already see a few familiar faces from just having seen them on Lumine’s and Aether’s personal blogs which makes things less scary. 

Lumine’s eyes flick to Xiao’s frame in the rear view mirror and Xiao catches them. She looks worried, but he just nods to assure her he will be fine and that he can do this. Once she seems to believe him, her eyes flick back to the lot in front of her as she finds a place to park. 

Venti is looking around curiously, seeing all the decorations and people that have come to celebrate the day of birth of these two blonde, fraternal twins. It’s amazing just how many people and just how many connections the two of them have just from their job alone, yet they chose to spend most of their time with Xiao. It warms his heart to know he has such loyal companions. Hopefully Venti will become another one of his. 

Once the car is parked, all of them fix themselves up before stepping out of the car, Venti links arms with Xiao once more without even asking this time and Xiao lets him. Venti’s presence at his side is a grounding weight for the martial artist right now—  a grounding weight he really needed in this type of situation. 

“Ready?” Aether asks, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. The boy is dressed in blue in white with gold accents that are identical to Lumine’s. His shirt is a golden, oversized, dress shirt that is cinched at the waist and is decorated with shiny, rhinestone body jewelry. The bottom of the shirt pools over his hips and the top part of his brown, high waisted pants and the blue earring he always adorns is present, as always. The top two buttons of the long haired blonde’s shirt are undone and Aether’s hair is done up in a half bun held up by a decorative hair piece; the rest of it flows loosely over his shoulders. 

Lumine is dressed oppositely, with her dress being white with golden accents as well as being cinched at the waist. Her nails are painted light blue for her bit of blue in her outfit and instead of the flower she normally wears in her hair, she is wearing the decorative crystal fly clip that Xiao gifted her. The necklace that hangs from her neck screams elegance as well as her open-toed, sparkly high heels and off the shoulder sleeves to her dress. 

Both of them look ethereal, almost as if they aren’t from this world and that feeling is only further pronounced when they stand next to each other. The two of them are supposed to be the only two not dressed in completely (or almost completely) blue, seeing as they are supposed to be easily identifiable as the birthday boy and girl. 

“Are you both ready?” Lumine asks, turning around from her place beside Aether to look at them properly. She looks stunning, as always, her beautiful blonde hair is well kempt and there’s not one blemish on her cute face.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Xiao tries his best not to grumble out and all of them laugh. Xiao can feel a smile slowly creep its way onto his face, as long as they are happy, he should be happy too. 

Together they all walk in and are immediately met with shouts and cheers, multiple people come up to the twins to congratulate them on turning one year older than they previously were as Xiao and Venti are slowly pushed to the side. Once one person starts singing, everyone joins in, and suddenly all that can be heard is a loud chorus of voices emitting from the building to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the twins; this doesn’t exclude Xiao and Venti, of course. 

When the hype has died down from all the initial greetings, the music from the DJ starts up again and the lights dim back to their previously low setting. The glow from all the lights and glow sticks causes an ocean of blue to flood the room, as a large cloud of smoke from the smoke machines hangs low to the ground. The atmosphere shifted from that of wholesome greetings and congratulations, to that of a sultry and very hyper atmosphere with the change of music to upbeat and infamous songs. 

Xiao is led away by Venti pulling at his arm to the bar, the two sit down in stools next to each other and immediately the bartender greets them, “hello, what can I get for you two tonight?” he asks with a pleasant and charming smile. 

Venti answers for them, “two Dandelion Wines please,” he responds, mirroring that pleasant and cheerful smile. The bartender nods, walking off to go obtain their drinks.

“Uhh, Venti.. I.. don’t drink,” Xiao tells him, feeling shameful over that fact for some reason. Venti just tilts his head and waves him off with a soft reassuring smile.

“There’s no need to worry, this wine isn’t that strong and it’s our first time drinking together. At least take a sip, won’t you?” he asks with pleading eyes. Xiao knows if he really was opposed to the idea of drinking and he told Venti that, the flutist would respect that fact, but he also knows Venti is right. What’s the harm in a little indulgence? 

Xiao sighs, “I guess a couple sips isn’t too bad,” he replies and Venti’s face immediately lights up. When the bartender arrives with their drinks, he sets them both down in front of the pair and pats the counter with a small ‘enjoy’ before walking off to serve more people. 

“Cheers,” Venti raises his glass to meet Xiao’s in the middle, “to Aether and Lumine,” he finishes.

“To Aether and Lumine,” Xiao affirms, clinking his glass against Venti’s gently. The two each take a sip from their respective glasses before setting them back down on the counter. They then enjoy a bit of comfortable silence between them as they look over the crowd of bodies, and finish their first glass of wine together. 

It’s hard to pick out who is who in the sea of people all dressed in blue, but as per dress code, Aether and Lumine can easily be seen even through the darkness and density of the crowd. It makes Xiao smile knowing they are enjoying their party and he is able to relax just a little bit more. The wine is also helping with that. 

“Do you wanna play a game?” Venti asks, over the booming music and loud singing. He leans against the counter, legs crossed and chin lowered, looking at Xiao— almost— through his lashes. What is he planning? Xiao thinks with a hint of a weary smile on his lips at his companion’s reoccurring mischievous behavior. 

“It depends,” he says, tilting his head ever so slightly and squinting his eyes, “what kind of game are we talking about?” 

“Have you ever heard of a game called ‘21 questions’ ?” He asks, pushing his glass away from him so he wouldn’t knock it over.

Xiao nods, “I have.” 

“Well, do you wanna play? We can take a shot every time we don’t wanna answer a question,” Venti negotiates to hopefully persuade Xiao a little more.

The guitarist hesitates, but eventually he nods, “okay, we can play.”

With a bright smile, Venti claps his hands together excitedly and calls over the bartender to get them a bottle and two shot glasses. Xiao isn’t really a fan of alcohol, it’s not that he has had bad experiences with it, he just simply doesn’t feel the need or desire to consume such poisons. 

When the bartender returns with their new bottle and two shot glasses, Venti pours them each a shot. “Are you starting or am I?” the flutist asks politely. Xiao motions at Venti saying that he is starting and he nods. “Who are Lumine and Aether to you?”

Xiao blinks at the question seeing as he thought he already answered that before, “they’re my best friends. We grew up in the orphanage together alongside my brothers and sisters. Sadly, they got adopted first by two separate families and we lost contact. We grew even more distant when I was adopted into a very bad family where I was..” he trails. Venti waits for him patiently, not rushing, just listening. “My adopted parents will never be considered my parents, to say the least and the twins and I stumbled upon each other again by chance after I had turned 18 and left, ” he concludes.

Venti nods, swirling his middle finger around the rim of his shot glass, “that’s a very lucky encounter you three had then,” he comments.

“It was,” he affirms, “this may sound a little rude, but it’s because I generally never see anyone around you besides customers: do you have any friends?” Xiao asks, trying his best to make sure he’s not offending his companion. 

Venti barks out a laugh and waves his hand dismissively, “no I totally get why you asked that. Yes, I do have friends I just.. haven’t interacted with any of them in a very long time.” Xiao really wants him to elaborate on that answer, but he feels he already did enough by even asking him that question.

“My turn! Have you ever dated anyone?” he asks and Xiao’s face turns pink as he averts his gaze.

“I have.. but they never lasted long, I always seemed to have mistaken the platonic love of friends for romantic love. When I found that out, I always broke it off,” he confirms, scratching his cheek in shame. The guitarist hopes that Venti doesn’t drill him for answers on that question because it's got some very embarrassing stories behind it.

“Oh, okay, okay,” the flutist smiles at Xiao to reassure him that he’s not out to get him, which helps in all honesty. 

“Uh, have you ever dated anyone?” Xiao decides to parrot, slightly embarrassed.

“I have not,” Venti says with a smile. There’s so much hiding behind that smile and it pains Xiao knowing of such a fact. “I have never been in love before. I’ve had infatuations, but nothing beyond that,” he elaborates and Xiao nods. 

“Have you lost your— ?” Venti asks, but his question is hard to hear over the music. So Xiao leans forward and shouts ‘what’ causing Venti to lean in, his breath brushing against Xiao’s ear, “have you lost your virginity?” Xiao chokes on his spit and he recoils from the question, almost falling off his stool. He coughs continuously, partially from straight up shock at such a question and partially from choking on his own saliva. Venti gasps and rubs his back with a worried expression attempting to settle his coughing fit calm down, “you can always just take a shot,” the shop owner reminds him. 

Xiao nods, reaching for his shot glass and he stares at it and then Venti, then the glass again. Venti laughs when he realizes Xiao doesn’t know how to take a shot and so he tries his best to explain, but it still ends with Xiao coughing and cringing at the horrid taste. His face is impossibly red.

“It was a good attempt,” the shop owner teases and Xiao throws him a non-heated glare from behind the wrist he’s wiping his mouth with, causing him to laugh even more. 

Deciding Xiao didn’t want to know the answer to that same question, he asks a different one, “do you.. have a type?” Venti looks him over before turning to face the bar, his chin in his palm and feigned lovesickness on his features. 

“Oh, I definitely do. Dark hair, bright eyes, and a strong personality. Someone who’s tough to crack, but once you do they’re as loyal as a swan and as gentle as a mouse,” his eyes slide over to Xiao and he smirks, “I know someone just like that.”

Now, Xiao is not dumb, but he sure is oblivious. “I see, I hope you can get together with that person soon then,” he confirms, looking a bit disheartened. Venti shakes his head with a laugh, not at all offended that Xiao completely missed his massive hint. “What? What is it? Why are you laughing?”

“I thought it was my turn to ask a question,” he replies smugly. Xiao sends him a fake glare and crosses his arms from where he sits on the bar stool, “right then, do you have a-“ Venti couldn’t finish his question as they were both interrupted by Aether.

“Hey guys, come here we need you both,” the pair shoot each other a look before hopping off their respective stools and following the birthday boy to the middle of the dance floor where a table with cups and four ping pong balls have been set up. Venti recognizes the game right away, but Xiao does not

“This is Beidou, the captain of the Crux Fleet we met when traveling to Inazuma and this is Kadehara Kazuha, a member of her crew who we also met,” Aether explains.

Beidou takes Xiao’s hand in an aggressively cheerful way with a huge smile across her face, “nice to meet you, I’m Beidou, glad you could make it to our little game,” she laughs heartily while she moves from Xiao’s to Venti’s hand.

“I am Kadehara Kazuha, please just call me Kadehara. I’ll be Beidou’s teammate for this game as well as your second opponent,” he smiles. His hand is a lot gentler when grasping Xiao’s and Venti’s. 

“I’m Venti, Xiao’s plus one, glad I could make it here as well,” he says with a genuine smile. Unlike Xiao, Venti doesn’t seem to be bothered by this situation at all and Xiao shoots Aether a glare noticing Lumine now by his side. She just shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders. They’ll talk about this later.

“Xiao, Lumine and Aether’s best friend,” he greets, shifting his weight uncomfortably. Everyone’s eyes are on them in the center of the room and it’s making his anxiety skyrocket.

“All right!” Aether says, taking the microphone from the DJ, “Lumine and I don’t drink as ironic as that is, so we’re choosing to have Xiao and Venti step in for us and play in our stead.”

“I’m sure you all know the aspect of the game, but in case some don’t,” he shoots a look at Xiao, “I will tell you them: the aim of the game is to get the other team out by landing more balls in their cups at a faster rate then they are landing them in yours. If a ball lands in your cup from the other team, you must drink it and continue playing. I advise taking turns in who drinks the cups each time and if a ball bounces on the table before landing in a cup, you’re allowed to attempt to hit it away. The team left with no cups full first, loses.”

“With that said, let’s introduce our teams. On my left we have members of the Crux Fleet, Captain Beidou and crew member, Kadehara Kazuha,” everyone cheers for them and Xiao resists the urge to cover his ears. “On my right we have the team representing Lumine and myself: the musical love birds, Xiao and Venti!” The cheers erupt even louder than before and Xiao gives his best friend a wide eyed look at the title placed upon them. 

The guitarist goes to apologize to Venti for the name and this entire situation, but the boy is smiling at him in the sweetest most determined way he’s ever seen, “let’s win this!” he shouts, pulling a fist downwards in emphasis. Xiao can’t help but go along with this situation even though he’s insanely bothered by all the attention, but he finds that the twins and Venti supporting him eases that feeling tenfold.

Aether hands the microphone back to the DJ and he begins to count down.

“Five.”

Both teams move into position.

“Four.” 

Venti and Xiao give each other encouraging looks.

“Three.”

Each team picks up their balls and gets ready to throw them.

“Two.”

The DJ’s voice rises with each descending number.

“One!”

The music begins again and each team starts throwing their ping pong balls into the other team’s cups. Beidou instantly lands a ball in one of the cups in their last row and Venti picks up the cup and downs it, tossing it on the floor behind him. Xiao falters for a moment, taking in just how hot that action is before he is accidentally smacked in the face with a ping pong ball. 

He looks over the table to see a sheepish looking Kadehara, who waves his hand in an apology before picking up one of their cups and downing it because Venti made one in. Xiao gets his head back in the game after that and starts tossing the ping pong balls back to the other side of the table. Venti swats a ball away as Xiao picks up a cup to down it from Beidou landing another shot. He, just like Venti, tosses the cup behind him and resumes playing the game. 

Cheers erupt from the crowd as both Xiao and Venti make their shots into two cups on the opposing team's side and Beidou and Kadehara down the drinks impossibly fast. Each team is down two cups now, but Venti makes another one into their cups and Beidou downs it. The crowd cheers for them, but cheers for Xiao and Venti specifically can be heard for them by the twins. 

Even though their encouragement helps, Kadehara lands yet another ball into their cups with Beidou following shortly after. Both Venti and Xiao down their drinks and throw the balls back, but they both terribly miss and turn to each other to laugh at their own idiocy. Despite them both losing right now, they are having fun.

The game continues until there is one cup left on each side and the crowd is roaring at this point. Each team is terribly drunk now and it makes it hard to throw the balls correctly, but by some miracle, Venti tosses the ball and it bounces on the table. Kadehara goes to swat it away, but he misses and it lands right in their remaining cup. 

The crowd cheers and Xiao turns to Venti, picking him up in his arms and crushing him in a hug as Aether and Lumine come to do the same. The four of them squeeze each other so tight it makes it hard to breathe as Kadehara downs the last of their cups, tossing it behind him and wiping his mouth off with his wrist. 

When the twins finally let go, Xiao lets go of Venti and slides a hand around his waist, too drunk to think that maybe such an action can be crossing the line. The shop owner doesn’t seem to mind, though, seeing as he leans into Xiao’s side, with an arm around him as well. 

Beidou and Kadehara come up to them to shake their hands, “good game you two, it was fun. We should play again sometime,” Beidous suggests with a smile, burping from the alcohol. Venti laughs at this.

“We definitely should,” the flutist replies, shaking their hands as well. 

Xiao and Kadehara nod to each other with the white haired gentlemen speaking first, “sorry for accidentally hitting you in the face with a ping pong ball,” he hiccups, “I was already tipsy before we even started that game.”

“It’s no problem,” Xiao replies, swaying on his feet. Xiao, too, begins to hiccup as the alcohol really hits him now that the adrenaline has died now. When he attempts to take a step forward to go sit down, Aether catches him with a hand on his chest as Venti’s arm around his waist tightens. 

“He never drinks so he’s an extreme lightweight. Maybe you should take him home; we would, but we have to be here— it’s our party,” Lumine comments from her spot beside Aether. “Don’t worry about the ride home from the taxi, I’ll pay for it, here,” she hands Venti the money and he nods, readjusting his grip on Xiao.

“We’ll see you later then,” Beidou says, clapping Venti on the back and he stumbles forward a bit. Holy hell is she strong. The flutist nods at her and Kadehara before saying goodbye to the twins and struggling to walk Xiao out the door and to the sidewalk to hail a taxi. If Venti recalls correctly, he didn’t see Xiao drop or place anything down anywhere, so he should be fine. 

With much struggle, Venti calls a cab and shoves Xiao into the back seat. It’s hard enough to navigate when he himself is drunk, but at least he isn’t completely hammered like Xiao is. The shop owner tells the driver the location of the Xiao’s house as: ‘just a few houses down from Four Winds Music Store’ and off they go. 

Xiao leans his entire weight against Venti, eyes closed with reoccurring hiccups every now and then. The flutist runs his fingers through the bits of Xiao’s hair that aren’t tied back as he finds himself hiccuping as well. It sounds kind of funny the way their hiccups bounce back and forth from each other unintentionally. 

When they arrive at Xiao’s home, Venti thanks the driver and pays her, taking Xiao in his arms and leading him up the steps. “Where-“ hiccup, “are your house keys?” he asks the drunk guitarist, Xiao doesn’t respond and Venti sighs, hoisting Xiao to a better position in his arms before feeling around in his pockets. He finds Xiao’s wallet before he finds his keys and unlocks the door to his apartment, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. 

Venti doesn’t take his shoes off at first, deciding to drag Xiao to his bed before untying Xiao’s shoe laces and taking off his own, tossing them back by the door. When Venti returns to Xiao’s room with a glass of water, he finds the man sitting up in bed, holding his head in his hands.

“Hey, you okay?” he asks, and he leans down slightly to try and get a good look at Xiao. The martial artist’s face is scrunched up in displeasure and his breathing is heavy, but slow.

“No, I think I’m gonna—“ Xiao attempts to push Venti out of the way, but instead of pushing him to the side, he accidentally pushes him back and unfortunately gets puke all over him. In all honesty, this is a good thing considering the amount of alcohol Xiao consumed tonight. 

Venti sits there frozen in shock, with the water he was holding also spilled all over him. He blinks a couple times before looking up at Xiao who looks about ready to pass out. Venti holds his nose from the smell and gets up carefully, trying to make sure none of it falls from his clothes and onto the floor. Man, he just bought all this stuff too. 

Venti waddles his way to the bathroom and undresses, washing off the bigger chunks of food in the shower and then wrapping a towel around himself. He returns to Xiao’s room with another glass of water and hands it to Xiao’s shaky hands. He helps aid the martial artist in bringing the glass to his lips and taking big gulps of it. 

“I’m gonna borrow your clothes and take a shower,” he tells Xiao in a soft voice. The guitarist nods, and lays down on his side on the bed, every item of clothing still on. Venti just laughs and goes to steal some clothes from Xiao, just a shirt and shorts. 

The flutist then makes his way back to the bathroom and locks the door, taking the towel from his waist and setting the clothes down on the sink. He starts the water and begins washing himself from Xiao’s bodily fluids which he tries hard not to think too much about, lest he wish to throw up himself. 

Xiao’s bathroom is just as clean as the rest of his house and Venti finds himself appreciating that fact as he begins washing his hair and face. The flutist can smell the shampoo and conditioner Xiao uses on himself now and he can’t help but get butterflies in his stomach. He washes himself off quickly, seeing as the heat is beginning to make him dizzier than he already was and steps out of the shower, redressing himself in Xiao’s clothes. 

Venti brings the collar of his student’s shirt up to his nose and inhales deeply— he smells really nice. The flutist brings his soiled clothes to the washing machine and places them in there and starts it, hoping it won’t be too loud and hurt his and Xiao’s headache. He can only imagine how bad Xiao’s is.

He returns to the guitarist’s room to check on him and he finds that he's fast asleep with his stuffy coat on, so he gently removes it. As he does so, he discovers that Xiao is, in fact, not asleep, he is just resting. “I’m gonna go sleep on the couch, then,” Venti says with a hiccup, “tell me where your spare blankets and pillows are before I steal— hiccup — steal yours,” he teases. 

Xiao just opens his eyes and blinks at Venti, looking over his features. The shop owner just smiles back and pets Xiao’s hair gently after he takes out the clips and hair tie. That would be very uncomfortable to sleep in. Xiao moves to sit up in bed and motions for Venti to come closer to him. When he does, Xiao’s hands find their place on his hips and he pulls Venti forward. 

The guitarist leans in for a kiss but is stopped by Venti’s index and middle finger against his lips with a laugh, “kiss me when you’re not drunk and your breath doesn’t reek of vomit.” Xiao pouts and lets go of Venti’s waist to lay back down on the bed. 

“At least sleep here, then,” he grumbles and Venti smiles, obliging to Xiao’s request as he crawls over him and to the other side of the bed. The store owner shifts around his bed and slides under the covers, as Xiao turns to face him and gaze over at his relaxed form. The guitarist doesn’t say much, just stares and Venti finds himself wanting to pinch his cheeks with how cute he’s being. 

Everything around him smells like Xiao and it’s overwhelming in a good sense. The guitarist’s scent is calming to the flutist and he already finds himself growing sleepy despite having just been wide awake moments before. 

“What are you looking at?” Venti asks with a hiccup. He probably should have drank some water himself, but hey, shower water counts too, doesn’t it? Xiao lifts a hand to bring it to Venti’s drying hair and brushes some locks of it behind his ear. The flutist leans into the touch, closing his eyes to take it all in before opening them again to meet the martial artist’s gaze.

“You,” is Xiao’s simple answer and then he closes his eyes and passes out and Venti is left there in the dark, staring at his student’s sleeping form as he comes to the realization that he is most definitely in love. 

Chapter Text

The first thing that registers to Xiao in the morning is his pounding headache. The second thing that registers to Xiao in the morning is the presence of someone else in his bed. With wide eyes and a dropped jaw, Xiao’s heart begins racing as he looks over Venti’s sleeping form. The flutist sleeps peacefully beside him, with the blankets cradled in his arms and his hair tangled and messy from having not dried it fully. 

Now, Xiao doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions, but why the fuck is his teacher wearing his clothes— and why the fuck is he in Xiao’s bed? He’s not mad, how could he be mad? The sunshine that came into his life a month ago is here in his bed looking as angelic as a real angel does while wearing and smelling like him. 

Xiao’s not mad, no, terrified, yes.

A quiet knock at his door is what snaps him out of his daze and his eyes fly over to his bedroom door. “Hey, I made breakfast for everyone, Lumine is still passed out on the couch. You and Venti can come out when you’re ready,” Aether whispers with a spatula in hand and an apron around his waist. His hair is back to being braided in long twists down his back and his subtle makeup and clothes from the night before are gone and replaced by pajamas. Leave it to Aether to be up and about before everyone else despite being awake the latest. 

Xiao only nods, because what else is he supposed to do? Scream? He wishes. Too afraid to move and disturb the shop owner beside him, Xiao lays in bed, staring at his ceiling as all sorts of thoughts run through his head. What happened last night? I don’t remember anything past the third cup into the game. Did we..?

His head is pounding and he brings a hand to rest on his temples and over his eyes as he just simply breathes. Surely they couldn’t have, Xiao would remember that, right? Right? Venti stirs besides him and with a quiet yawn, he rubs his eyes. 

Xiao’s breath catches in his throat as he keeps the hand he had placed over his eyes securely in position, waiting for Venti to say something first. “Good morning, Xiao, did you sleep well?” Venti asks, readjusting his position as he looks up at his student from his slightly lower position on the bed. “Xiao?” he asks, moving his hand to take the martial artist’s from his face. 

The guitarist can’t help but avert his gaze with a blush as he bites his lip. Man, this headache is killing him. “Good morning, Venti, I slept fine thanks to you,” he replies, eyeing the half empty glass of water on his nightstand and the jacket from last night placed on a stray chair. 

Venti smiles and takes his hand back to snuggle further into the blankets, “well that’s good, I slept fine once I was done cleaning up your vomit from my person,” he giggles as he teases him.

The martial artist’s head whips over to look at his partner with wide eyes and a terrified expression, “did I really throw up on you?” he asks with a tremble to his tone. The shop owner simply nods with an empathetic smile. Xiao lets his head fall back on his pillow harshly despite his increasingly worsening headache, “Venti, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to. I normally never drink,” he apologizes.

“It’s okay, it happens and I didn’t mind taking care of you. I did steal your clothes and take a shower, though, with your consent, of course,” he replies, attempting to make light of the situation as he watches Xiao’s lashes move every time he blinks. The guitarist looks over at his teacher and their eyes meet and Venti smiles at him softly, sweetly, genuinely. It makes Xiao’s heart melt in ways one can’t simply imagine. He can’t help returning the smile, feeling a little bit better now that he knows what really happened last night. At least, almost all of what really happened last night. 

Xiao frowns, looking to the side shyly, “did we.. did I do anything out of line last night?” he asks. Venti eyes the guitarist, taking in his shy and bashful expression as he shifts closer to Xiao on the bed. His head is now almost on Xiao’s stomach as he looks up at his student through his lashes. 

“You tried to kiss me,” he says with big blue and green eyes, the blankets he had wrapped around him covering half his face so one can only see his eyes. Xiao’s heart stops and his hands start to shake as he begins thinking of a multitude of different ways to apologize and make it up to Venti. 

“Venti, I-“

“I would have let you.” What. Now his heart has stopped for a completely different reason. Did Venti just openly admit to wanting to kiss Xiao back? Is this a dream? Is he dreaming? He feels as though he should ask if he’s allowed to even be relieved and hopeful by that reply. 

“Would have?” he asks, instead. Venti shifts his gaze to graze over the contents of Xiao’s spacious room before replying. He looks over the open closet door as well as the half empty cup of water and the jacket. 

“Your breath literally smelled like throw up and probably tasted like it too. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to kiss someone who tastes like last night’s dinner,” Venti teases, stretching his legs underneath the covers. 

“Oh,” a pause, “yeah that does make sense,” Venti can’t help but giggle at his student’s reply. Xiao looks at the top of Venti’s head, snuggled closely to his side, but still not actually touching him, “..does that mean you would have kissed me otherwise?” he dares to ask. 

Venti’s reply is immediate and Xiao’s heartbeat quickens, “yes, I would have.” The martial artist doesn’t know what to do, his crush just admitted to liking him back without saying the words. Does this mean he has a chance? It’s at least an opportunity for sure.

Xiao rests a hand and arm around Venti’s shoulders as he goes to speak, “that’s such a re-“ he’s cut off by the door opening to Aether once more. The blonde eyes the two from their place on the bed and he smiles apologetically.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt, but your breakfast is getting cold,” he apologizes, hand still on the doorknob.

“What did you make?” Venti asks, leaning into Xiao’s side despite Aether’s presence. Xiao can see the slightly embarrassed blush across the flutist’s cheeks, but he feels it better not to comment on it. 

“I made sausage and biscuits with eggs and gravy and Almond Tofu for dessert,” Aether smiles proudly, standing a little straighter than he was before. Venti’s eyes sparkle and Xiao swears he can hear his own stomach growl.

The shop owner hums, tossing the blankets from himself and sliding out of Xiao’s grasp and off the bed to follow Aether to the kitchen. Xiao goes to do the same after he remakes his bed and takes a pill to make his headache go away with the half empty glass of water. 

He can taste the taste of residue puke on his lips and in the water and gags. Venti really should have forced him to brush his teeth last night, but the guitarist doesn’t think too much more about it as he goes to close his bedroom door and change into something more comfortable. Once he’s settled in some sweats and a loose shirt, he grabs the glass from his nightstand and heads into the kitchen. 

Xiao sets the empty glass down on the counter by the sink and Aether eyes him as he turns back towards the hallway, “hey, where you going?” he asks. 

“I’m going to brush my teeth, my breath smells horrible and I can taste the vomit on my tongue,” he replies, glancing over at Venti who gives him a knowing look as he shoves a biscuit dipped with gravy in his mouth. Xiao just rolls his eyes lightly, with a small amused smile as he turns back to the hallway and heads to the bathroom. 

By the time he’s finished, Lumine is up and grumpily eating her food made with much care from her brother. She’s not upset at anyone, she’s just clearly not a morning person. Next to her seat is an open spot for Xiao and next to that open spot is a seat for Venti. Aether is standing up and facing them as he leans on the counter to eat his portion of the food. Why he chooses to eat like this? Xiao will never know. 

They all peacefully eat in silence for a while before Venti decides to break it, having spotted a hair clip on Xiao’s island counter, “this is Klee’s,” he comments like everyone is supposed to know who that is. 

Xiao glances over at the clip in his teacher’s hands, swallowing a bite of his food before he responds, “oh, a little girl gave that to me. She was with a long haired blonde man with a star tattoo on his neck and a very long, green-haired woman with glasses. It was an apology gift for not believing me when I told her that I wasn’t the young lady’s brother just because I have green hair,” he explains. 

Venti barks out a laugh as he places the clip back down on the counter and takes a stab at his food again, “of course Klee would do that,” he says, munching on his bite of food. Xiao looks at him questioningly as does everyone else.It takes a few beats of silence before Venti realizes they’ve all stopped eating to look at him. “What?” he asks around a mouthful of food. 

He looks around at them all and swallows his food nervously when Lumine throws him a rope and glances at the hair clip and then back to Venti. “Oh!” he says as if it’s so obvious, and it is, “Klee is the little sister of a friend of mine, Albedo. Well, at least I think we're friends,” he explains. You think? Xiao wants to ask, but he doesn’t get the chance.

“Xiao, do you remember the first time we met, I had all those hair clips in my hair and my nails were painted?” he asks, looking over to the guitarist. Xiao nods, a look of recognition on his face, “yeah, Klee is the little girl who dressed me up like that. I was babysitting for a little bit.”

“Small world,” Aether comments, moving to clean off his plate in the sink. The rest of breakfast moves by slowly, with Lumine passing out on the couch again afterwards and Aether coming to join Venti and Xiao in the guitarist’s bedroom so as to not disturb Lumine’s sleep. 

Xiao takes his previous spot on his bed as does Venti and Aether sits in front of them both as he moves some of the blanket onto his lap. “Sorry, me and Lumine didn’t plan anything to do the following day after the party. Speaking of, did you not have work today, Venti?“ Aether apologizes, as if he was supposed to plan anything afterwards.

“No, I actually own the music store and I’m the only worker there. I think I remember you coming in with Xiao that night,” he replies, also going underneath Xiao’s blanket. It seems like his bed must be comfortable for his two companions seeing as they make themselves right at home. 

“Right, and yes I did come with Xiao, but he stayed for forever and I got hungry so I went home first,” the blonde says, eyeing Xiao with an unheated glare. Xiao gives him a look as if they’re having a silent conversation: you know why I was in there for long, I apologized AND treated you to food too. I know, Xiao, I’m just kidding. 

Venti scratches his head, giving Aether an apologetic look, “yeah, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean for it to take so long.” Both Aether and Xiao turn to him and unison, but Xiao beats the blonde to speak first.

“Don’t worry about it, I already apologized and treated him to food. Don’t let his innocent face fool you,” Xiao responds, playfully glaring at Aether who smiles innocently back with a tilt to his head. 

“If you guys are down for it, we can go out to the mall or something of the sort since we all have off today,” Aether suggests, playing with his fingers in his lap.

“I would be fine with that, but I’d need to run to the store and get changed, I didn’t know I’d be allowed to stay so long,” Venti replies, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to detangle it. Allowed? Why wouldn’t he be allowed to stay long? That makes it sound as if he has no right to hang out with his friends. And if he doesn’t, yet, consider Aether and Lumine his friends as well, then it makes it sound like he has no right to hang out with Xiao. First the comment about how he thinks Klee’s brother is his friend and now this? How little is Venti’s self worth?

When the guitarist goes to bring this concern to light, Aether speaks over him, “sure, I can go with you while Xiao takes a shower. Lumine’s forced us both to take showers before bed otherwise she wouldn’t let me sleep on the couch with her,” he grumbles. “I didn’t even get dirty or smell bad! And we slept on opposite ends! I swear Lumine makes no sense sometimes.”

Venti laughs lightly as he nods and Xiao can’t help but still be bothered by his previous words, but he has no time to talk as the two leave his bed and head for the door. This is only after Aether hands Venti his clothes from last night. He tells him that when they— Aether and Lumine— came home last night the washing machine was running. By the time it stopped, they just switched it over to the dryer and took their showers before bed. 

The flutist thanks him and folds his clothes over his arm. He could just change into them now and leave Xiao’s here instead of having to bring them back, but he would rather be comfortable than wear something so fancy first thing in the morning. The two chat their way out of the house with Aether excitedly asking if he can help pick out Venti’s outfit, to which the shop owner replies ‘yes’ with a giggle. 

Once the two are gone, Xiao takes a shower of his own and remakes his bed after it was wrecked by his two friends again. With a towel still on his head and lounging clothes on, he walks into the living room to be greeted by a very much awake-looking Lumine. She gives him a knowing look and that’s when Xiao knows he’s done for, so with a pat to the couch, Lumine beckons him over and he goes, sitting down next to her. 

“I thought you were asleep,” he comments dumbly, picking at his nails. 

“The two boys woke me up with their giggling,” she responds flatly, looking at Xiao. Silence falls over them for a bit and Xiao grows more and more nervous for the attack he knows is coming. “So..” she trails, “did you guys fuck?” There it is. 

“Lumine,” he groans with a hand over his face, attempting to cover his raging blush. Lumine laughs, her hands and shoulders lifting in defense as she blinks at him.

“What?! It’s a perfectly reasonable question!” she says, “when we came home you two were snuggled up in your bed and Venti’s clothes were in the washing machine and he was wearing your clothes. You can’t tell me that’s not exactly what it looks like.”

Okay, so it looks exactly like that, but that isn’t what happened. “We didn’t,” he responds, looking at Lumine like she’s crazy.

“Really? Then why were his clothes dirty and why was the shower used ,” she replies, suggesting such a dirty thing. This causes Xiao to blush even more and he shoves a couch pillow in her face which she uses to smack him with. He doesn’t want to have to admit to her he threw up on Venti, but it seems like the only way out.

“I threw up on him by accident, he tried to give me water to sober me up and I threw up on him,” he admits shamefully, “so he asked to borrow some clothes and use my shower.” Lumine looks at him with her jaw dropped and Xiao gives her a pleading look, but it doesn’t work. She bursts out laughing.

“ You threw up on him?!” she repeats with a laugh, “ Xiao! ”

“Look, I know, I already apologized and he said it was fine,” he grumbles, sliding a hand down his face as he sits back against the couch feeling completely defeated. But apparently that wasn’t enough teasing for Lumine.

“Then how did he end up in your bed at the end of the night?” she asks, resting her forearms on the pillow in her lap; the same one she used to smack Xiao with. 

Xiao actually doesn’t know the answer to that question, so he answers honestly, “I don’t know.”

“ You don’t know ?” she asks, as if she doesn’t understand his language. But he’s pretty sure whether he spoke the common tongue or Liyuean, she would still understand. 

“My memories are still jumbled from last night, all I remember is little bits of what he told me,” the guitarist takes a breath, preparing himself, “..He said I tried to kiss him,” he decides to tell her, hesitantly.

“Tried?” Lumine asks, looking at him with concern. 

Xiao picks at his nails as he speaks, “tried. I totally understand why, though, and it’s fine because he said he would have kissed me had that not been the situation,” he explains vaguely to get back at Lumine for even making him have this conversation. He bites his cheek to stop himself from smiling as he feels his best friend’s rage grow. Then it bursts.

“Okay, I know it’s my fault for even asking about all this, but you cannot just leave me hanging like this,” she says exasperatedly. Xiao gives her the side eye as he dramatically crosses his arms and looks away from her.

“I don’t know. Seems like a very good reason as to why I can leave you hanging,” he responds in fake defiance. He laughs when Lumine starts stuttering her way into convincing him to tell her before he takes pity on her and explains. “He said it was after I threw up on him because my breath smelled like vomit and he didn’t want to kiss me if I tasted like it too. Not to mention, I was flat out drunk ; it would have probably felt wrong to kiss someone who couldn’t properly consent,” he explains, “even though I was the one to initiate it.”

Lumine nods in understanding and silence falls over them again as the blonde processes this information and Xiao lets her. To be honest, even he, himself, hasn’t even fully processed the happenings of last night, and he doesn’t think he ever will. It’s just too much of a dream come true with Venti confessing that he likes Xiao back. 

In this open space of silence, the door to his apartment reopens and in comes a laughing Aether and Venti. Seems the two are getting along nicely then, that’s good. Xiao and Lumine look at each other and then back towards the corridor to see their two other friends. 

“Oh, Lumine, you’re awake,” Aether comments, holding Xiao’s clothes instead of Venti. Aether goes to put them in the hamper before coming back to stand next to Venti who is properly dressed for the day with a backpack now around his shoulders. 

He adorns a green beret with white designs as well as a fluffy white sweater and dark green shorts. His socks look as though they would peak above the rims of his shoes and his rings are gone and replaced by braided bracelets. Venti also has decorative band-aids on each knee and his hair is back to being braided. As beautiful as ever , Xiao thinks. 

“I have been ever since you guys left louder than elephants on the roof,” she scowls.

“That’s actually not possible, elephants would break the roof,” Aether replies, knowing full well she knows that’s impossible as well.

“It was a metaphor, Aether,” she bickers back.

“Shouldda made that more clear, then,” he snaps back with a mischievous grin. Lumine huffs and throws the pillow in her lap at him and he catches it throwing it back at her who catches it also. 

Xiao and Venti just laugh at their bantering before Aether goes to change and Lumine does the same, only in Xiao’s room instead of the bathroom. Venti comes to sit on the couch beside Xiao and he sighs, turning to look at him who tilts his head.

“So, did you get the same ‘did you guys do it’ talk or was that just me?” Venti asks and Xiao finds himself laughing nervously once more, this time with a blush. 

“Yes, I did and you’re lucky you got Aether, Lumine is ruthless ,” Xiao scoffs, as he watches Venti lean back on the couch and lay one leg over his ankle. Xiao turns to face him completely as does Venti and he lets his head rest on the back of the couch as he watches the flutist. 

“If you consider Aether attempting to give me tips as lucky, then I wouldn’t be too sure,” Venti replies with a smirk, and Xiao groans, dragging a hand down his face.

“They really are twins, huh. Both don’t know what the word ‘boundaries’ means,” Xiao grumbles, resting the back of his hand on his knee dramatically when it falls from his face. Venti slides his fingers between Xiao’s on his open palm and squeezes, which causes Xiao to look at him.

When their eyes meet, Venti smiles and Xiao smiles back, squeezing his hand again. They sit like that for a moment, just basking in each other’s presence before a voice from the hall makes them both jump out of their skin, but they don’t pull away from each other. 

Aether is shoved out from around the corner and he stumbles, almost falling to the floor before he catches himself and straightens out his posture. He smiles nervously at Xiao and Venti before giving a small wave and turning his head to glare at Lumine. The two on the couch give each other a look of confusion before Venti shrugs his shoulders and scoots closer to Xiao on the couch when the twins come to sit down next to them. 

“We didn’t want to interrupt,” Aether clarifies as he seats himself next to the guitarist. Xiao just waves him off with his free hand that isn’t holding Venti’s. “You should go get changed so we can head out,” the blonde suggests.

“Yeah, probably,” Xiao sighs, standing up and letting Venti’s hand slip out of his own. The flutist watches the motion as his student leaves to go change as Lumine finds her spot where Xiao once was as she stretches.

“So,” she trails,” where do you both feel like going?” Aether hums in thought, picking at a loose string from his clothes even though Lumine has told him countless times not to do that. “We should make Xiao go clothes shopping.”

“Clothes shopping?” Venti makes the mistake of asking. Lumine and Aether give him deadpanned stares simultaneously and he feels himself shrink. With an awkward smile, the flutist chuckles nervously and pushes some of his hair to the side.

“Have you seen that man’s wardrobe? He has absolutely no style,” Lumine explains as she watches Xiao come out from his room. The man in question crosses his arms over his chest and shifts his weight to one foot as he glares at the twins. His outfit consists of just black jeans, a tight shirt that shows off his defining features, and a sweatshirt over it. 

Okay, maybe the twins are right. Xiao has no concept of style. In fact, he barely looks his age, but to be fair that could also be due to his height. Venti stifles a laugh and Xiao’s eyes slide over to him he blushes feeling betrayed. 

“No, no, it’s not what it—“ a laugh at Xiao's growing frown, “it’s not what it looks like, I swear. They’re lying! Your fashion sense is just very.. unique,” Venti tries, holding a hand over his mouth to stop himself from bursting out into a fit of laughter. 

“ Unique? ” Xiao asks in fiat tone with a raised eyebrow and a disbelieving look. That’s all it takes for Aether to burst out laughing and shortly after Lumine and Venti follow all the while Xiao is standing there shaking his head. Of course he knows his friends wouldn’t actually hurt his feelings by making fun of his clothes and if he’s honest, his fashion sense really does suck. 

Once everyone is settled down, they all grab their things and hop into Aether and Lumine’s car, this time Aether is driving. They roll down the windows and let the summer breeze kiss their skin gently as they try to relax before all the walking they’ll have to do. Today, the sun is shining as brightly as ever and the city noise never fails to provide a nice melody in the background. Aside from the random playful screams of small children, that is. 

It doesn’t take long for them to arrive at the mall, having to park, sadly, far away from the entrance. Maybe if they had arrived earlier in the day— right now being around noon— they would have had a better chance at finding a closer spot. But alas, they make do and head their way into the big supercenter filled with lots of different people living lots of different lives. 

As per usual, Xiao’s breath shortens and he finds himself keenly aware that it’s hard to breath, but after a few seconds of controlling his breathing and settling down his mind, he is able to relax somewhat. It normally takes him just getting over the initial overwhelming feeling of a crowded place before he can settle his racing heart and realize it’s not so bad. Aether seems to recognize this routine and he bumps his shoulder against Xiao’s, “you gonna be okay?” 

Xiao nods, “yeah, I will. You guys are with me so I should be fine; just give me a few moments to adjust,” he affirms. Aether seems to accept that answer as he nods as well, turning back to face the rest of the group as they walk seemingly aimlessly. 

Lumine leads them into the first shop that catches her eye which is a shop filled to the brim with all sorts of sports related items, but she immediately finds her way to the tennis section. Not many people know, but Lumine actually plays tennis regularly. She used to be on a competitive team, but since her job requires her to leave a lot, she’s had to just settle for playing locally when she can.

One time she challenged Xiao to a match and he got his ass completely handed to him, he can still remember the amount of bruises and scrapes he acquired from falling and tripping over his own two feet to try and get the ball. Xiao shivers and Venti eyes him warily, but doesn’t mention it. 

Aether makes his way over to the volleyball section of the store, also having been involved in a sport himself. Just as Lumine was, Aether was once in a competitive team for volleyball and just as Lumine had to, he had to switch to just playing locally when he could. Believe it or not, Aether was actually his team’s ace. Despite being quite short, the blonde can pack quite the punch and he can jump insanely high. Sometimes Xiao associates him with those cute, innocent-looking toys that can turn angry when you flip them over. 

Xiao follows him over as does Venti, leaving Lumine to her own interests. Now, volleyball is a sport Xiao actually does know how to play. He and Aether used to play together a lot, but the guitarist never joined a team nor did he wish to. The game just isn’t something he could put his full heart into and practice more for. To him, it’s just a fun activity he and his best friend could do together, unlike Taekwondo, which he ended up getting a job in. 

“You think it’s worth getting new knee pads?” Aether asks, his hand on his chin as he looks over all the different brands in thought. Venti looks over them as well, stepping back to give the blonde more space when he shuffles to the side to see even more different brands.

“You said your old ones are basically torn, if I remember correctly,” Xiao points out, crossing his arms as he unconsciously leans closer to Venti. He can’t help it, the guitarist always finds himself accidentally gravitating towards his teacher whether he realizes it or not. 

“I would say that’s a pretty good reason to get some new ones then,” Venti suggests, his hands gripping the straps of his backpack as he rocks back and forth on his feet. Aether nods, squinting in concentration as he looks over which brand to choose from. 

At that moment, Lumine slides up beside them, holding a new sun visor that she got her name custom stitched onto. “Look, they had this cool machine that lets you stitch anything you want on the top of your sun visor, so I put my name,” she explains excitedly. 

Venti and Xiao eye the hat, “it looks really nice, Lumine. Are you gonna wear it for the local tournament coming up?” Venti asks, brushing his fingers over the stitching. Aether accidentally bumps into Xiao’s back, but he quickly apologizes as he goes back to looking for knee pads. He’s so picky.

Lumine nods, “yeah, that’s what I planned to do. Is Aether looking for new knee pads?” she asks, putting her hat back in her bag that came with her purchase.

“Yes, he’s being as picky as always about it, though,” Xiao laughs lightly, turning back to see Aether holding up two different packages of two different brands to compare them.

“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Lumine smiles. They wait for the longer haired blonde to choose which pair he would rather have before they check out their items and head off to the next store. 

Aether leads them around this time, weaving between groups of people and different kiosks that sell all sorts of things from phones accessories, to small candies and treats. The group sticks close together so as to not be separated over the loud noise and dense crowd, though, multiple mall cops can be seen walking around or standing idly as they watch over passerbys. 

When a store finally catches Aether’s eye, they make a sharp right and head into a Lego store. As much as Aether is sporty, he is nerdy. His chosen job is photography and he plays video games and watches multiple mainstream shows on the daily if he’s not playing volleyball or working. He also enjoys reading quite a bit and got Xiao into it as well. Lumine, not so much. She prefers her tennis, job, and cooking. 

The group follows the volleyball player’s lead as he moves about the store to see their new and latest sets. Back home at Lumine and Aether’s place are shelves upon shelves of the different Lego sets Aether has made over the years, Lumine even helped with some of them which makes those ones especially special. 

Aether and Lumine chat over one they decide they might want to do together as Venti and Xiao observe them patiently. Venti’s eyes can’t seem to focus on one thing as he looks all around the store and out the shop windows. His feet seem to lead him instead of his mind as Xiao follows, the two of them going to look at the example displays of already made Lego sets.

“Have you ever made a set with them before?” Venti asks, looking at an exceptionally big build. Xiao purses his lips as he shifts his weight to one foot, more so looking at Venti than the Lego set in front of them.

“I have; only once, though, I didn’t feel like I was helping much because Aether was already so skilled. He tasked me with assembling the smaller pieces that he would later put together all on his own. So, part of me wants to say yes as well as no,” Xiao explains. 

Venti nods, still observing the build before he turns to Xiao and smiles, pointing at the set he’s been staring at, “wanna build one together?” Xiao can’t hide the shock on his face as his posture loosens in his surprise and he blinks. Build one together? That does seem like a fun idea.

He nods, “sure, that could be fun.” Venti smiles at him and he goes to pick up the box of legos before going over to the cashier and paying for it. Xiao pays this time because Venti paid for their ice cream last time. When the flutist argues that the prices aren’t even close to being similar, Xiao hushes him and pays for it anyways. 

By the time they’re done paying, they find that Lumine and Aether have been waiting for them by the entrance with their bags in hand. Venti waves to them with the hand that isn’t holding their bag, having refused to let Xiao hold it in defiance for letting him pay. They wave back and head out of the Lego store. 

For the third time, they navigate their way through the crowds and around spilled drinks and food on the ground. One kid throws up on the floor, so they have to hold their breaths as they pass to avoid inhaling that awful smell. Maybe this is what Venti felt like when Xiao threw up on him. Bad memories..

Venti pulls his new friends into a pet store and this seems to catch everyone off guard as he makes his way to the reptile section of the store, looking at heating lamps. His eyes run up and down the shelves, supposedly looking for the brand he normally goes with, but he can’t seem to find it. 

“You own a reptile?” Lumine asks, propping her hand on her hip as she looks over all the animal products. Venti nods his head, crouching down to be able to read the labels better.

“I do, his name is Dvalin. He’s a bearded dragon,” Venti replies like it’s nothing and, really, it should be nothing, but there’s something about Venti that didn’t make him seem like the type of person to own a pet. 

Venti ignores their questioning stares as he goes to grab a lamp out from the shelf and read the labels on it as well as its important details. The group watches him do so, waiting patiently for him as he has the others. When he finds what he needs, he brings it to the checkout and purchases it quickly, leading his friends out of the pet store afterwards. 

Finally it’s down to Xiao to pick out their final store, but he’s not sure where to go, so he stops in front of a map on an information board, looking it over. From his knowledge, he doesn’t really need anything and he’s pretty sure the comment on his clothes is only half a joke, but he doesn’t feel like going clothes shopping right now.

He turns, seemingly making up his mind on where he wants to go when a voice interrupts him, “Master Xiao!” the voice calls and Xiao immediately recognizes it to be Chongyun’s. The guitarist turns in the direction of his voice and is greeted by a very pale looking Chongyun. 

“ Please hide me, Master Xiao, Xingqiu is trying to make me eat spicy food again! ” Chongyun hurries out in Liyuean, seemingly unaware of Xiao’s other companions. When he does become aware of them, though, he blushes and offers a small wave, “oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see that you were busy,” he apologizes in the common tongue.

“Oh, my dearest, Yunyun!” another voice calls and Xiao reacts on instinct, shoving Chongyun behind his person when Xingqiu comes up to him and his friends. “Master Xiao! Have you seen Chongyun anywhere? He’s refusing to finish his food,” Xingqiu asks, playing dumb because it’s painfully obvious that Chongyun is behind his master. 

“I haven’t, are you trying to feed him spicy food again, Xingqiu?” Xiao asks, crossing his arms and moving in front of the dark blue-haired boy’s line of sight every time he tries to look past him. 

“Of course not! He just refuses to finish his food, it’d be such a waste to throw it all away,” he smiles mischievously, his hands innocently clasped behind his back. Xiao squints at him, wishing he was taller than Xingqiu right now. 

With one quick movement, Xingqiu makes an attempt to grab Chongyun’s hand, but Xiao is quicker and grabs his wrist instead. “If he doesn’t want to eat the food you shouldn’t force him,” Xiao scolds, lightly, looking at Chongyun over his shoulder. The lighter haired boy looks back at him with pleading eyes, and Xiao sighs, releasing Xingqiu.

“Fine, fine. I won’t, but just give me my boyfriend back,” Xingqiu says, the word ‘boyfriend’ being said in Liyuean to try and save some of his privacy in the crowd around him. Unfortunately for him, Xiao is fluent and Aether and Lumine know enough to understand that word. Fortunately, Venti is clueless. 

Xiao turns to look at Chongyun over his shoulder and the lighter haired boy gulps nervously, removing his hands from where they were clasped tightly together before returning to Xingqiu’s side. Chongyun places a hand on the back of Xingqiu’s head and forces him to bow alongside him in an apology to Xiao and his group of friends.

“I’m sorry about this,” Chongyun apologizes, fidgeting with his hands nervously. Chongyun also isn’t very good in new social situations either, but he’s not as good at hiding it as Xiao is. Must be their age difference. 

The martial artist just crosses his arms and shakes his head, “it’s no problem, you weren’t interrupting anything,” Xiao says, looking over the two kids who glance over to his friends. 

Venti comes up to Xiao’s side and offers his hand first, “hello! I’m Venti, Xiao’s..” he trails off, looking at Xiao nervously and unsure before he continues, “I’m Xiao’s close friend,” he decides on saying. 

“ Close friend, huh ?” Xingqiu comments under his breath in Liyuean with a smirk, crossing his arms almost in challenge to Xiao. Chongyun, swings a hand over to pinch him and Xingqiu hisses and rubs the place he was injured. 

“ Be respectful, Master Xiao is my master at the dojo, you know this ,” Chongyun hisses back in their native tongue, crossing his arms with a pout, his weight shifted to one side as he eyes his boyfriend. Xiao just sighs and shakes his head. Poor Chongyun, having to put up with such a mischievous partner. It doesn’t matter much to Xiao, though, as long as they love each other. 

Venti chuckles nervously, unsure what to think of this display, seeing as he can’t understand what they’re saying. Xiao is eternally grateful for that fact right now. Chongyun takes Venti’s hand first and shakes it gently, “I am Chongyun, one of Master Xiao’s students at the dojo, this is my partner, Xingqiu,” he says, gesturing to the darker blue-haired boy. Venti smiles, wearily, shaking his hand back before shaking Xingqiu’s. 

“Lumine,” Lumine says, holding out her hand for them both to shake. The two boys do before turning to look at Aether, who has been beginning to doze off, probably too tired from all their walking and having been the first to wake up. Lumine jabs an elbow into his side and he inhales sharply, glaring at her.

He moves forward when his sister nods her head in the two students’ direction, holding out his hand, “Aether, Lumine is my twin sister,” he explains, shaking both of their hands. Chongyun nods as does Xingqiu and they all let silence fall over them for a moment.

Venti looks at Xiao nervously and Xiao looks back, smiling empathetically. He probably thought Xingqiu disapproved of him in some way. “ You should apologize to, Venti. The way you muttered under you breath like that in a foreign language did not give him the best of first impressions, ” Xiao decides to say in Liyuean, as to not make Xingqiu feel too bad. He is still only young after all. 

Chongyun nods, going to apologize to Venti when Xiao lifts a hand with his eyes closed before motioning to Xingqiu, not him. When he is met with silence, Xiao opens his eyes and locks his gaze with Xingqiu who stares back at him defiantly. The guitarist can’t help but wonder just how hard it is for Xingqiu, someone who’s normally always right, to admit he was wrong and apologize. From what Xiao can tell, the boy normally is very well mannered with a strong sense of justice, must be having a bad day then. 

With a sigh, Xingqiu speaks, a look of guilt crossing his features, “I didn’t say anything bad about you when I spoke in Liyuean. So, don’t worry, I was just being sassy. Sorry if you misunderstood,” he apologizes, a hand over his chest. That seems to do the trick and Venti smiles happily, laughing away his nerves. 

“Phew, that’s good, it’d be a shame if Xiao’s student and his boyfriend didn’t like me when I barely even spoke,” he laughs, scratching the back of his neck. The two boys nod before explaining how they must take their leave and the group watches them go, Xingqiu looping his arm around Chongyun’s as they stick close together. Xiao finds himself smiling lightly at his student’s public display of affection. It's a cute sight to see.

“Guys, I think I’m gonna head out to the car and wait, I’m getting very tired,” Aether yawns, rubbing his eyes. Seems as though that whole situation really tuckered him out some more. 

“That’s fine, I can come with you. My feet hurt,” she says, with a knowing look being thrown Xiao’s way. Xiao attempts to hide his blush and he nods. “Want me to take this to the car for you guys?” she asks, reaching for Venti’s bags. 

“Sure, that would be nice. Thank you,” Venti replies, handing her his things. 

“Yeah, of course, you remember where we parked right?” she responds, arm around Aether’s so he doesn’t fall over from exhaustion. Looks like Lumine will be driving home tonight. The two nod at her and she nods back, “I’ll see you guys in a bit then. Don’t take forever!” Then she’s gone alongside Aether and they’re left alone together in the mall.

“Uh, I forgot which store I was going to suggest we go to,” Xiao admits, picking at his nails as he looks at Venti. Venti slides a hand down his wrist and into the guitarist’s grasp in an attempt to make him stop his bad habit, is his excuse anyways. If Venti doesn’t remove his hand from Xiao’s, they don’t mention it. 

Comfortable silence falls over them as they continue walking through the mall hand in hand, smelling the food all the way from the food court. They eventually decide to head into a music store, unlike Venti’s it sells vinyls, and cds, as well as radios and the like. Instead of physical instruments, they sell speakers and microphones.

Venti’s eyes catch on a music stand being sold and he speaks, “I saw the music stand in your living room; so you’re actually practicing then?” he asks, smiling at the martial artist with the most dopey of smiles.

“Of course I am, why wouldn’t I be?” Xiao asks seriously, not understanding why he wouldn’t actually be practicing for Venti’s lessons and listening to him. Listening to him. Unsure if he’s friends with someone. Being allowed to stay— does he realize what he’s saying? “Venti, did you seriously think I wouldn’t actually practice when you told me to?” The guitarist asks, face scrunched up with concern.

Venti’s smile turns sad and nervous as he scratches his cheek with his free hand, “sort of. Well not sort of, yes I did,” he admits, unable to look Xiao in the eyes. Xiao sighs, moving to stand in front of him as he removes his hand from Venti’s and places them on the flutist’s cheeks. As gently as he can, he makes Venti look at him who now has blossoming tears in his eyes. Xiao’s heart aches.

“Venti, I will always listen to you. I would never take anything you say for granted and I wouldn’t promise to do something and then not do it. That’s not something you do to someone you..” he trails, “to someone you care about,” he says with full confidence. Venti’s eyes shine as he gazes into Xiao’s 

Xiao rubs a thumb over Venti’s cheek where one of his tears falls and Venti flinches, not even realizing he’s started to cry. The shop owner brings his hands to his face and rubs away his tears, he places his hands over Xiao’s on his cheeks and nods, “okay, I understand,” he says with a sniffle. After a few beats of silence he speaks again, quieter this time, “thank you,” he says.

“You don’t need to thank me,” Xiao replies, dropping his hands from Venti’s face and clasping one of his once more. “C’mon, let’s head back out to the car, Aether and Lumine are waiting.” 

The two make their way out of the mall and back out to the parking lot where the sun is finally starting to set and cars are finally starting to leave. They weave their wave through the rows of vehicles and pedestrians until they arrive back at Lumine and Aether’s car. The windows are rolled down and Aether is asleep soundly in the passenger seat, Lumine is wide away playing games on her phone in the driver's seat. 

“Took you long enough, she says,” not even looking back at them as they hop in the car. To other people it would seem as though she’s being disrespectful by speaking so loudly next to Aether when in reality her brother sleeps as hard as a rock. 

“We got caught up in something. We should head home now so Aether can sleep in his own bed,” Xiao says, buckling his seatbelt as Venti does the same. Once Lumine finishes whatever round of whatever game she is playing, she, too, buckles her seatbelt and starts the engine to the car.

They pull out of the mall parking lot and head off to Venti’s place first considering they’d pass it before they reached Xiao’s house. Light conversation is made on the drive back such as how they all had fun and how Venti came up with the idea of drawing something non-permanent on Aether’s face. They all laugh lightly about it before they arrive at Four Winds Music Store and Xiao ‘helps’ Venti bring in the bags.

“Today was fun, I enjoyed it,” Venti says, taking the bag Xiao is carrying from him so he can bring it up stairs once he leaves. “..Maybe we can do it again some time,” Venti suggests, looking at Xiao through his lashes.

“Sure we can, I’ll just ask Lumine and Aeth-“ 

“Just us,” Venti cuts in, “next time, let it be just us.” Xiao’s brain short circuits as he blinks, processing the words that were just said to him. Just us. Just the two of them. Like a date.

Venti giggles and Xiao’s suddenly snapped back to reality. He clears his throat, “ah, yes of course. Just us. I would like that,” he affirms, smiling at Venti who smiles back.

Then Venti leans in and cups Xiao’s face in his hands and the guitarist’s breath catches in his throat, but Venti’s lips move past his own and land on his cheek. The flutist plants a soft kiss to Xiao’s cheek before stepping back and clasping his hands in front of him. With big green eyes he speaks with a smile on his lips, “then it’s a date.” 

*

Xiao sits down heavily in the backseat— although he feels weightless— of Lumine and Aether’s car as he processes what just happened. The shorter blonde eyes her friend in the rear view mirror as she turns on the vehicle and pulls away from the curb. “You look like you’re glowing, did something happen?” she asks, suspiciously.

It takes a moment before Xiao responds, “I have a date with Venti this weekend and he kissed me on the cheek,” he says breathlessly like he can’t believe it. And really, he hardly can. 

“ What?! ” she yells and accidentally swerves the car causing Aether’s head to bump into the door and wake him up with a groan and a shout of Lumine’s name. She hurriedly apologizes before resuming her focus on Xiao. “Are you serious?!”

“One-hundred percent,” Xiao nods. 

“Holy shit! Xiao’s got a date!” Lumine says with a raised voice. She smiles excitedly as well and this draws Aether’s attention, he gasps with a disbelieving ‘what?!’. Xiao laughs lightly; twins.

The mood on the car ride to drop Xiao off is incredibly high. 

Chapter Text

One would think the fact that Xiao and Venti talk nonstop all day and all week in addition to their weekly flute lessons would make him less nervous for their date in just a few minutes, but it doesn’t. If anything it makes him more nervous because now he’ll have to flirt in person . The guitarist doesn’t know if he’s charismatic enough for that. 

What does help, though, is knowing the fact that they’ve each had a mutual crush on each other for the past month or so. This makes coming to the decision of asking Venti out very easy. The execution? Not so much. If everything goes according to plan, they’ll have a fun time at the arcade eating food and laughing and by the end of the night he will ask Venti and he will say yes. That’s if everything goes accordingly.

So, without further ado, Xiao parks his bike right outside Venti’s shop and walks right on in. He looks around the store expecting to see Venti, but comes up empty handed, so he reaches for his phone in the pocket of his pants. The guitarist is wearing a fitted turtleneck sweater and decent looking pants with a belt around his waist. His rings are shiney where they are littered across his fingers and the dog tag around his neck is just the same. He ended up never taking out the black stud in his ear from the party.

Xiao unlocks his phone and opens Venti’s contact which has become an inside joke between them after Xiao told the flutist how Aether pronounced his name.

————————

[Me] I’m here

[Vennie] look up :>

Seen 18:15

———————

The guitarist looks up from his phone and has to consciously keep his jaw closed. He can’t ever seem to grasp or get over just how beautiful Venti is. The star shaped earrings are back and his sweatshirt hangs off a shoulder and covers the top of his shorts. His clothes are so simple but they don’t ever fail to enunciate Venti’s beauty. His nails are painted white and his bracelets are still on his wrists.

“Hey,” Xiao says, slipping his phone into his pocket, “I hope you’re not afraid of motorcycles?” Venti walks up to the guitarist and plants himself inside Xiao’s personal space bubble without hesitation. Xiao finds himself blushing as he maintains eye contact with his date for tonight and hopefully many more nights to come.

“Nope,” Venti says, popping the last syllable. Xiao’s hand slips into Venti’s effortlessly, but hesitantly. Hopefully the flutist doesn’t think this is overstepping and hopefully his palms aren’t as sweaty as he thinks they are.

The martial artist leads his partner out the door of the store and to his bike, taking the helmet from it and safely securing it over Venti’s head. “Sorry, you’ll have to use mine. Didn’t have time to buy one last minute,” Xiao explains, checking one last time to make sure it’s tight enough.

“I don’t mind,” Venti says, watching as Xiao tosses a leg over his bike. The guitarist motions for him to sit behind him and when he does, Venti’s hands are grabbed and curled around Xiao’s waist.

“Don’t let go and hold on tightly, lean into me if you need,” Xiao tells him before removing his hands from Venti’s and starting the motorcycle. The martial artist ties his hair up, bangs escaping, before he turns around one last time to get a thumbs up from his teacher. When he knows Venti is comfortable with him moving, he pulls away from the curb and off into the direction of the arcade. 

Xiao’s breath hitches as he feels Venti’s chest press against his back, his arms tightening ever so slightly when they make a turn. The shop owner’s palms against his stomach are a hot, burning sensation, placed right over his navel, his pinky fingers reaching a little bit lower than what’s necessary. He will admit, it’s a little hard to focus, but he pushes his feelings down in favor of safety, even if he does lean into Venti’s warmth a little. 

When they arrive at the arcade, Xiao cuts the engine and hops off first, holding out a hand for Venti to grab as he gets off as well. The martial artist watches as his date removes his helmet and shakes out his hair, his face slightly flushed, “woo, this thing is hotter than it looks,” Venti smiles, handing Xiao his helmet. 

“Right? It’s suffocating during the summer,” he replies, placing his helmet over  the bike seat and wiping off Venti’s face gently with his sleeve. The flutist’s face scrunches up at the action as he stumbles from being put off balance before regaining it again. 

Once Venti is feeling cooler than before, he gently slips his hand into Xiao’s and smiles over at him. The guitarist returns the smile and squeezes his hand with a slight blush to his cheeks. It feels so nice to be able to finally touch Venti without having the fear of losing him, but at the same time, Xiao is not used to pda, but he will be— he will be for Venti. 

Stopping at the counter, they each get their coins before their hands rejoin and they’re off into the midst of the crowded area. It’s super loud here and everything smells like pizza and soda. Multiple claw machines line the walls and other various games such as basketball and bowling are also sporadically placed around the vicinity. 

Venti pulls on his hand, leading him off to one of the many different claw machines, this one being filled with stuffed animals of all kinds. Letting go of Xiao’s hand, the flutist places a coin through the slot and rests his hands on the joystick and button. The guitarist makes his way to the side of the claw game and helps Venti direct him into getting the plush he wants. 

“Over a little more. More towards me. A little bit back, perfect,” Xiao instructs, watching as the Venti presses the button on the claw machine. It drops down, spreading its metal arms open wide to attempt to pick up a mythical blob looking creature, but it comes up empty handed. 

Xiao and Venti switch places, this time with Xiao on the joystick and button and Venti instructing him. “Away from me. Forward a little. Perfect, press it,” he commands and Xiao does. The two of them watch intensely as it once again drops down and this time it doesn’t miss, but it isn’t over. Their hearts pound where they are in their chests as the claw slowly picks up the plushie and brings it over to the hole and drops it right in. 

The two turn to each other with wide smiles as they high five. Xiao reaches down, picking it up and handing it to Venti who smiles at him knowingly and he blushes. It still counts as the guitarist getting it for him right? The flutist accepts it graciously, squeezing it to his chest, before turning to the labels on the machine. “anemo slime,” he reads.

“I guess that’s what it’s called,” Xiao shrugs, picking up Venti’s coins and dumping them in his own bowl so they can share; that’s what they planned to do anyways. Their free hands reconnect and they make their way to a new game. This one will get them tickets for the prizes behind the counter. 

Venti watches as Xiao slips a coin through the slot and prepares himself to begin hitting the small creatures that pop up from each of the holes in the box. When the game begins, the guitarist hits the first one easily, nothing much of how the game could possibly get worse, but it does. One creature turns into two, turns into three, turns into four. And suddenly Xiao finds himself struggling to keep up. Venti cackles from his place behind him as he watches the martial artist struggle and he can’t help but smile at his laugh.

The game comes to a close and the points are added up and turned into tickets, it turns out to be a lot more than they expected which is a pleasant surprise. Venti crouches down to rip the tickets from the machine and hands them to Xiao to slip in his pocket, which he does and they are off to find yet another game. 

Xiao admires the way the anemo slime plush is quite big in Venti’s arms as he holds it against his chest almost like a comfort item. As he looks at Venti, he spots a strength tester over his shoulder, the kind where you punch a bag and it measures your strength. Seeing an opportunity to impress his date, Xiao pulls Venti over to it and instructs him to stand back so the martial artist doesn’t hit him.

Now, Xiao isn’t one to gloat about his strength, but he is pretty damn strong and he’s going to show off just how hard he worked to get to his level. So, with full confidence, Xiao lines himself up to the game and exhales before landing one solid ass spin kick to the bag. All eyes turn to them at the loud noise and the numbers on the screen skyrocket. Xiao places his hands on his hips as he watches them do so.

Sparing glance to Venti, he catches his mouth dropped in awe and a huge, proud-looking smile on his face as he squishes the plush impossibly tighter in excitement. Xiao blushes in embarrassment and watches as the numbers still continue to climb. Maybe he overdid it.

Xiao scratches the back of his neck as the machine finally stops counting and gives him his score, when that number settles into him he feels even himself being proud of his display. He works hard. 

The tickets begin flowing out of the machine and he crouches down to pick them up only to be attacked by an anemo slime and its caretaker. “That was so cool! I knew you were strong but I didn’t know you were that strong! Archons!” Venti says excitedly, arms wrapped around Xiao’s neck from behind. 

The martial artist blushes, “thank you,” he says, accepting the compliment. Then someone walks over to them and clears their throat causing them both to look up from where the tickets are still being dispensed. 

The shop owner slowly unwraps himself from around Xiao and stands back up to greet this new stranger. “Hello, I’m sorry to interrupt, but you just set a new record for this establishment which grants you a reward,” the stranger with long red hair tells them. He keeps his gaze pointedly at Xiao and not Venti, going as far as to almost have a staring contest with the guitarist.

“Diluc! I didn’t know you’d be working tonight! It’s good to see you!” Venti exclaims excitedly. Does he know this guy? Xiao doesn’t recall being told of him knowing anyone with a grumpy face and long red hair, but he does remember being told the shop owner is friends with a tavern owner. There’s a tavern right below this place.. oh. Oops. Xiao probably should have taken this into consideration before planning a date here. 

“Venti,” is all he says in reply which earns him a glare from Xiao when Venti shrinks a little with an awkward smile. Diluc’s gaze turns back to Xiao as the martial artist picks up his tickets from the floor, pocketing them as he stands back up as well.

“You said there is a reward?” He asks, his hand on his hip. 

Diluc nods, “right. First, if I may, we need to take a picture of you next to your number to put on our wall of fame,” he gestures to the wall near the entrance of this place that anyone and everyone can see. “Secondly, you have earned yourself a year of free entry to this place as well as one free pizza per visit. Lastly, you can choose anything from the prizes, it doesn’t matter the ticket price,” the red head explains. This is.. surprisingly a good deal. All for breaking a record? Huh. Xiao should do this more often.

“Sure, let’s take the picture then,” Xiao replies, going to stand by the number on the screen. Venti goes to move out of frame, but he is easily brought back by a hand hooked around his waist by Xiao. He will admit he is definitely upset over how Diluc completely ignored his friendly date in favor of doing business with a stranger.

So, he slips his arm around Venti’s waist and shifts his weight towards him as Venti clutches the plush that is still in his arms. This time, Venti blushes with a shy, caught-off-guard smile on his face whereas Xiao just lets the corner of his lips raise ever so slightly, hand in his pocket. Pauses for a brief second before snapping the picture and walking over to them to ask if they would like two printed copies for them as well.

Once Diluc’s job there is done, he turns back around, camera in hand as he makes his way behind the counter and into the ‘employee’s only’ room. “What was that all about?” Xiao asks Venti, once Diluc is out of earshot.

“Oh, nothing. He just doesn’t like me very much because I used to drink his tavern dry without paying. I am still in debt to him actually,” Venti says nervously, fidgeting a little. Xiao hums in thought with that newfound information, subconsciously running his hand up and down Venti’s hip in comfort. If that makes the shop owner a little hot and bothered, he doesn’t say it. 

“Sorry, I wouldn’t have brought you here had I known,” Xiao replies, leading them to a different game. Venti sticks close to his side, leaning against him ever so slightly as they walk.

“It’s okay. As you said, you didn’t know,” Vent laughs, nudging his side. Xiao smiles over at him, always trying to lighten the mood no matter the situation. That’s one thing he really appreciates about his companion. His optimism balances out Xiao’s pessimism is just the perfect way.

The next game they go to is a two person dancing game with arrows in different directions on the floor. Xiao isn’t a dancer, that’s for sure, but Venti? He’s not half bad. The game starts and there’s a brief grace period before the commands are being dished out to them. Venti steps forward when Xiao steps back and that causes Xiao to huff as he loses a point. 

The flutist laughs from where he is standing, moving his feet as he is told, doing a spin just to show off. Xiao smiles at his attempt to out class Xiao as he tries harder than he was before to catch up to Venti. It doesn’t work.

The game ends with them both panting and with Venti in the lead. The martial artist tried, he really did, but he’s just not as good as the flutist and it shows in the difference between their points. 

“I win,” Venti smirks, punching Xiao’s shoulder lightly as he pants. The guitarist smiles at him as he shakes his head, leaning down to grab their tickets.

“I don’t know how you do that,” he replies, pocketing their tickets and picking up Venti’s anemo slime to give to him. Venti takes it gratefully and shrugs nonchalantly like he wasn’t just out of breath a moment ago.

“I’m just too good,” he says smugly, leading them off to find more games to play. They end up playing a whole assortment of different games from zombie apocalypse games to racing games. They even play basketball and bowling against each other. (Xiao won both of those which made Venti pout).

They’ve been keeping score on whoever wins the most games; whoever wins gets to pick the place they eat at after this seeing as it has been left undecided. Xiao already has an idea in mind of where he’d like to take Venti so he has been trying his absolute best to beat him at their little game and so far, he has.

“Man, this is so unfair!” Venti whines, leaning all his weight on Xiao just to give that extra dose of drama. Xiao laughs lightly, holding Venti in his arms as he practically drags him to the counter to pick out the guitarist’s prize from earlier. “I wanted to take you to my favorite restaurant!” he continues to whine. 

“Next time,” Xiao compromises and Venti pouts at him before he smiles and pinches Xiao’s cheek, standing back up to his normal height, the martial artist rubs his cheek where he was pinched and looks over at his date who is smiling at him still.

“Can’t wait for next time ,” Venti comments, smirking with a mischievous gleam in his eye. It’s then that Xiao realizes just what he said and it causes him to blush slightly, turning back to the counter only to drop his hand from his cheek with a not-so-hidden glare. 

“Hello again,” Diluc says, “here for your prize and ticket exchange?” he shifts some things out of the way on the counter to hold his hand open to take the tickets from Xiao. 

“Yes, I’m letting Venti choose the award I get from the record breaking earlier,” he replies, setting the bundle of tickets in Diluc’s open and awaiting palm. The red head nods, before setting the tickets down in a machine to be counted, as they’re doing that he turns to Venti. 

“Your prize, bard ?” he asks, his arms folded. Venti shrinks a little with a laugh, clutching his anemo slime to his chest as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other. Xiao glares at Diluc from his place on the other side of the counter.

“Haha.. uh, can we get that other anemo slime there,” he points to the big plush hung up near the top of the wall. Diluc follows his finger and nods, taking the stepping stool that was behind him and moving it over to beneath the plushie. He takes his time being careful so as to not fall from his step stool while getting it down before handing it to Venti who nods at him gratefully.

Xiao looks at his teacher with a raised eyebrow, “you wanted another one?” he asks, putting his hands in his pockets. Venti shakes his head and steps a little closer to Xiao, handing him the new anemo slime plushie.

“I picked it out so we could each have one. See? Now they match, just like our tassel charms,” Venti smiles and Xiao feels like he’s gonna cry. How can someone be this sweet and this cute? He just wants to squish him and he almost does if it weren’t for their grumpy, fire-haired spectator. 

“I see, thank you. It’s very.. cute,” he decides to say, taking the slime and squishing it between his hands. Venti smiles at him widely with a nod before turning back to Diluc as he receives the small piece of paper with the number of tickets on it. 

“Looks like you’ve got about four-thousand six-hundred and fifty-seven tickets in total which can get you anything from here to here,” Diluc says, showing them the places they can pick from. “You don’t have to pick them out now if you’d like. As long as you keep this paper you may come back and redeem these tickets,” he concludes. 

They both nod, “should we come back?” Venti asks, looking Xiao's way with a hand on his chin.

“Only if you’re comfortable with that,” Xiao says, not-so-subtly flicking a glare in Diluc’s direction who spots it and huffs, turning away with his arms crossed. In all reasonableness, Diluc does have a right to be mad, but he has no need to be completely and utterly rude to Venti. Xiao is also biased. 

Venti nods, “we’ll come back then, thank you, Diluc.” 

“Thank me when you pay off your debt. You’re lucky I didn’t kick you out the minute you stepped foot in here. If it wasn’t for your friend here I might have done just that,” Diluc retorts harshly. For the third time, Venti shrinks, his smile fading.

Xiao glares at Diluc again and Diluc glares back. The two of them are impossibly stubborn and Venti is the one they’re being stubborn over, but with a bite to his bottom lip Venti tugs on Xiao’s arm in a silent beg to just leave. Which Xiao obliges too. 

Before they can get far, though, the bartender calls out to them, “you forgot your photo,” he says, holding out two copies of their picture being taken by Xiao’s broken record. Venti goes to take them, but Xiao pushes his shoulder back, stepping in front of the flutist to take them instead. 

“Thanks” he says dryly as Diluc tenses, biting his bottom lip as well seemingly pondering on whether he should speak or not. Deciding against it, the red head just gives a stiff nod before turning around and returning to the back room. 

Xiao turns back to Venti, seeing him standing there looking guilty. “Sorry about all this. I didn’t think he’d be here which is why I didn’t mention that this is that tavern owner I mentioned. He’s normally always down at the winery,” he sighs out, looking at the ground. “Kinda killed the mood. That grumpy old fart. But it’s with good reason,” Venti speaks, mainly to himself.

Xiao bumps his side to Venti’s hip gently causing the boy with braided hair to look at him, “don’t worry about it. Tonight isn’t about him, it’s about us,” he smiles. Venti smiles back, nodding as he squishes his anemo slime. “Let’s go eat,” Xiao suggests.

They make their way out of the building and back to Xiao’s motorcycle, storing away their anemo slimes securely before Venti pops Xiao’s helmet back on and climbs behind him, slotting himself perfectly against the martial artist’s back. This time, Xiao’s nerves are completely gone and he finds complete comfort in the action.

They pull away from the curb, driving to some undisclosed location that Venti apparently isn’t allowed to know about. This, of course, is only after they get their food. Xiao takes them to a Liyuean restaurant called ‘Wanmin Restaurant’. 

“Hey, Xiangling,” Xiao greets, when he walks through the door with Venti’s hand tucked snuggly in his. The girl in question pops her head out from behind the curtain over the kitchen door and her smile is instant.

“Master Xiao! Good to see you! Are you expecting a visit with Mr. Zhongli and Mr. Childe?” she asks, wiping her hands off with a towel. Then her eyes catch on Xiao’s companion and they trail down to their conjoined hands. “Oh! I’m so sorry I didn’t notice you there. I got too excited,” she says with wide eyes. 

“It’s no problem at all,” Venti replies, stepping closer to Xiao. Xiao squeezes his hand reassuringly, before stepping forward and speaking.

“No, I’m here.. on a date,” he trails nervously. She’s so going to tell Chongyun and Xingqiu and then he’ll have to face the teasing of teenagers. Xiangling’s eyes sparkle and she jumps up and down excitedly.

“Really? That’s so sweet! I’m glad you chose Wanmin Restaurant as your place to eat! What will you have?” She asks, grabbing a notepad and a pen, clicking the back of it.

“We’ll have one order of Bamboo Shoot Soup and two orders of Almonf Tofu to go, please,” he says, reaching for his wallet. This time, Venti lets him as he removes his hand from Xiao’s to make it easier for him to grab out the money needed. 

“Good choices, good choices,” she says, nodding as she writes down their order along with how much it will cost. Xiao hands her the money and Xiangling hands him the small paper of their order before turning back around and heading into the kitchen.

They normally have Bamboo Shoot Soup ready 24/7 considering the time it takes to slow cook it and Almond Tofu is a popular desert especially among the common children. It also happens to be Xiao’s favorite. 

When Xiangling returns, she hands him the bag with the soup and two disposable bowls and chop sticks and sets the bag with the Almonf Tofu on the counter for Venti to take. After their departing words and first introductions, they make their way back to the bike and hop on once more before Xiao finally takes them to their undisclosed location. 

A beach.

Xiao pulls into the parking lot and parks his bike before turning the flashlight on on his phone and grabbing the blanket, slimes, and food from Venti, the blanket he had secretly tucked away. Xiao leads them down the steps and to the sand, before setting down their items and spreading out the blanket to put them on. 

Once he has settled everything down, he steps out of his shoes and treads carefully onto the blanket so as to not kick up sand. Venti does the same, taking a seat next to him on the blanket so they can look out at the ocean. The air is salty and everything is dark seeing as the sun has long gone been below the horizon, the only light source being Xiao’s phone, which isn’t a very strong one.

 Venti takes out his phone as well and turns on the flash, setting it face down next to Xiao’s to give them more light as the guitarist distributes their bowls and gently pours the soup into each one. He hands a pair of chopsticks to Venti, thinking nothing of it until he notices he isn’t eating. Then it clicks.

“Do you know how to use chopsticks?” Xiao smiles amusedly, setting his own down. Venti shakes his head, laughing sheepishly as he tries to figure it out on his own. “Here, look. Hold them between your middle, index, and thumb finger like this,” he shows Venti with his own chopsticks and the flutist mirrors the action. 

He slowly attempts to grab some of the soup noddles inbetween his chopsticks and, surprisingly, succeeds on his first try. Smiling triumphantly, Venti brings the food to his mouth and bites down, humming at the taste. 

“This is so good,” the shop owner smiles, going to grab more already. The slight wind from the water wafts over to them, causing their hair to blow in the breeze as Xiao laughs.

“I’m glad you like it and you’re a much faster learner at using chopsticks than Childe. It took him ages to get it down, but he eventually did,” Xiao scoffs, stuffing some soup in his mouth. 

Venti laughs, coughing when he accidentally chokes. “Ow, that hurt,” a cough, “what made you choose a beach? At night?” he asks, eyeing Xiao from where he sits on their blanket.

“Honestly, I’m not sure, it just felt nice and.. I guess you can see the stars better here than at the park,” he blushes, shoveling more food in his mouth to stop himself from blushing. Venti gives him as soft smile as he looks up at the stars.

“Yeah, I guess you can see them better from here,” he says, basking in the faint light of the mood accompanied by the light from their phones. 

The two them eat in comfortable silence, enjoying the way the waves provide a nice background noise to their calm atmosphere. The tense mood from earlier at the arcade tavern is long forgotten as they move on from eating the soup to eating the Almond Tofu. 

They shove their empty bowls in the trash bag they created with the empty plastic container that originally held the soup and eat take their respective plates of the desert, digging in immediately. They both hum in enjoyment at the same time which causes them both to laugh, this time, Venti didn’t choke. 

By the time they finish eating, the moon has moved further up into the sky, illuminating the beach so they can see each other without the need of their flashlights, so they put them away along with their trash and push them to the side. The two flutists lay their heads on their anemo slime plushies and snuggle up closely when Venti shivers.

For a while they stay just like that, wrapped in each other’s arms, looking out at the ocean and feeling calm and content with each other’s presence. And it’s nice, Xiao feels like he could actually fall asleep with how calm he is right now, but he can’t. He has a question that needs answering, so he speaks.

“Was this a good first date?” he asks, rubbing his thumb along Venti’s arm, where it’s wrapped around him. Their legs are tangled together with both of them facing each other, Venti’s face rests on Xiao’s chest where he can hear the calming rhythm of his heartbeat. The guitarist arms are wrapped around the shop over to not only keep him warm, but just because he wants to hold him. 

Venti hums, “it was the best,” he says, snuggling further into Xiao’s hold. He bites his bottom lip and his heart rate picks up so much it’s noticed by Venti in the silence that follows his answer. “You okay?” he asks.

“Only the best,” he parrots, looking down at his companion who looks up at him through his lashes. “Actually.. I..” he trails once more, very nervous and very anxious. He’s never asked someone out before, people have always only asked him. 

“Take your time, I’m not going anywhere,” Venti replies, squeezing Xiao’s hands around his waist comfortingly. Xiao nods, looking up to the sky as he takes a deep inhale before exhaling and looking back down at Venti.

With new found confidence, he takes Venti’s hands in his and brings them to his lips, kissing his knuckles. The guitarist’s breath brushes against his date’s fingers as he speaks, “we have known each other for over a month now and we both know I, at the very least, have had a crush on you for a while. I don’t know how you feel about me but,” he takes a breath, steadying his racing heart as he looks Venti in the eyes, “I know what I feel and what I feel is that I like you and I would like to be with you if you would allow me to, so; Venti,” he sits up, bringing the shop owners hands over his heart, “will you allow me to be by your side as more than just a friend?” 

Venti blinks at him from his spot on the blanket before he smiles, “I wouldn’t have agreed to this date, nor suggested it had I not had even an inkling of feelings for you no?” Xiao tilts his head, detangling his words in the mess that is his brain. But before he can, Venti, using the placement of his hands on Xiao’s chest to his advantage, grabs fists full of his shirt and pulls him down to connect their lips in a deep, long-lasting kiss. 

At first, it’s just that, a kiss, but then one turns into two and two turns into three and suddenly they’re having a full on make out session on their small blanket on a beach illuminated by the moonlight. Somehow, Xiao ends up above Vent, the guitarist’s knee between his legs as he leans down to connect their lips. Somehow, Xiao’s hands find their way to the shop owners waist, massaging his thumbs where they’re placed on his skin. Somehow, a small noise leaves Venti’s lips and travels straight to Xiao’s nether region, but he keeps himself in check, slowing down the pace at which they’re moving as to not overwhelm both of them.

The kissing continues with Venti’s arms wrapping around Xiao’s neck, and the martial artist’s hands, traveling up his lovers body from his waist to his chin. Using his thumb and forefinger, he grips Venti’s chin and tilts his head back and to the side in order to kiss his neck tenderly, making sure to pay attention to the shop owner’s body language to know if he needs to stop. 

Xiao sucks on his neck, getting lost in the way Venti’s body squirms underneathhim before he pops off and kisses his newly forming mark one last time before moving to Venti’s lips to give them a peck, then his nose, then his cheek, then the corner of his eye. Venti giggles at the feeling trying to hide his face in the slime plush behind his head to escape the ticklish action, but Xiao doesn’t let him. 

He brings a hand to Venti’s chin and tilts his face towards him to plant one more long-lasting kiss to his lips before looking him in the eyes, their foreheads together. “Your lips are soft,” he whispers, afraid if he speaks any louder the intensely heated bubble around them would pop.

“Is that a compliment?“ Venti whispers back, feeling the breath from his words dust across his lips.

“Yeah,” Xiao replies quietly, leaning down to kiss him again. This time the kissing goes slowly. The kisses are longer and smoother as the adrenaline from before wears off as they grow content with their newfound descion to devot themselves to each other. 

The guitarist ends up back on his side again with Venti wrapped in his arms once more, head against Xiao’s chest as he plays with his hair. Xiao’s fingers run through the longer bits of his lover’s hair, the braids having come undone during their heated make out session and he finds that they’re soft. Which doesn’t really surpise him. 

Xiao inhales Venti’s scent and finds he smells heavily of vanilla, Cecilia flowers, and a third scent he can’t quite put his finger one. Honey, maybe. When they kissed he tasted like Almond Tofu and dreams Xiao muses to himself. Venti in and of himself is a dream. How did he get so lucky. 

After a while longer of them just resting in each other’s arms, Venti taps his back gently and pulls away to lays his hand on Xiao’s cheek. He brushes his thumb across cheek, smiling at the sleepy look he gets in return, “we should head home,” he says, “you wanna sleep over? We can do the Lego set we bought together tomorrow.”

Xiao nods, sitting up with a yawn. They both stand up to stretch before cleaning up their mess and brushing out all the sand from Xiao’s blanket and anything else that got sand on it. Once they assure that their place on the beach is clean, they head back to the guitarist’s bike and head back to Venti’s place. 

The drive seems longer than usual, probably because they’re both stuffed full, very tired, and very content. All these things tend to leave to time moving seemingly slower than usual, not that they mind, though. The slower time moves, the more time they get to spend with each other.

When they pull up to Venti’s they make their way inside and up the stairs to Venti’s apartment which is surprisingly clean. Knowing Venti, he probably cleaned it before he went out with Xiao in case this exact scenario would happen. No matter, the flutist shows him around before leading him to his bedroom and telling him he’ll be right there once he’s done checking on Dvalin. 

Too tired to think much of it, Xiao strips himself of his stuffy socks and almost his shirt before thinking better of it and slipping into bed and waiting for Venti who appears to have changed his clothes into sleeping clothes. He must have taken some when he went to go check on Dvalin.

The last thing Xiao remembers much off is the feeling of the bed dipping and the blanket lifting as a big source of body heat, nestles itself in Xiao’s arms which open automatically for it. He dazedly kisses the top of his heater’s head before he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep after being told ‘goodnight’.

Chapter Text

Waking up never felt better. Xiao wakes up in a comfortable bed surrounded by the smell of his new companion in the quiet space of Venti’s bedroom. The sun is shining gently through the curtains and the bed is warm. No noise can be heard other than the loud shouts of people. 

..Wait..

Xiao’s eyes snap open right away and he looks around frantically. When he sees there is no Venti in sight, he practically jumps off the bed and races around the top floor of the music store. The guitarist checks the bathroom, kitchen, living room, and even the closet that he isn’t so sure a coat can even fit into. But, still, Venti is nowhere to be found and the sounds aren’t coming from up here anyways, they’re coming from downstairs.

A cold chill runs down Xiao’s spine when he runs through the possibilities of just what could be happening down there. He hopes his darkest thoughts aren’t true. With not much other thought than that, he books it down the stairs and is greeted by two men wearing all black clothing and face masks to hide their identity, but Xiao instinctively knows they are.

They’re the same content creators who shot up Xiao’s debut concert. These are the two who threw his life into ruins— who kicked him off his high horse and now they’ve gone and done it again. 

Untamable rage bursts within Xiao as he stares down the two who single-handedly killed all those who mattered most to him in a span of just five minutes as he curses himself for not grabbing his phone to call the cops. But, then one of them speaks. His voice is light, almost airy as if he has no fear of Xiao whatsoever. 

“Oh, look, there he is. The last Yaksha,” the first one snickers, nudging his buddy with his elbow. Xiao’s skin crawls at the title as his hands clench where they are beside his waist. He can feel the sting of his nails digging into his skin from how tight his hold is, but he ignores it in favor of staring them down. The martial artist hasn’t been recognized as one of the Five Yakshas in years; the name feels foreign and cold now. 

“Just who we were looking for! Nice of you to finally join the party and, soon, your friends,” the second one taunts. He looks lanky and small— for someone talking so big, he ought to work out a little more. Though, the martial artist can hear the smile in his tone as his eyes flick to the side and that’s when Xiao thinks he stops breathing.

On the floor is Venti, knocked out cold with a head injury, still dressed in his pajamas. His braids aren’t even in and numerous bruises can be seen forming on his body in various places, especially his face. The blood from his head isn’t the only spawn point of the hot, red liquid; his nose, knees, hands, neck. His neck. 

Xiao doesn’t know how deep that wound is, but nevertheless his pessimistic tendencies tell him it will be fatal and he feels his heart drop, subconsciously taking a step towards his little song bird. A fist across his face stops him though, stepping in his line of sight. When Xiao raises his head, he can feel the blood dripping from his nose, his vision having gone black for a second. He touches his fingertips to the injury, observing his own blood as if he can’t believe he just let himself be punched. He can’t.

Then both of the men laugh at this, taking pride in having injured someone for the sole purpose of wanting to complete a set of murders. It disgusts Xiao to the point where his saliva almost feels acidic and he feels like throwing up. Never has Xiao been in a real fight before other than sparring, but he has a feeling that despite all their barking, these two don’t even stand a chance. 

“Hey, now, pay atten-“ no more words leave this guy’s lips as Xiao wastes no time in punching him square in the jaw and It lands— it lands hard. So hard, in fact, the dude is knocked off his feet and falls to the ground, his buddy shouting curses at Xiao for hitting him. Xiao is pretty sure he heard some bones crack as he brings his hand back to his own body, shaking it out before pouncing again. 

With no hesitation, the guitarist is on him immediately, fumbling through the techniques he’s learned over the years to thoroughly assure that this man will not be getting up, not now, not ever. Xiao can’t tell if he’s being too cruel or inhumane right now, but these people are also murderers. What mercy do they deserve?

With one swift kick to his side, the man on the floor curls in on himself with a grunt, holding the place he’s been injured. Xiao grabs him by the collar of his shirt and hoists him up off the ground, kneeing him right in the chest before punching him in the face once more. He lets the guy fall to the ground with a loud thud, his head hitting the hard concrete floor, thus knocking him out cold. 

For someone so flamboyantly flaunting that Xiao will end up dead by the end of this, he is as weak as the martial artist suspected. Or maybe Xiao is just very strong— probably both.

The guitarist turns to the second of the two murderers and stalks towards him. Too blinded by the rage behind his eyes, Xiao doesn’t register the knife that’s pulled on him fast enough before it makes itself right at home in his side. Xiao inhales sharply, hunching over from the impact before the knife is ripped from him once more and attempts to stab him again.

Even in pain, Xiao is still quicker than this inexperienced fool, so he takes the man by his wrist and twists his arm hard enough to break it. The knife falls from the man’s hand and he stumbles backwards into one of the many shelves successfully knocking it over and running all of its contents. He wonders how these idiots ever managed to kill his friends— his family— and he now knows if he had just known about what they were going to do, he could have prevented it. Even without the experience he has now. 

The guitarist stalks over to the man now in shambles on the floor, crying over his broken arm as Xiao switches from holding his wound in his right hand, to holding it in his left. He grabs a nearby guitar, bringing it up in the air before smashing it against the intruder, knocking him out as well. He’ll have to pay Venti back for that one, but now is not an easy time to see reason. 

With heavy breaths, Xiao feels as though he is going to collapse, but he can’t, not yet. He looks around the store, the windows are smashed and the walls are spray painted. The instruments are broken apart and dented in and the glass counter showcasing the tassel charms is shattered. Money can be seen tossed around on the floor around the cash register and that’s when Xiao notices the camera. It’s on. This is being live-streamed.

He makes his way over to the counter, breathing as shallowly as possible to prevent his stomach from moving too much and further opening his wound. He takes a second just to calm his racing heart before he opens his mouth to speak, desperation evident on his features and in his voice. 

“Four..” he trails, trying his hardest to ignore the aching wound in his side, “Four Winds Music Store, Mondstadt.. please.. ” he begs. Xiao figures he would not be comprehensible enough to make the phone call himself, so he begs the audience, though he’s sure some passerby outside will call the cops as well.Venti’s store isn’t exactly hidden, in fact it’s on a main road, which means Xiao’s house is on a main road, unfortunately, but whatever. Point is, someone will see soon enough if the audience doesn’t feel the need to call the police. 

With that out of the way, he turns back around, making his way over to Venti. He wheezes, breathing becoming harder and harder as his consciousness begins slipping, but he has to hold on. Xiao drops to his knees besides Venti, scooping him up gently in his arms even though he really shouldn’t in case he causes further injury, but he can’t think straight. He brings a shakey, blood-covered hand up to his lover’s pulse point, feeling for the rhythm of his heart.

When the guitarist feels the slow beat of Venti’s heart, his shoulders sag in relief. He’s still alive, just unconscious and now that he’s up closer, Xiao can tell the wound on his neck isn’t fatal. It’s just a cut that looks as though it was made in an attempt to evade it. 

He looks to Venti’s hands and sees bruises forming around his wrists and cuts on his palms. He must have tried to stop himself from being stabbed by blocking the jabs with his hands. How did Venti end up out cold on the floor, though? Xiao doesn’t know. 

The martial artist attempts to wipe some blood from Venti’s nose, only smearing it in the process which causes him to wince and halt his motions, instead rocking back and forth gently. He finds himself humming that small tune Venti hummed when they first met, it brings him a sense of calm in all that is this chaos and it’s the only thing grounding him at the moment. 

His head is pounding with so many thoughts such as: where will Venti go? What will happen to the music store? Will Venti ever wake up again? All of it is so overwhelming and Xiao feels as though he may cry, but he doesn’t allow himself to. If he cries, that’s admitting to the fact that this situation is horrible and Xiao doesn’t feel like he can handle that weight right now. So, he continues to sugar coat it until he can properly process it later. 

His hands are trembling where they’re holding Venti and his side aches. He feels like throwing up, he feels like crying, he feels like beating up those murderers again. But he doesn’t, Xiao just sits there waiting for law enforcement to arrive as he cradles his damaged partner in his arms. 

When they do finally arrive, the medics basically have to pry Xiao away from Venti, he knows it’s best they both seek out medical treatment properly, but his anxiety skyrockets any time he isn’t within a foot of him. After that? He doesn’t trust anyone to be alone with the flutist anymore. 

Alas, his struggles are of no use as he is hauled into a separate ambulance and strapped to the bed as the medical professionals check his vitals. He’s forced to answer questions he can’t remember knowing the answer to as well as being forced to calm down lest he want his side to tip open even more. 

The last thing Xiao sees before the ambulance doors close, is one of two of the murderers being placed in the back of a cop car, while the other is being treated for his broken arm, but Xiao could care less. His consciousness is slipping now, and everything finally fades to black.

*

The consistent beeping of the monitor by Xiao’s bedside is what wakes him up from his deep, dreamless sleep. He feels and sees the wound at his side ache dully, now stitched up and patched up to begin the recovery process before he lifts his arm observing the tube injected into his skin. 

Xiao’s eyes slide over to where it leads and finds it’s attached to a blood bag; he doesn’t remember losing that much blood, though. His eyes then slide lower, more towards his side than diagonally behind him and he finds himself shocked, but he can’t express it very well. 

“Good evening, I came as soon as I heard,” Zhongli’s gentle voice speaks. He uncrosses his legs, setting his book down on a nearby table before scooting his chair closer to Xiao so as to not make this an awkward long distance conversation. “I’m glad to see you’re awake, Lumine and Aether contacted me.”

Xiao just nods, feeling emotionally numb as he brings his unoccupied hand up to his head and winces, his headache growing strong. He takes a moment just to process this situation. If Zhongli is here that definitely means Childe is here as well. He’s in a hospital, he can’t feel his side, he apparently passed out from blood loss, and Venti is nowhere to be found. 

“Where..” Xiao starts, “Venti.. can I go see him?” he asks, rubbing his temples, his face scrunching up in pain. Zhongli shakes his head before realizing Xiao can’t see him. He clears his throat.

“No, unfortunately you and him— mainly you— have been sentenced to bed rest for at least one full day. This means neither of you will be able to see each other again for about a day,” Zhongli explains, his voice sounding sad in the way it drops in volume. 

Xiao holds in a groan, instead choosing to throw his head back against his pillow and stare at the lights in the ceiling. He waits a few moments before speaking next, “can I at least know how he’s doing and also if I can eat?” Zhongli swallows thickly, looking off to the side before standing up.

“I will go fetch Dr. Baizhu. He will be able to tell you more about this situation than I will be able to,” the brunette reasons, walking off to go and find the mysterious green-haired doctor. 

In Xiao’s few moments of solitude, he finds himself closing his eyes to keep himself from screaming or punching something. He feels so incredibly irritated that he could have stopped not only his debut shooting, but Venti getting injured. Why didn’t he call for help? Why didn’t he wake Xiao up? So many questions, so little answers.

When Zhongli returns, he is followed by a man of tall stature with long green hair and sharp eyes. A clipboard is being held in his hands as he walks over to Xiao’s bedside to greet him. “Hello, I’m Doctor Baizhu, I am tending to both you and Venti. I am prepared to answer any questions you may have,” he says, voice smooth and calming, yet somewhat chilling. 

Xiao only spares him a single glance before looking back up at the ceiling, already feeling drained despite having just woken up. “Venti, how is he— where is he and why can’t I see him?” he asks, voice completely flat and void of any emotion. Baizhu seems to take notice of this as his eyes narrow slightly.

“I have been informed by two blonde photographers that Venti is your significant other, correct? He is well, though he will require lots of rest and the mental strain from this event inclines me to suggest he receive a therapist,” Dr. Baizhu says simply, looking at Xiao from where he lays on the bed. 

The guitarist’s eyebrows scrunch together and he finally looks over at his doctor, their eyes meet and even Xiao himself can feel the heated concern behind his stare. “I know this was bad, but.. how bad exactly are we talking?” he asks, voice fighting against a wobbly tone.

Baizhu only stares at him for a moment before he speaks, words as cold as frozen ice unintentionally, “Venti’s vocal cords were seriously damaged from the cut on his neck. Should they have stayed like that, he would struggle to breathe properly as well as eat, thus we saw it fit to remove them completely. He will no longer be able to use spoken communication.” 

That hits Xiao like a bus . He feels himself grow sick and his eyes sting with unshed tears as he processes his new reality where he will never hear Venti’s beautiful voice again. He won’t ever be able to hear him sing or hum or say his name. Damn, they’re not even his vocal cords, but he feels like his entire world has fallen down. 

Zhongli rests his hand above Xiao’s fist he didn’t know he was clenching, but that’s when he snaps back to reality. “Is there any possibility that he and I can at least.. be in the same room while resting still?” Xiao asks, voice just barely above a whisper. 

Baizhu hums, “there is, we can get you two a double bed sort of thing, just as long as you promise to remain resting. No foolish acts that may reopen your wound or his,” Baizhu scolds lightly and Xiao nods. With that, the doctor is gone and off to find someone to replace his single bed with a double bed. Guess that means Zhongli was mistaken.

“Are you all right?” Zhongli asks, rubbing his thumb over the back of Xiao’s hand soothingly. Xiao shakes his head, head hanging low as he tries to keep his breathing uncontrol. He runs through his usual methods of keeping his heart rate down to prevent himself from hyperventilating and, for the most part, it works. 

Zhongli doesn’t say anything more than that, he just comforts Xiao with the warmth of his hand on his, showing the guitarist sympathetic expressions and offering his heavy presence as a weighted blanket over Xiao’s body. Engulfing him and reassuring him that he’s not alone when he feels his world has come crashing down. 

It helps. It helps a lot.

After a while of waiting, the double bed is safely transferred into Xiao’s room as well. The martial artist is safely moved from his previous bed to the new one and now all that’s left to do is wait for Venti to arrive. He fidgets with his fingers, trying desperately not to pick at them as he stares down the door with so much force he’s sure it might break off its hinges. 

After five agonizing minutes, Venti is finally wheeled into Xiao’s room with a tube running through his nose for food and easier air flow. He’s seated on a wheelchair, now in a hospital gown as he gives Xiao a small wave and smile. It must hurt to smile.

When the flutist makes it safely in bed besides Xiao, the guitarist takes his hands, going to speak before he catches Zhongli’s eyes over his shoulder. He sends a silent plea for him to let them be as well as the other doctors and he listens, getting up and closing the door behind him softly. 

When Xiao turns around he isn’t greeted with the seemingly composed Venti that he just saw before, now Venti is holding back tears, face twisted in pain as he stares at Xiao with so much sadness and utter despair behind his eyes. “Oh, Venti,” Xiao coos, wrapping him up in a tight hug, being careful of not only Venti’s wound, but his own as well. 

The flutist clutches onto the bag of Xiao’s robe impossibly tightly, warm snot and tears running down his face as he can’t seem to decide whether to hide his face in Xiao’s shoulder or keep his chin resting on his shoulder. It doesn’t bother Xiao, though, all he cares about is taking care of his lover.

Venti’s body shakes with tremors and silent cries, his tears fall from his face and end up soaking Xiao’s shoulder where they make contact. Of course, the guitarist squeezes him back, holding him tightly enough in his arms to where Venti knows he cares. The flutist probably wants to scream, shout, throw something, or even hit something, but he can’t and now all his emotions are coming out of him all at once.

All the emotions he’s kept in check for the past several hours are tumbling out of him like tidal waves in the form of hot tears and an impossibly tight grip. Venti’s body shakes and shivers with soundless cries as Xiao feels his heart break into a thousand pieces.

“I’m so sorry, Venti,” he whispers, voice breaking at the end of his sentence as tears begin to pool in his eyes as well. He rubs his hand up and down Venti’s back until he exhausts himself from crying so much and begins to go pliant in Xiao’s arms. “Why don’t you rest, we can talk about this more once we’re both well rested and in a better headspace,” he speaks softly, “I’ll be right here with you.”

Venti seems to accept that as he sniffles and nods his head, laying back on the bed and tucking himself into Xiao’s uninjured side, careful of the still freshly healing wound on his neck. 

Xiao brushes the flutist’s hair away from his face and rubs a thumb across his cheek. The flutist’s eyes are now red and puffy, his lips are chapped and he looks pale. The bruises on his face are ugly shades of yellow and green and just the tiniest bit of blood leaves his nose from his previous nose bleed. Even beaten and bruised, Venti still looks as beautiful as ever.

For now, Xiao lets Venti sleep, one arm curled around his shoulders as he calls for Zhongli to renter. When he does, his eyes immediately fall to Venti’s sleeping form and the martial artist can visibly see the way Zhongli’s heart tightens with pain. His eyes catch on something else, though, the hands sliding around Zhongli’s waist as Childe quietly guides him to sit back down where he previously was, Venti between him and Xiao. 

Xiao looks at Childe who looks back, pursing his lips with sad eyes as he raises his hand in greeting before sliding a chair up next to Zhongli’s and taking a seat. The four of them sit in saddened silence before Zhongli’s broken voice finally pierces it.

“Why did you never let me help you..?” he asks no one but Venti’s sleeping form and Childe finds that that’s his queue to wrap his arms around Zhongli and kiss the top of his head as he whispers quiet words of reassurance to him. 

Xiao remembers their talk about Venti’s relationship to Zhongli and it looks like Xiao is now witnessing it first hand. To be honest, the guitarist never thought of how this may affect Zhongli. He silently wonders if the brunette even remembers what Venti’s voice sounds like considering how many years have past since he last heard it. And now he is faced with the crushing reality that he will never be able to hear it again like he had quietly hoped for so many years. 

After Zhongli has calmed down, leaning against Childe to steady his racing mind, Xiao allows himself to fall asleep on an empty stomach, having lost his appetite a long time ago during the gradual change from daytime to nightfall. And now nightfall to early morning. 

*

By the time Xiao reawakens, Venti is already awake and quietly watching videos on his phone. It appears he has switched their positions to make it more comfortable for the guitarist to sleep and for Venti to hold said phone. 

With a yawn and a rub to his eyes, Xiao lifts his head from Venti’s shoulder and plants a kiss to his neck below his ear which causes Venti to shiver. “Good morning,” he whispers, looking around the room for its other two occupants, “Childe and Zhongli, did they leave?”

Xiao watches as Venti goes to open his mouth to speak but closes it in pain and remembrance that he no longer has such privileges. Instead, he opens the notes app on his phone and types out his reply before showing it to his lover.

“‘They went to go get food’?” Xiao reads out loud and Venti nods slightly. “Will they be coming back; do you know?” Once again, Venti takes to typing out his reply. This time Xiao reads it in his head as Venti types it all out: ‘yes but im not sure when’ is his reply.

Xiao is the one nodding now before he asks another question, “did you ever find out what became of those men who attacked you?” he asks the flutist, running his hand along Venti’s blanketed thigh absentmindedly. He doesn’t seem bothered by the action at all, though. 

‘no the doctors only came to feed me through these tubes,’ he says, awaiting Xiao’s reply. The guitarist rests his head back down on Venti’s shoulder and flips the screen back to whatever Venti was watching as he speaks. 

“Last I remember they were being hauled away in police cars, so I’m not all too sure either, but we can figure it out later. For now, let’s just relax,” he says. The fact that he has no energy to do anything else remains left unsaid. Despite what Xiao definitely knows Venti would tell him, he can’t help but feel at fault for the lifetime injury the flutist now has to deal with which has been a taxing weight on his mind ever since the incident happened. 

Even so, Xiao keeps his feelings to himself. Venti shouldn’t have to deal with his foolishness on top of his new disability, it’s just not fair. So, for now, they sit together and watch whatever Venti feels like watching on his phone. It goes from live singing performances, to commentary videos, to little clips of animals such as cats and dogs causing a ruckus for their owners. Eventually it mellows out to them just simply watching a movie to pass the time for their friends to arrive.

When Zhongli and Childe do return, both of the shorter men turn their attention to them instead of the phone screen. Xiao decides to sit up instead of leaning on Venti’s shoulder in order to engage in proper conversation as Childe speaks.

“Hey, comrades, glad to see you’re both awake!” he smiles, sitting down in his chair next to Zhongli. “The both of you were out cold for a pretty long time which is understandable, but this one here was worrying so much I had to get him out. We went to get food as you know, eating a good meal helped him become at peace of mind,” the ginger teases, poking Zhongli’s stomach who swats his hand away with a blush. Ah, how the two truly do look as though they are an old married couple. Right, they are getting married.

“It’s fine, we can definitely manage ourselves without your presence,” Xiao grumbles, looking at the taller man like he wishes he had remained at home. And part of him does, but he’s Zhongli’s fiancé so it’s no shock that he’s here as well.

“Hey, you’re gonna have to get used to me eventually, we’re getting married after all,” Childe swoons, kissing Zhongli’s cheek who unheatedly glares at him again more so out of embarrassment before realization hits him. The brunette turns to Xiao and then looks at Venti and back to Xiao who tilts his head in confusion.

Zhongli clears his throat, “ah, pardon me. Venti. It has been such a long time since we last saw each other and regrettably we had to reunite under such circumstances, but I am happy to inform you that Childe here,” he takes the Ginger’s hand in his own and brings it up to show them their clasped hands for emphasis, “is my fiancé. We will be married soon.” 

Xiao sweats from here he is seated next to Venti after having accidentally exposed that surprise to his lover without knowing they the two were even friends. But, Venti, being the ever insightful man he is, doesn’t throw Xiao under the bus and instead types out his reply and shows it to Zhongli: ‘really?! thats great zhongli! im so happy you finally found someone who loves you as much as you love them. make sure to send the wedding invitations to me first!’

Zhongli’s smile turns soft at that as his shoulders relax, nodding his head, “yes of course. You and Xiao shall be the first two aware of the wedding date and time as promised.” The brunette and Venti then begin engaging in small conversation over the time that they’ve missed out with each other, both deciding to save their long friendship talk for when they were alone rather in the presence of others.

Childe keeps his arm twisted around Zhongli’s with their hands clasped tightly as he scrolls through his phone absentmindedly bobbing his leg up and down. Xiao, on the other hand, decides to look up the police article about the incident and is shocked by what he finds.

Pages and pages of hundreds of different articles all about last night have already been written and published all with various titles and viewpoints. Some are merely just comments on a blue bird app about how unfortunate this whole event was and how it was definitely motivated by pure spite and hatred. 

Multiple people have come out with their stories from the night of Xiao’s band’s debut shooting, telling of how terrified they were and how some even attended therapy from how traumatized they are. This isn’t very surprising seeing as they witnessed four people shot and killed on stage and on a livestream. 

But there are also people sending their condolences, wishing they could reach out to Xiao to help in any way, Venti as well. They speak of how unfortunate that the shop owner got wrapped up in it as well unknowingly, but never do they blame Xiao for all of this to happen. At least, not from what Xiao can see. All of the feedback mainly has been reassuring and supportive of the two men injured as well as how to take precautions for these kinds of events.

One thing that does catch Xiao’s eye, though, is a comment from one of the twins’ accounts saying: ‘In regards to the model in some of these photos, he is a dear friend of both mine and Aether’s and at this time we would appreciate the understanding of our audience for our small hiatus until everything has returned to normal. We are deeply saddened by this event and will not be sharing more insider information about it other than this. Thank you.’

This makes Xiao’s heart ache, he did get frantic texts and calls from the both of them when he woke up and he spoke to each of them, but unfortunately they are way too far away at the moment to return home to see them. The martial artist understands, though, as does Venti and if the flowers now resting on their table happen to be their favorites, then so be it. 

*

Their first day of recovery eventually comes to a close and the two taller men say their goodbyes with Venti sharing a gentle hug with the brunette before he leaves. And now it’s just Xiao and Venti once more. 

“How are you feeling? You okay?” he asks his partner. As stated many times, Xiao isn’t the best with feelings, but for Venti? For Venti he would learn. He would try and do anything for him if he needed it and the guitarist doesn’t plan to change that mentality now. 

‘i feel numb,’ is Venti’s solem reply, a small, awkward smile on his lips. Xiao gives him a sad look and slings an arm around his shoulder, kissing the top of his head. This causes Venti to snuggle up in his hold, nuzzling his head against Xiao’s chest to get comfortable.

‘i wish i could talk, its so much easier. it feels claustrophobic to be trapped with your own voice in your head yet be unable to speak the words you wish to say. its hard to communicate i cant just snap back a reply like i used to and ppl have to sit there in awkward silence as i type out my replies. its painful and i hate it. they said i wont be fed through this tube for forever but while its here its annoying and i just wanna go home but oh right i dont even have a home anymore,’ he says and then the water works start. 

Xiao wraps his arms tightly around Venti who furiously wipes away at his unstoppable tears. Silent hiccups and trembles leave his body as his sniffles grow harsher and his breathing becomes more erratic. The guitarist does the best he can to soothe his boyfriend, hushing and cooing him as he runs his fingers through his hair gently. 

To tell the truth, it feels a bit awkward and out of character for him to be doing this, but he has a feeling he will have to get used to it. He doesn’t mind, though, because for Venti, he would capture the stars. 

Chapter Text

On day two of their recovery period, Xiao begins questioning his sanity. The room around him constantly smells of medical supplies and the doctors begin to get on his last nerve because they aren’t patient with Venti. It takes everything in his being (and the flutist himself) to not snap at them. 

Zhongli and Childe have been their errand boys, buying Xiao things he wants to eat and bringing things to Venti from his home. Dvalin was brought over to Zhongli’s place in the meantime until Venti is free from the shackles of the hospital; luckily, the lizard remained unharmed.

The property damage and product damage, however, is beyond what Venti can ever hope to recover. He has lost the store for good. Unbeknownst to the both of them, though, their friends had other plans. 

*

“Right, so, we went through all the damage costs of the store as well as for every item either stolen or broken in anyway and it turns out to actually be less than I excepted,” Childe says as Lumine watches him sit down at the table they’re all having brunch at, drink in hand. 

“Okay, and how much are we talking exactly? Aether and I don’t have as much as you— that’s for sure— but we’d still like to help,” she says, taking a sip of her drink. A mistake because she spits out her fruity flavored smoothie as soon as the numbers leave the ginger’s mouth.

“About five hundred thousand mora,” the tall man quips as if it was nothing, dodging Lumine’s gross action just by a hair. She coughs and Aether pats her back roughly in an attempt to help her stop choking. 

Despite Lumine and Aether having been away on a business trip, their loyalty to their company— Favonious Photography— earned them a paid leave that they are spending helping their dearest friends. It just so happens that the brunette had semi-regular chats with Xiao and actually knows the twins, so he was able to get in contact with them so as to hold this discussion. 

“ Five hundred thousand mora? “ she asks once her coughing fit has calmed down. She turns to thank Aether for helping her who only nods and takes a sip of his own drink in return. She turns to Zhongli who speaks next.

“Yes, I was thinking instead of pulling it out from our own pockets, as well off as my fiancé is, we could, perhaps, start a fundraiser. We could raise money to buy a new shop for Venti, replace the damaged products, and use whatever mora is left to donate to charities that spread awareness about this subject,” Zhongli says smoothly, taking off his gloves to take the piece of food that is being offered to him by Childe. 

“Keep in mind this will up the price from 500k to around 700k - 1 million. We wouldn’t want to buy him a shitty store,” Childe says, earning him a light (not very) tap on the wrist from Zhongli to watch his language. “Ow, sorry,” he says as if he was a wounded puppy, nibbling on his french fry. 

“If I may ask, why is it so much less to just fix up the store and instruments?” Aether asks, trying to maintain some sort of cool under this intense situation. And also it’s intimidating being in front of two men that have a lot of money. 

“Good question, comrade! You see, if we were to just fix up the store, we’d simply be replacing the broken windows and glass counter tops as well as giving the store walls a new paint job. And, of course, replacing all the damaged and stolenitems. With an entirely new place, you’re talking new property value, new size, new products to fill up the bigger area, new everything basically. I’m sure you know that nothing new comes for free,” the ginger concludes, sighing at the end dramatically to show his annoyance with this kind of thing. 

Aether swallows, nodding his head, “y-yeah, I think it’d be best to start a fundraiser then, right Lu-Lumine?” he stutters, turning to her with stiff shoulders and worried eyes.

“Haha.. yeah.. a fundraiser would be best, we can promote it on our socials. Aether and I can hold a photography shoot for the flyers with all of us on it,” she turns to her brother, “do you think Kaeya would be willing to take the photos for us?” 

“I’ll text him right now,” the longer haired blonde replies, grabbing out his phone. 

The group watches as he types out a quick message to the flamboyant blue-haired man and presses send before shutting off his phone and placing it on the table. “He normally responds right away which is nice, so it shouldn’t take too long for a reply. Knowing him, he probably already knew we were gonna ask,” Aether sighs dramatically.

“Oh? Is he a physic of some sort?” Zhongli asks innocently, one hundred percent serious. Lumine and Aether’s eyes flick to Childe to ask in silent question if he is, in fact, asking in seriousness. The ginger nods his head and leans back in his chair, arm falling limpy around the back Zhongli’s as he crosses his ankle over his knee. 

The twins look at each other before they both let out a little giggle that breaks some of their built up tension. “Pfft, no, he’s just very perceptive. Somehow he’s always two steps ahead while we’re three steps back,” Lumine says, feeling safe enough to sip from her drink again. They had already taken to wiping off her pervious mess from the table that now sits in a pile of used napkins in front of them.

The wind picks up just a bit which causes the umbrella of their table to shift in it’s place and their hair to go wild. Childe doesn’t mind the breeze, he welcomes it, closing his eyes and inhaling the delicious sent of food all around them. Zhongli, on the other hand, does mind the wind as he tucks some of his bangs behind his ear and closes his eyes to prevent the wind from drying them out. 

Looking at the two men before them, brings up a question from Lumine. “I hope this isn’t too weird to ask, but do you guys not have any sort of bodyguard? It seems dangerous to walk around freely like this in public while holding a big social image,” she asks, holding down some of her hair so it doesn’t get in her eyes as well. Aether’s hair is always in a braid, even now so, he doesn’t even bother.

“Bodyguard? I’m my own bodyguard and Xiansheng’s,” Childe laughs lightly. When the twins don’t seem to buy it, he further elaborates. “No really, I am. Although, we still do have people nearby, they’re just hidden. We prefer not to be swamped by stuffy guards day in and day out and as I’ve said, I’m good enough to count for ten men. Zhongli is safe with me,” he says, pulling Zhongli closer to him with the arm around his chair. It’s almost like a display of strength considering the brunette must be heavy with how tall and built he is. On top of that, he’s sitting, which makes it harder for the ginger to move him. 

Childe places a kiss to the corner of Zhongli’s eye who leans into the touch welcomingly before leaning slightly closer to Childe, resting a hand on his ankle across his knee. The sight is sickeningly sweet and the twins can’t decide between wanting to throw up and wanting to coo at them. They decide not to say anything about the action at all.

“He gives himself too much credit—“ 

“—What—?!”

“—He regrets to inform you of my own capabilities on top of his own. I am not one to be easily pushed around, nor taken advantage of. I can defend myself better than he can, in reality,” Zhongli concludes, looking his dear fiancé in the eyes when the ginger pouts at him. “You know this is true,” the burnette whispers and Childe’s pout evaporates and is replaced by something the blondes would not like to acknowledge.

Aether clears his throat awkwardly, looking down at his phone, “ahem, uh, Kaeya replied,” he says, which captures all their undivided attention. “He says ‘sure, I can hold the shoot for you, but it’s going to cost you’ winky face,” Aether shudders in unsettlement and looks up from his phone. “What should I say? Should I tell him the date and time? Wait we don’t even have one yet,” he mutters the last bit. 

Childe hums, taking his phone from his pocket and opening the calendar app as Zhongli leans over to look at it as well. “Well it looks like the closest we can do it from today is the day after tomorrow at five-ish,” the ginger says, shutting and locking his phone before slipping it back in his pocket. 

“That works for us, the sooner the better,” Lumine says, nodding at Aether in confirmation. 

“Then it’s settled! The day after tomorrow at five; where are we supposed to meet?” Childe asks, realizing he shouldn’t have put his phone away. He grabs it out again and sets a reminder on the day and time, now all he needs is the place. 

“The official Favonious Photography building, I can text you the address if you still don’t know where you’re going. Once you get there, Aether and I can come get you and lead you to Kaeya’s studio,” she says, taking a sip of her drink and loving the way the coolness of it calms her nerves over this whole situation. 

“Go ahead and send the address anyway, it could still end up being helpful,” Zhongli suggests and Lumine nods. With a sigh, the brunette goes to stand, pushing in his chair, “well then, I think that concludes our business here, Childe and I are rather busy. Please do consider using this free time to go and see Xiao and Venti. They have missed you greatly— Xiao has missed you greatly,” he says.

The twins give each other a sad look before nodding, “we were gonna do that anyways, but thanks for reminding us. Take care,” Aether replies, standing up as his sister and Childe do as well. 

They all push in their chairs and take what is left of their drinks from the table before waving goodbye and being off on their separate ways. Aether and Lumine head to their car while the two husbands-to-be chat their way back to their own private vehicle. The easy part is over, now comes the pain of facing reality. 

This is exactly what these siblings have been dreading, having to walk into the hospital and face their long time friend and his partner, beaten and bruised and left out to dry. Nobody in their right mind wants to witness such a sight because it’s painful and pain is exactly what they don’t want to feel.

But alas, what one wants isn’t what one always gets, as they pull into the hospital parking lot and register themselves at the front desk. They apply their visitor badges and are led to their friends’ room by the doctor. Doctor Baizhu, he said his name is.

When the door is softly opened and the green-haired man motions them inside, both of the twins can’t help but begin to tear up. Sitting on the hospital bed before them is their best friend with a huge cut in his side that was nearly fatal and next to him is his beloved boyfriend whose face has seen better days and whose voice is no longer with him. 

Both twins rush over to their bed side and gather them up in a gentle but firm hug. Within their hold it smells of home which relaxes their nerves and makes them realize that despite what has happened, Xiao and Venti are still the same people. 

*

Xiao feels his eyes start to water as his heart begins to pound. How are they here? He thought they were away on a business trip? Whatever. It doesn’t matter, all that matters is that they’re here and that they are hugging him. In this moment the guitarist realizes how badly he needed a hug from these two, it relaxes his state of mind and state of being to finally have seen them after all the chaos.

When they all let go, both boys on the bed move their legs in more so the twins can sit on the edge of the bed. Lumine wipes away at Xiao’s watery eyes before the guitarist speaks, “ how are you here? I thought— I thought you were away on a business trip?” he asks, sounding so utterly relieved and confused at the same time.

“You and your boyfriend get seriously hurt and are hospitalized and the story is put on the news and you think we wouldn’t come rushing home?” Aether deadpans, laughing lightly when Venti and Lumine smile at the obvious joke. 

“Well— I mean, ugh, you know what I mean,” Xiao huffs, leaning back against the pillows of his shared bed. “No, really, how are you here, though?” 

“We can’t even ask how you two are first?” Lumine says; it’s her turn to poke fun at their best friend now. The martial artist rolls his eyes and them gives them each a knowing stare to which, she relents. “Okay, okay, Favonious caught wind of the news and shot a text our way and actually asked us if we would like an opportunity to come back and see you both,” she explains, shifting on the bed to be more comfortable.

Xiao seems to accept that as he nods, crossing his arms. “Venti,” Aether speaks. The boy with braided hair sits up straighter and his eyes widen in attention to having his name been called. Once Aether knows he has his attention, he speaks once more, “how are you fairing, you know, with being unable to speak?”

To tell the truth, the question makes the flutist want to cry all over again, but he won’t let them know that as he puts on a fake smile and grabs out his phone to begin typing out his reply. ‘ive been better its an awkward adjustment but xiao is here to help me so its not as hard’ he writes before showing the phone screen to the twins.

They both nod, before giving him a sympathetic smile, glancing down to his neck and the tube running through his nose. Silence follows his reply as they all take the time to process the craziness of the situation. It’s insane how your world can be flipped upside in one night.They went from kissing on the beach to kissing in a hospital bed, wounds and hearts aching alike. 

Even so, despite their shortcomings, Xiao has no intention of letting Venti go, nor does he have any thought of leaving him to deal with this on his own. He doesn’t know when the proper time to bring it up is, but he plans to offer the flutist a home with him. Well, he’s never had a pet before, but he wouldn’t mind having a lizard. Are they low maintenance? High maintenance? He doesn’t know, but he’s willing to learn. 

He’s snapped out of his thoughts when a gentle hand on his arm tugs him out of them. Venti pulls on his arm gently, nodding his head in the direction of the twins, “sorry, what did you say? I didn’t hear,” he explains, resting his hand over Venti’s to keep his comforting weight there.

“Oh, don’t worry, I just asked if there’s anything we can do for you guys while we’re here. I mean, there’s not much you can do in a hospital, but we can make it work,” Aether smiles, snapping his fingers in emphasis. 

“I don’t have anything here that I wouldn’t already want,” Xiao says, turning to Venti, “anything you want from your house?” he asks. All three of his friends wait for Venti’s reply as he types it out swiftly, making sure to correct his spelling errors.

‘can you go to my house and grab me my blankets and pillows? these hospital ones arent the best;;’ he replies, showing the phone screen to the twins. They nod in confirmation before Venti explains that they should tell the workers they’ve been sent by him and show proof. The proof being a selfie they all take together.

Xiao and Venti squish together, the flutist’s cheek presses against his lover’s as the two blonde twins lean their weight lightly against their chests. Lumine being careful of Xiao’s wound as Aether is careful of Venti’s. They all smile gently, a peace sign being thrown up by Lumine as Aether snaps the photo. As photographers, it’s not their best work, but as friends, this picture is worth more than any amount of money their works make. 

Once they’re done, they all take a while to just sit and chat. They talk about anything but the elephant in the room. The topic just sucks the life out of all of them and who wants to feel like shit when they’re hanging out with their closest friends? Nobody! So, instead, they talk about the TV show Venti and Xiao have started together as well as the new models and sights the twins have acquired in their line of work.

They talk about Zhongli and Childe, Xiao being very vocal about how off board he is on the idea of the two being engaged. His friends just laugh at him and tell him to let them live their life, but Xiao will never stop poking fun at the brunette for picking such a man to be his forever. What an insufferable forever to have, but he would never actually berate the business owner for the love of his life. At the end of the day, it’s Zhongli’s decision, not his. 

When they’ve seemingly run out of topics to talk about, the twins head off to acquire Venti’s pillows and blankets before the crime scene is shut down for the day and they’re no longer allowed in. When they’re alone again, Venti snuggles right up to Xiao with a yawn. 

“Tired?” Xiao asks, and Venti nods, eyes fluttering softly in their battle to remain open,“Venti,” the guitarist speaks. Venti opens his eyes and looks up at Xiao, moving more of his entire body than his neck so as to not hurt himself. The guitarist cups his boyfriend’s cheek, rubbing his thumb gently across his soft skin. “Can I kiss you?” he asks in a whisper.

Venti blinks at him, taking a moment to register the question that was just asked to him. When he does, his eyes soften, incredibly so, and he smiles gently, nodding his head. 

Xiao leans down to plant his lips softly on his lover’s. His hair brushes Venti’s face as their lips move in perfect harmony with each other. The kiss is soft and gentle and slow. It relaxes the both of them to be in the moment with only them, blissfully unaware of the chaos around them from the situation they’re in. 

A little gasp escapes Venti’s lips when Xiao deepens the kiss, slipping his hand into Venti’s hair to do so. The flutist’s hands find their way to the fabric on Xiao’s chest, gripping it as if it could save him from falling deeper and deeper in motion. The guitarist hums against his boyfriend’s lips at the action, thriving in the way Venti can still silently tell him how he’s feeling. 

Before the kiss gets too deep, Xiao pulls away and watches as Venti’s eyes flutter open and a small blush coating his cheeks. The flutist brings his fingers to his lips— a shy motion— before he grabs his phone and messily types out a message. ‘has anyoen ever told you youre a good kisserr??’ he asks.

It’s Xiao’s turn to blush now as his eyes flick away shyly. “Not vocally..,” he mumbles. Venti’s shoulders shake in silent laughter before he smiles lightly heartedly. He cups Xiao’s cheek and turns his face back towards him as he moves forward to plant another gentle kiss to his lips. When they part, they rest their forwards together, Venti’s hand remaining in its place as they just bask in each other’s presence. 

“..Has anyone ever told you you’re really beautiful?” Xiao whisper-mumbles. Venti goes to remove his hand from Xiao’s face to respond with his phone, but the guitarist catches his hand, holding it in place. “I mean it, Venti, even with bruises and a bloody nose. Scratches and scrapes. Even without your voice, you still remain the most gorgeous person I have ever seen,” Xiao says this with his eyes closed, but when he opens them..

When the martial artist opens his eyes he finds his beloved boyfriend to be biting his lip and sniffling, his eyes glossy with tears. Xiao doesn’t say anything, he just uses Venti’s hand on his face to his advantage, kissing his wrist before pulling it to wrap around his neck. Venti seats himself in the guitarist’s lap, straddling him as he snuggles his face into his neck with quiet sniffles. 

Xiao rubs Venti’s back, closing his eyes to appreciate the warmth he provides, holding back a wince when Venti’s knee accidentally hits his healing wound. After a few much appreciated moments of silence, Xiao speaks, “I’m going to take sign language classes with you,” he says as if it were such a small thing.

But to Venti? To Venti that means the world right now. The flutist sits back so he can look Xiao in the eyes, pure astonishment in his eyes for the words that just left his boyfriend’s mouth. “Really?” he mouths, but Xiao can understand that much, so he nods. Venti’s eyes get glossy again, but few tears slip. 

The flutist brings Xiao’s head to his chest and hugs him closely. He can feel the fast rhythm of Venti’s racing heart and it lulls him to close his eyes, hands falling from his boyfriend’s upper back to around his waist. Venti runs his fingers through Xiao’s hair slowly and plants a kiss atop his head, making him even more drowsy than he already was. 

Perfect timing, though, because they hear a knock at the door and in comes Aether and Lumine with Venti’s blankets and pillows. Normally, the guitarist would find himself growing embarrassed, but right now he’s loving the affection way too much to care and, come on, it’s only Aether and Lumine. 

“Oh, sorry to interrupt,” Aether says, setting the pillows and blankets on the bed, “we were just kinda let in.” He takes his place next to Lumine again, nudging her shoulder to ask if they should leave. She just shrugs her shoulders.

“‘S fine..,” Xiao mumbles against Venti’s chest, running his finger tips along his spine absentmindedly. Venti doesn’t seem to mind the action though, in fact, he welcomes it. 

“Thank you,” Venti mouths to them, with a smile, eyes still puffy from having cried. The twins nod at the same time and wave their goodbyes, before they leave a small gift on the table; more flowers. This causes a gentle smile to appear on Venti’s face as they leave. 

When Xiao hears the click of the door, he leans back against the bed instead of remaining in a sitting position which makes Venti tumble forward, having to catch himself on the bed before he smacks his face into Xiao’s. The guitarist smirks up at him and kisses the unwounded side of his neck before nuzzling his face into Venti’s chest once more.

Then he bites.

And Venti gasps.

The flutist’s first reaction is to place a hand over where Xiao had just bit him and give the other an incredulous look. This expression makes the guitarist flat out laugh. Not a small chuckle or huff of air like he’s used too— no, a genuine, full hearted laugh . And Venti bites his lip to stop himself from smiling all funny because he’s supposed to be reprimanding him. He bit him! In the end, pushing aside his disbelief, Venti just shakes his head and adjusts their positions so he’s snuggled up on Xiao with his legs twisted around his. 

This is the position they fall asleep in with Venti’s blankets and pillows surrounding them in the comfort of home. 

The next day is when business is set back in motion, the two dark haired men scroll online to look for the best place to take their language lessons. They thought looking together would be better opposed to looking alone. 

The two eventually decide on a woman named ‘Lisa’ who regularly attends the public library. Turns out, she owns the library and with a few quick internet searches they find that her adopted son, Razor, is unable to speak as well. This was her motivation behind beginning her studies of sign language. 

Seeing this story makes them both believe she would be best fit to teach them how to learn, so they make an appointment for when they get out of the hospital in a couple days and hope for the best. If everything goes well, then they’re accepted and can begin as soon as possible. If all goes for the worst, then they’d have to find someone else to teach them which isn’t too bad, but still worse than ideal. 

The twins, on the other hand, are working hard on setting up the fundraising website. They call in a technological expert and colleague, Sucrose, to help with designing the website. 

“Right, so we need it to surround the incident that happened to that music store on the block,” Lumine says, sliding the computer over to the green haired woman who adjusts her glasses. “The two men injured happen to be our close friends, so we’re starting a fundraiser for them and to spread awareness.”

“That’s very sweet of you two,” Sucrose says, words soft spoken and light. “Do you have any sponsors? I would like to put them down in the description,” she says, clicking buttons and typing codes in order to link the donation part of it.

“We do, actually, Morax Music Majors as well as Favonious Photography,” this causes Sucrose to pause her typing and look at the two of them in astonishment. The twins give each other a look before looking back to the girl with glasses curiously. 

“W-Wow, how did you manage to get such a huge company as Morax Music Majors to sponsor you?“ she asks, genuinely curious. Lumine brushes some lint from her jeans, adjusting her work badge around her neck.

“The CEO and founder just so happen to be a good friend of both of the two men injured— a friend of a friend, if you will,” she says, sitting up a little straighter as she feels the need to represent Zhongli well. 

“Not to mention his fiancé is flat out drowning in money. His bank account is scary,” Aether mumbles, crossing his arms as he thinks of the goofy ginger in his mind and how he even managed to become a diplomat in the first place. 

“Oh, I see,” Sucrose mutters, thinking too deeply about what was just said to her, but she gets back to work nonetheless adding details to make the webpage not look empty and dead. She sets up her donation link, secures the sponsors for the fundraiser and website and begins typing out all that she needs to to make each button clickable and have a place for each attachment to go as well as a place for a small description under them.

She spends her time reading article after article and asking questions to the two blondes as she goes. “Did you ever get an interview from the two victims?” she asks, hand on her chin in thought as she keeps her eyes on her computer screen.

“Oh, now that you mention it, we never did. Wouldn’t we have to call in an actual interviewer for that?” Aether asks, as he watches her scroll through the webpages on her screen.

“I’m not too sure actually, maybe someone like Master Jean is more fit for that role than myself,” Sucrose mumbles, too focused on her work to remain intelligible. The company they work under is openly named ‘Favonious Photography,’ but it’s more than that, really. There are different branches in the company, modeling, scenic, movies, television, etc. Sucrose actually happens to work two jobs, her scientific one and then computer programming as her side job. 

The woman finds if she’s not busy 24/7 she will grow restless, but is always reminded to take breaks by her lab partner and mentor, Albedo. The two normally come as a packaged deal, but Albedo is one of the head scientists back at the lab, so only one job is enough to keep him busy. That and his little sister Klee. 

“Do you think we could just give a statement instead? This is supposed to be a surprise after all,” Aether asks. Sucrose turns to look at him, pausing her typing for a second as she hums.

“I think that would be okay, maybe even better considering it would bring in more people having a story about friends helping friends rather than a ‘sob story’ in the eyes of the people. It makes it feel more authentic if the ones raising the money are not the ones injured themselves,” she explains, using her hands to talk because she’s just that kind of person. 

The twins both nod, taking in this new information, “but you would still need a reliable journalist to write you the article,” the green haired woman laughs, awkwardly, adjusting her glasses.

“Right, we’ve got Kaeya for that. He agreed to take our photos on top of writing us the article. We would also like to discuss your pay for setting up this website for us. When, about, do you think it can be finished?” Lumine asks, tilting her head.

Sucrose hums in thought, turning to look back at her computer screen, “I think I can get it done in two days. It’s only a simple fundraising website and it also gives you time to get that article and the photos for me,” she says.

“Okay, nice, that works out perfectly. We’ll discuss it then and head off now, I’m sure you’re busy,” Aether says, standing up and pushing in Sucrose’s chair for her when she stands up as well. The green haired woman thanks him, closing her laptop and holding it against her chest with one hand as she waves them off with the other. 

“She was a sweet girl,” Aether comments, turning to his sister who nods her head, hand on her hip as she watches the retreating woman. She wears a pencil skirt and sheer, black stockings. Her heels click quietly against the carpeted floor as her hair flows freely down her back against her white blouse. 

“Maybe that’s why her name means ‘sugar,’” Lumine comments, beginning to walk out of the company building and heading to the site of the accident. While Kaeya will be taking the pictures of all four of them— Zhongli, Childe, Lumine and Aether— they can take pictures of the crime scene themselves. It’s less money too. 

When they arrive at the crime scene, they flash their badges at the officers who let them be as they go around taking pictures of the store. They get shots of the broken glass, the blood on the floors, the police markings and even the very camera that filmed it all itself. 

They also take a moment to head upstairs to Venti’s apartment to get a better grasp of what the two of them went through. They take a look around, but they don’t take any pictures. Everything looks the same as it had that day. The one used dish is still in the sink, the curtains are still open, letting the sunshine through. 

Dust collects on the unused home and the two of them can’t help the solemn mood that falls over the atmosphere. They think of the fear Venti must have felt defending himself and his store from the murderers who attack him. They imagine the dread and anger Xiao must have felt when he recognized the people who killed his only family and that were now after Venti as well.

The two of them look over the very few pictures Venti has, it’s probably an invasive move, but they don’t think that far ahead in the moment. Aether picks up a portrait of Venti and a boy who looks exactly like him just without the dyed hair. 

“Venti has a twin..?” he whispers, feeling the weight of the world come crashing down as a realization hits him. If Venti had a twin.. how come they never see him? He sets the portrait down and moves around the house to look at a few other trinkets and finds himself finding something he wishes he didn’t. An urn sits on a shelf, a picture of Venti and his twin next to it. The two are smiling brightly, cheeks squished together. They look almost like exact copies of each other. 

Aether feels his heart tighten as Lumine comes up next to him and plants a hand on his shoulder, a look of sympathy on her face. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Lumine, I can’t imagine the pain Venti must have went through when he lost his twin brother,” he whispers and Lumine nods, squeezing her brother’s shoulder in comfort before letting it go.

The twins are very close siblings and they were already separated once when they were younger. To have one of them permanently be gone sounds like an utter nightmare and it’s so unimaginable; the pain each of them would go through without the other. Hell, they’re the type of twins that wear matching outfits, so that should speak volumes. After that, they find themselves no longer wanting to be at the scene of the crime, so they grab the rest of their pictures and head off. 

Back at the hospital, Venti and Xiao are playing Tic Tac Toe on a notebook Venti was given by the hospital to help him communicate if he doesn’t have his phone. His vocal cords, or lack thereof, were checked and he seems to be healing just fine, Xiao as well. Within the week they should be able to be discharged from the hospital with minimal requirements of aftercare. 

Dr. Baizhu has been an exceptionally outstanding doctor and has continued to provide each of them what they need in order to keep them healthy and as happy as they can be. This includes a few tissue boxes for the times when Venti’s mood and Xiao’s hit an all time low. 

They are trying to make the best out of the situation as they can, but it’s a struggle when you’re constantly reminded of what happened, and now, what you’ll have to deal with for the rest of your life. The idea of learning sign language is stressing Venti out because what if he’s not good at it? What if he messes up too much and nobody understands? Personally, he’s fine with continuing to write and type things out, but he feels it’s also essential to learn to sign. 

His frustration shows in his game play as Xiao easily takes the win and he looks up at the boy with braided hair. “You okay?” he asks. Venti takes to writing out his reply on the notebook: ‘just stressing over learning sign language and also i have no idea where im going to go after we get out of here.’

“Come live with me,” Xiao says as if it were nothing. Venti looks up at him, mouth slightly ajar and eyes wide. “Look, I-I know it’s sudden, but I mean— well, you need a place to live and I— we’re dating so, you know. I mean, I wouldn’t mind if you were there, I just—“ Venti drops his head with shaking shoulders. “..Venti?” Xiao asks.

When Venti looks up he has the most dopey of smiles on his face and tears in his eyes from laughing at Xiao’s struggle to speak. ‘i would love to live with you xiao for as long as you allow it thank you’ he writes, drawing a little heart next to his letters.

Xiao huffs out a small smile, nodding his head, “of course, I’m willing to do all I can to help you.” He scratches the back of his neck shyly, looking off to the side, “will you be okay with sharing the bed, though? If not, I can sleep on the couch.”

The flutist gives him a flat look, gesturing with his eyes to the very position they’re in, sitting, sleeping, and lazing around in the same bed for the past three days together. “I’ll take that as a yes then,” Xiao says and Venti huffs out a silent laugh, shaking his head in amusement.

Once the two finish their games of Tic Tac Toe, the doctors bring in food for Xiao and hook Venti up with some as well. It’s kind of fascinating how that all works, but also frightening. How the hell did they get that thing in there and make it not hurt him?? He doesn’t know, hospitals are weird and never were they ever his favorite place to be.

They watch some videos on Venti’s laptop that was also brought in from his home to give them a bigger screen instead of using the hospital TV as they eat. This seems to have become a nightly routine between them as well as playing two player games with the keyboard on fun websites until they fall asleep. 

Speaking of sleeping, it seems as though Venti has passed out with Xiao kissing the top of his head and a soft smile against his lips. The doctors come to remove their messes and take out the trash and such, shutting off the lights on their way out to let them both sleep in peace. With another day of recovery over, comes another start to their next day of recovery; each day getting them one step closer to being fully healed. 

Chapter Text

Today is the fourth day of recovery and the third day of work and planning for the twins, Zhongli, and Childe. The two blondes are exceptionally bored as they are forced to sit with a certain blue haired man while waiting for their friends to arrive.

“So, I hear this is for your dear friend Xiao? How cute, it is very endearing that you would like to help him out,” Kaeya says, setting up his studio for the different kinds of pictures they’ll be taking.

Lumine, who is sitting on a box goes to respond, but Aether is quicker, “oh, actually, it’s not for Xiao, really, it’s for his boyfriend,” he corrects. This has Kaeya turning around, his hand on his hip with his head cocked to the side. 

“Boyfriend?” he asks, genuinely curious. He doesn’t mean it in a bad way, Kaeya could care less who Xiao spends his time with. What he does care about is why they’re doing it for his boyfriend and not him. 

“Yeah, Venti was the one who took the hardest hit,” a pause, a downcast of eyes, a quiet voice, “you can read it once it’s published I’m sure, but his vocal cords were cut. He can no longer speak and the shop he owned is completely ruined,” Aether says, picking at something invisible on his arm.

Kaeya hums, nodding his head as he turns back around to finish setting up. “Then you all are very generous people, I’m sure the two of them will be more than delighted when they find out what you’ve done for them,” he says, adjusting the light settings on his lamps. 

Just then Lumine gets a text saying the two taller men have arrived and that she should go get them, so she tells the two boys she’ll be back and heads off to the main part of the building. Lumine crosses an abundance of hallways and groups of people, making sure to show her ID tag to the security as she does so. 

The building itself isn’t too complicated to understand (this is a lie) so she easily finds her way to the front entrance. Zhongli is standing next to Childe with sunglasses over his eyes and a long trench coat around him. Childe on the other hand, has an open button down shirt over top a normal t-shirt. Lumine can see bracelets around his wrists because his sleeves are pushed to his elbows.

“Hey,” she calls from the top of the steps. The two men turn to her and unison, which she has to admit is a little intimidating, as Zhongli pushes his sunglasses on top of his head. They walk up the steps to meet her, giving small smiles and waves in greeting.

“Hello, you look very pleasant today, Ms. Lumine,” Zhongli says, glancing at her outfit. She’s wearing just your average sundress and small heels. Nothing too fancy, but a compliment is a compliment nonetheless.

“Oh, thank you,” she says, looking down at her own outfit as well, she swings her hips from side to side to get a better look before placing her hands on her hips and smiling. “Shall we head inside?” she asks, gesturing to the doorway.

The two nod, following her inside as she reshows every security guard her badge and explains that these two men are with her. Lumine can feel the surplus amount of eyes on them, not her, just Zhongli and Childe. While this is definitely understandable because both men are extremely good looking, it is very excessive and unnecessary. 

When the two reach Kaeya’s studio, Lumine knocks on the door frame as she enters which causes Aether and Kaeya to look over at them. “Hey guys,” Aether greets, hopping off his box to go say ‘hi’ to Childe and Zhongli. 

“What’s up Aether,” Childe says, high-fiving the shorter male with a bright smile. “When can I get a rematch for that race you kicked my ass in? I’ve been practicing and I’m so gonna win next time; mark my words,” he says, all in good fun.

The two of them have been bonding over playing a racing game on their Switches , but Lumine can’t tell if it’s even a fair game for them to be playing. Aether constantly beats Childe over and over again and somehow the ginger just never gives up. It’s cool that Aether has made a new friend, though.

“Yeah right, I’m gonna win just like always. I still remain undefeated and we’ve play like, what, a hundred plus times??” Aether smirks up at the taller man who glares playfully down at him.

“Amount of times played means nothing! I’m getting better and better with each round,” Childe says, ruffling Aether’s hair like he would his younger brothers’. The two seem to have that sort of bond.

“Hey, hey, my hair! Kaeya just fixed that,” Aether groans, punching Childe in the shoulder semi-lightly. He just huffs out a laugh and rubs the spot he was punched as he watches the blonde attempt to refix his hair. That’s when Kaeya makes his move.

“Here, let me,” the dark haired man says as he turns Aether to face him and brushes his hands through Aether’s hair, making sure all the pieces fall in place correctly. “Hello, I’m Kaeya, your photographer today and these two’s co-worker. I do hope it is a pleasure,” he says, turning his head to flash them a closed mouth smile. 

“Rightfully so,” Zhongli replies, “I am Zhongli and this is my fiancé, Ajax, but he prefers to be called Childe publicly—“

“—Correction: by all people who aren’t family,” the ginger says, turning to smile at Zhongli who’s eyes soften at the word ‘family’. 

“Yeah so publicly,” Lumine deadpans and Childe throws her a knowing look and she giggles, scampering off to the set where she takes a seat on one of the wooden crates. Childe just shakes his head with a huff of air, hands on his hips. 

“Women,” he says.

“I heard that!” Lumine shouts and that causes all of them to break out into a fit of laughter, making their way over to the set Kaeya had prepared beforehand. The set consists of wooden crates stacked on top of each other with a plain white backdrop. After all this is only supposed to be a flyer promoting their fundraiser; the focus should be on the words on the page, not themselves.

“Let’s get started then,” Kaeya says, he holds out a hand to Lumine who takes it and steps her way up onto the highest box which reaches to about just below Childe’s shoulder. “Aether you’re next,” he says as he helps Aether sit on the middle box. “And then Mr. Zhongli,” he speaks, motioning to the final box— the shortest one.

“Lumine, can you cross your ankles and fold your hands in your lap? Lean a little forward as well and tilt your head to the left. Aether, spread your legs a little and lean back on both palms, tilt your head to the right. Make sure your heels touch, but don’t cross. Mr. Zhongli, can you cross your legs, sit up straight and turn your shoulders towards me? Perfect,” Kaeya instructs, moving to stand where Childe is supposed to stand, “Mr. Childe, can you come stand right here and lean your elbow on the box, put your weight on one foot and cross your ankle over the one on the floor. Then put your right hand in your pocket.”

When everyone is in their places and positions, Kaeya takes a step back, camera around his neck as he takes the whole scene in. He hums before taking a step forward and moving to fix Lumine’s dress, “excuse me, sir,” he says as he steps over Zhongli’s crossed legs to straighten the beautiful woman’s clothes. “Okay, let’s take some like this,” he says.

The blue haired man holds his camera up to his eyes and counts down before he takes numerous photos in this position. When he checks them over he notices some small details in each of them he would like to change so he makes his way over to Childe first, straightening out his shirt and bracelets. He fixes his collar and goes to grab a tiny bit of makeup.

Kaeya makes his way back to Childe, “hold still, this will only take a second,” he says as he applies some light texture to his skin to make Childe’s freckles pop more. When he finishes, he inspects his work quickly with a nod, pocketing his little makeup kit. 

Moving to Aether, the indigo haired man fixes the kinks in the boy’s shirt before loosening his braid some more to make it less neat and more wind damaged. This will add more to his otherwise pretty normal appearance. Kaeya bops Aether on the nose with some blush before moving on to his last victim, Zhongli. 

Kaeya, brushes a stray strand of Zhongli’s hair behind his ear and then moves the other’s chin to look at him more. “Okay, your posture is great, but can you relax your shoulders a bit for me. It will make you look less stiff and more prim and proper,” he explains to which Zhongli nods.

Once everyone is in their positions again, Kaeya adjusts the light settings and takes up his position in front of them once more. He counts down from three before snapping a couple more pictures of them. This routine continues until the photographer is happy with the results. 

When he is, everyone’s shoulders sag in relief, even Zhongli’s as he feels as though he has been holding his breath this entire time. The studio lights are also very bright and they aren’t exactly wearing the lightest of clothes. 

“Man, that took longer than I expected,” Childe comments, fanning himself with his hand, “I swear I was about to get sweat stains!” At that Lumine makes a face.

“Gross,” she says, taking Zhongli’s hand as she hops down from the boxes, “next time, keep it to yourself,” she says light-heartedly. Everyone huffs out a laugh, even Childe himself who moves next to Zhongli to give him a kiss, but the brunette pushes his lips away with two fingers.

“Apologies, Ajax, but if you sweat enough to acquire sweat stains, I cannot imagine you would smell too pleasant right now,” he says with a knowing smile and Childe just groans. So not fair; maybe he should have never mentioned his sweat stains. Instead, he just bites the brunette’s fingers lightly with a wink, leaning in.

The ginger slips his fingers between the ones that just pushed him away and holds Zhongli’s ear to his lips with the other hand as he whispers something. Whatever it is that he whispers makes Zhongli stiffen with wide eyes and a blush, pausing long enough for Childe to plant a loud, over-the-top kiss to his cheek and a slap to his ass.

The group all avert their gaze, the three of them all looking at each other with some amount of embarrassment from having witnessed their obvious flirting. In a public space?? Really?? Well, to be fair, that is Childe Tartaglia they’re talking about.

“Ahem, anyways,” Kaeya clears his throat, “I can have the story written up and off to Sucrose by tomorrow if you would all like to join me for some tea right now to talk about it?” The group takes a glance at one another and Aether shrugs. 

“Sounds good to us. Where are we headed?” he asks, taking the initiative to follow Kaeya out the door first. It’s not like he really even has to follow Kaeya, he works here too so he knows his way around decently well. 

“You’ll see,” is all the indigo haired main says.

*

Back at the hospital Xiao and Venti have acquired a new item to play with. Xiao’s guitar. At some point throughout the week, the instrument had been brought to them and has been sitting in the room silently taunting him ever since. Venti hasn’t asked him to play it so far, but he can feel the question coming. 

‘are those the new strings you brought from my shop a while back?’ he asks, showing Xiao his phone screen as he looks over at the guitar itself. Xiao swallows thickly,  doing his head as he too looks over at the guitar.

“Yes, they are, I haven’t even tested how they sound. I just kinda.. put them on and left it,” he admits, scratching the back of his neck nervously. Venti turns to him with a tilt to his head, the question he wants to ask already apparent in the way his eyes sparkle with curiosity.

‘will you play it for me?’ he types, hopeful excitement behind his eyes. Venti has been feeling better and better as each day passed and one can tell he’s getting used to not having a voice, but even so, that doesn’t mean he’s well all the time. It’s rare for him to be this excited over something, so.. Xiao gives in. 

“Of.. of course I can, I just need you to get it for me,” he says and Venti’s smile widens even more as he hops off the bed carefully and grabs the guitar from the wall it is propped up against. 

He makes his way back to the hospital bed and hands his boyfriend the guitar carefully, before snuggling back underneath the covers and waiting patiently for him to start playing. At first, Xiao’s hands shake and his vision seems to swim over his guitar, but a comforting hand over his shoulder snaps him out of it.

Venti smiles at him gently and kisses his cheek softly in comfort. The flutist squeezes his boyfriend’s shoulder in encouragement and Xiao finds himself taking a deep breath in and letting it all out. With much steadier hands, the guitarist begins playing a slow tune. 

The notes are low and the movements are slow as he closes his eyes and lets all the memories flash over his mind. Images of his family— all the Yakshas, Zhongli, Aether, Lumine, the orphanage. His school life, his work life, the people he met at the agency. Finally, his mind lets him face what he dreads the most: the inevitable death of all four of his most beloved people.

When the images of the shooting flash in his mind, his hands stutter over the notes and his face scrunches up in pain, but a hand over his eyes gently keeps him in place. That hand is comforting, that hand is safe. He knows it’s not trying to hurt him, it’s trying to help him face his fears— face what he had so longed to forget entirely. 

He continues to struggle to play the rest of the song, but all the images slowly come back to him, they make themselves known to him. All the pictures of his friends’ dead bodies, their lifeless eyes all around his feet. The way everyone rushes out of the area. The flash of a video camera, the sounds of sirens, and the touch of hands dragging him off the stage and to safety.

He remembers the way he kicked and trashed against those arms and hands, the way he gave his crew injuries because he wanted to go back and save people who were already dead. They did the right thing by dragging him off the stage that day, but even with tears blurring his vision, he will never forget the sight of having to leave his friends behind. 

A wave of pain surges through Xiao’s heart and he just has to stop playing. His shoulders shake with tears he wants to shed, but that gentle hand remains in place and another comes to wrap around him, holding him in its embrace. 

He sniffles and holds one hand over the other to get them to stop shaking as he leans into Venti’s cuddle. “There’s nothing I could have done,” he finally admits. And he’s right, there is nothing he could have done— a crushing reality that has been haunting him for years since then. 

Xiao’s normally a really tough person, but how tough can a person be if they only run away? Isn’t that just cowardice and not strength? 

Venti hushes him, rocking back and forth gently, he can feel the wet tears against his palm, but he doesn’t remove his hand, not yet. “I.. cut the strings as a way of punishment for myself. I told myself I was nothing without them and that since music is a thing we all shared together, I’m not allowed to do it without them. I thought I had—,” he chokes, speaking too fast over his shaky voice, “I thought I had abandoned them, but they were already dead by the time I could even have the thought to,” he concludes. 

Venti nods in understanding, rubbing his cheek against Xiao’s head as he does so, so the guitarist knows he’s listening. “I miss them, Venti. I miss them everyday and it hurts. It h-hurts so much I—,” he chokes again and Venti hushes him again, encouraging him to take his time, but he doesn’t say anything anymore, just cries. 

When Venti finds that Xiao’s sniffles and sobs have slowed down, he removes his wet palm from his eyes and grabs his phone. He types out a quick message before showing the phone screen to his boyfriend with a smile. 

‘im so proud of you, im so happy youre alive,’ it reads and Xiao feels the last of his heart’s walls break as the words he didn’t know he needed to hear are said to him. This time he can’t control his body’s movements as he wraps his arms around Venti tightly, holding on to him like he’s his life line.

The guitar in his lap almost falls, but Venti catches it and sets it gently off to the side before he too wraps his arms around his boyfriend. Venti rubs his hands up and down Xiao’s back, holding his broken lover so close he can feel his heart beat against his own. 

When Venti first met Xiao he could tell the boy was not okay. No matter what walls he put up, no matter what facade he displayed, it never slipped past Venti that he was actually hurting deep down. He’s sure the twins must have noticed and tried to help as best as they can, but like some of those cheesy novels say, sometimes love really is the only cure. 

When Xiao has settled down, he pulls away from Venti and kisses his face a million times over, telling him how thankful he is as well as how lucky he is to have Venti in his life. He makes sure the flutist understands just how much that act means to him and Venti is fully okay with that, though he feels he didn’t even do much.

They spend the rest of that evening watching videos and movies together like normal and playing online multiplayer player games. Turns out Venti is very good at shooting games so they play different ones, switching off who gets to play, but they aren’t graphic at all. The people in the games aren’t even ‘people’ shaped, they’re weird objects in a sense. Venti doesn’t know if Xiao’s ptsd would trigger should they play an actual shooting game with real looking people or not, so he just stirs clear of that genre all together.

They let night fall into day.

*

Day five of recovery and the doctors have come to check up on them. They check all their wounds and see how they’re healing up. Venti’s bruises and little scrapes are mostly gone, he says his throat doesn’t hurt all that much when you apply a small bit of pressure, but he still needs a bit more time to fully recover. ‘Give it another two days or so’ they said. 

As for Xiao, his wound is almost healed completely. He can move around now if he so chooses, but he should still give it a rest. They’ll be able to remove his stitches soon as well as let him sleep on his sides. All good news. 

‘are you feeling better after yesterday?’ Venti asks him, looking at him with big worried eyes. Xiao can’t help the small endearing smile that traces his lips at his boyfriend’s concern. 

“I’m okay, Venti, because of you I was able to deal with something I had been struggling to accept for a long time. Thank you,” he replies softly. The flutist places a loud kiss to his cheek, squishing Xiao’s face against his lips which causes the guitarist to groan in embarrassment. “Okay, okay, you’ve gotten your chance to say ‘you’re welcome’” he says.

‘why? whats wrong baby you nervous?’ Venti replies, biting his bottom lip to hold back a smile. When Xiao reads the message his face goes completely red and the flutist can no longer hold back his smile and laugh as his shoulders shake. His phone almost slips from his hand.

“Okay— that’s— you— I— you know..,” Xiao stutters trying to come up with something to say, but his mind can’t process anything other than the pet name he was just called. “Wait until we’ve fully recovered to say stuff like that,” he grumbles, looking anywhere but Venti. How could he after what he just said?

“wait until we’re fully recovered? why?“ Venti asks with a tilt to his head. It’s Xiao’s turn to bite his lip as he looks Venti over nervously, blush still coating his cheeks. When the flutist tilts his head even more, the martial artist looks around the room— especially the door— before leaning in to whisper something.

“I can’t do the things I want to do to you if we’re in the hospital,” he replies, breath dusting Venti’s ear. He can feel the way the boy with braided hair tenses at his reply and when Xiao pulls away he feels as though he got his revenge unintentionally. 

Venti’s face is completely red and he’s frozen in place, eyes blinking widely and shoulders stiff. If anyone came over to tap his shoulder right now, he’s sure that Venti would probably just fall over. His mouth is slightly ajar in shock and his breathing has become shallow if even existent. He’s the definition of completely and utterly flabbergasted.

At that moment, the door to their room opens with a knock and Xiao— only Xiao— turns to face their newcomer. Well, newcomers, he supposes. These two are the last people Xiao expected to see showing up at the hospital for them.

“Chongyun? Xingqiu?” Xiao asks with genuine confusion, but the boys just respectfully shut the door behind them and stand at the end of the bed. They brought flowers and small gifts they placed on the table for them as well. What gentlemen.

“Hello, Master, we heard what happened to your boyfriend’s music store.. and.. we saw the videos of what happened to both of you floating around the internet.. I hope it’s not too invasive to ask to see you in the hospital, but you’ve been a very good teacher to me, so I feel as though this is the least I can do,” Chongyun says, turning to Xingqiu, “Xingqiu doesn’t know you as well as I do, but he came here because I was too nervous to see you alone and as an apology for the mall incident,” he explains. 

Xiao nods his head, looking them both over as he processes this new information. He doesn’t mind that the boys came to see him, it’s just a surprise. After all, Chongyun is his student and Xingqiu is his student’s partner and a gift is a gift no matter the sender. So, he accepts both of their company welcomingly.

“Is.. is he all right? He kind of looks out of it,” Xingqiu asks, gesturing to Venti who is still processing what Xiao has said to him. Xiao turns to his boyfriend and snaps his fingers in front of his face which causes the flutist to flinch back and blink at all of them, mouth still ajar. Venti covers his face with his hands in embarrassment when he sees the two blue haired boys and Xiao can’t help but chuckle.

‘sorry im still processing i wasnst expecting visitors,’ Venti types out and hands the phone to the boys to read. When they do they both nod, but their eyebrows furrow in confusion. Why didn’t Venti just say that out loud?

“Is.. can he not speak?” Chongyun asks, voice unsure and nervous. Venti lifts his head from his hands and looks at both of them before he smiles bittersweetly. He shakes his head, sadness falling over his eyes. “Will he.. be able too

 again?” the lighter haired boy asks.

“No. When Venti was attacked, his throat was slit which damaged his vocal cords critically. It was either: remove them completely or die,” Xiao replies in Venti’s stead. “He won’t be able to speak anymore. Not ever..,” he states sadly, laying a hand on Venti’s knee comfortingly. The flutist just gives him a small sad smile, resting his hand over the top of Xiao’s.

“Oh.. I’m.. I’m so sorry that happened,” Chongyun apologizes as if it were somehow his fault. Both the men on the bed give them sympathetic smiles. These two; they really were raised by angels. Well, Xingqiu.. maybe he was raised by a slightly different angel. 

‘its not your fault,’ Venti types, having gotten his phone back from them, ‘you couldnt have prevented it and nobody could have saw it coming and warned us in time it was all just a series of unfortunate events,’ he sugarcoats, but Xiao knows that’s not entirely true. What happened to them was not just unfortunate, it was horrific. Watering it down that much is definitely just to prevent each of them from becoming too worried.

“Okay.. if you say so. Well, Xingqiu and I have to go back now. We were told we couldn’t stay long,” Chongyun explains and Xingqiu nods, hands behind his back. When Chongyun exits the room first, Xingqiu makes sure he’s gone before dashing over to Xiao, handing him an envelope and darting after his boyfriend out the door.

When the door shuts fully, Xiao blinks at it, then the envelope and then Venti. ‘open it,’ he says, so Xiao does. He carefully opens the envelope and takes out the card that’s inside. The both of them read the hopes of better health to both on the cover before opening it and seeing.. a whole bunch of scribbles..? Is this Xingqiu’s handwriting?

Xiao scoffs out a laugh and attempts to read it nonetheless: ‘Hello, Xiao, Venti, I saw what happened. I’m so sorry that you had to go [???] that. Nobody should have to experience that in their [???]. I know I didn’t make the best first impression, but I hope this makes [???] for it; at least a little bit. Get well soon. Yours truly, Xingqiu.’ Attached to the card inside is two year long passes to the local amusement park. 

Venti smiles softly down at the card as he picks up one of the passes, examining it. ‘hes a good kid,’ Venti writes, setting the card and passes off to the side on a small table. The flowers and other gifts they brought consist of Silk flowers and Glaze Lilies as well as some small trinkets. What sweet kids.

*

“I’ve sorted everything out with the fundraising website, so it’s ready to live when you guys are ready,” Sucrose explains, adjusting her glasses as he shifts her weight from one foot to the other. Aether, Lumine, Kaeya, and Sucrose are discussing the details surrounding this whole campaign while Childe and Zhongli are at work. The two men did give their consent to do whatever is needed, though.

“The fliers are all printed and ready to be posted as well,” Kaeya comments, showing them his stack of fliers. The twins nod their heads and take a few fliers each to post around town when they can. Sucrose does as well with the reminder to the blondes of how they should give Zhongli and Childe their own respective bunch. 

“Thank you both so much for the help, your compensation will be great,” Lumine says and Kaeya shakes his head. Lumine tilts her head, not quite understanding why he is disagreeing with her. Was her amount not enough?

“I was only joking about the compensation. This is for a good cause, so it’s on the house. I know what it feels like to lose a family member or two,” Kaeya says, folding his arms over his chest as he glances over to Sucrose. “Right, Ms. Sucrose?” 

“Yes, of course, as long as you stay true to the cause, I will ask nothing in return for my deeds,” she says, smiling at the twins who smile back. With a couple more comments and finishing touches to the project here and there, they upload the website and each post about it on their social media.

Aether gives their two investors the green light to go ahead and make a post of their own to which they both do. Within the next hour, their fundraiser is trending on almost all social media platforms, companies that are friends of their workplace reach out to them, spreading their condolences. Strangers who witnessed the incident live and those who didn’t all talk amongst each other in the comments, liking, sharing, and donating. 

They set the mora goal relatively low, but they have a feeling they might have to up it seeing as how fast the money is flowing in. It warms all of their hearts to know that people other than them are here for Xiao and Venti through these hard times. An author of a book named A Legend of Sword donates a hefty sum to the fundraiser, saying no more than ‘I wish them both only the best’. 

Another top donator is a funeral director who says they were informed of this tragic event through friends. They speak of how their parlor was the one to take care of all the Yaksha’s in their final moments above ground all those years ago:‘I have been working in this business for a very long time, but seeing the result of murder will never cease to shake me up. My condolences go out to the last remaining member as well as his boyfriend for the misfortune of both a few days ago and a few years ago. Please take care.’

A third donation is made by a Snezhnayan diplomat by the name of ‘Childe Tartaglia’. It reads: ‘Though the store owner and I are not as familiar with each other as his s/o and I are. He and his boyfriend are both close friends of my dear fiancé and I hope to grow closer with them too. If donating is a chance to help not only them, but others who have faced situations such as this, then I couldn’t be more happy to pitch in. Get well soon.’

The donation after that is made by Morax Music Majors, one of two sponsors for this fundraiser. ‘The tragedy that took place at Four Winds Music Store is one that should be remembered by all who reside in this city. It was a crime brought upon by nothing more than a disgusting need to so call ‘finish’ a job they started years ago. It irks me how a person can be so heartless as to harm two innocent people after killing four of one of their family members and four of my rising stars. When I saw the donation go live, I jumped on the opportunity to dish in my share. Please let this money go to them and all those who need it. Stay safe. — CEO of MMM; a proud sponsor.’

Other companies and individual people continue to donate throughout the rest of that day. The twins walk around handing out fliers and posting them on lamp posts and storyboards out in public. They ask permission to hang them in the windows and doors of cafés and restaurants as well as leave some to grab in places like the post office or library. 

Soon enough, they run out of fliers and night fall has already begun. Now they can only hope that word doesn’t get out to Venti and Xiao before they have enough time to surprise them both with what they’ve done. That being said, they make their way to Morax Music Majors to pay Zhongli a visit. 

When they arrive, they call Zhongli and hand the phone to the security on the first floor which allows them access to the elevator that leads up to Zhongli’s office. Once it stops, the doors open to reveal a spacious room with a couch, coffee table and books. It also has a desk with a big window behind it and is littered with various papers and CDs. 

The brunette looks up from his laptop, smiling at both of the twins as he gestures for them to take a seat. Zhongli removes his glasses and shuts off his laptop, folding his hands over the top of it to give them both his fullest attention. 

“Hey, Zhongli, we wanted to personally thank you for your donation, for one. And for two, we would also like your advice on choosing the best place for Venti’s music store,” Lumine says, crossing her legs. The room doesn’t feel as stuffy as she thought it would. Probably because her nerves are canceled out by the brunette’s calming, fatherly aura. 

“We thought to come ask you since you’re big in the music scene and would probably know what Venti is looking for in a new place,” Aether continues, bringing his braid over his shoulder so he can comfortably rest his back against the chair. If he ever decided to cut his hair, he isn’t sure anyone would be able to tell him and his sister a part anymore.

“Ah, yes, good thinking. Fortunately, I was not doing anything too.. important before you arrived so we may get started right away,” he reopens his laptop, quickly exiting out of a tab they assume they are not supposed to see before he slips his glasses back on. He then hands the two an interactive iPad. It’s linked to Zhongli’s laptop so they can see what he is doing without them having to stand over his shoulder.

“All those years ago I was actually the one to help Venti’s brother pick out his place of business. It gladdens my heart that I can now be doing the same for Venti as well, though under unfortunate circumstances,” Zhongli explains, opening different websites with different places for sale. 

They run through the basics of what Venti will be looking for in a new music shop such as, location, building size, and the overall property value. Zhongli makes sure to explain to them in perfect detail how each and every different thing can affect the decision to buy a certain place or not. That being said, they narrow it down to three different places in only about two hours.

“These places all seem to work. I guess now it all comes down to how much money we raise,” Aether comments with a yawn. By now it’s well past midnight, probably going on one in the morning which is way past his bedtime. 

“Right. Surely we will raise enough to choose from each of them with more than enough money left to give to charity. Keep in mind, we are only looking for the place right now, I will be donating unused instruments that are in pristine condition to Venti so he can sell them and make profit. Not only that, but not everything that was in his store was ruined. There is a lot left over he can tidy up and market off,” Zhongli explains, saving their files and shutting off his laptop. 

The taller man slips his glasses on top of his head and rubs his eyes. Seems not only Aether is the tired one here. “Okay, then we should probably get going, it seems we’re all pretty tired. Once we have raised enough money we can come chat again,” Lumine says, standing from her seat and stretching. 

Zhongli nods his head. “Yes, I do suppose I should be getting home to Ajax. It is rather late in the night,” he says, standing up and packing up his bag to go home. Lumine watches as he slips on his trench coat and slings his bag over his shoulder with his laptop and other things in it. 

“Oh, we almost forgot to give you these,” Aether says, handing Zhongli his own little stack of fliers to hand out. The brunette takes them and examines them before splitting the small pile in half and setting some on his desk and slipping some in his bag to carry with him personally. 

“Thank you, let me walk you out,” Zhongli says, gesturing to them in the direction of the elevator. When they reach it, he flicks off his office lights before stepping inside alongside them and clicking the ground floor button. “Do you need a ride home?” he asks, eyeing the two of them.

“That would be nice,” Aether says, yawning once more. “We didn’t take the car today because it’d be too tedious to constantly get out to hang up fliers and stuff. Honestly it’d be a waste of gas too,” he rambles in his tiredness and Zhongli chuckles at his straightforwardness.

“Thank you, Zhongli,” Lumine says instead, smiling at him. The brunette only nods his head in acknowledgement and takes a step out of the elevator when it opens, leading them to his car in the parking garage. 

Chapter Text

A few days later Xiao and Venti find themselves sitting in their hospital bed, a video playing softly on Venti’s laptop while Xiao attempts braiding the flutist’s hair. The two have been healing up nicely, so much so Venti no longer needs to be fed through a tube. He says the wound still makes him anxious to move his neck very much, but he’s getting there.

As for Xiao, his side is almost all healed. At this point it’s just a surface wound and will be scabbing off soon. It doesn’t hurt him anymore, but like Venti, he is still wary of making any quick movements. At the same time, though, he wants to prove to himself that this wound won’t get the best of him and stump his martial arts. 

The twins have come into the hospital to visit them a bunch of times, each time reminding them they are currently banned from social media. The two men don’t know why they’re banned, but they trust their friends to stay away for now, seeing as the only thing they do know is that it’s a surprise. A surprise for them, obviously.

Venti hisses when Xiao accidentally pulls a strand of his hair too hard. The guitarist is still clumsy at this, but he has been getting better the more and more Venti lets him braid his hair. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pull that hard,” he apologizes, loosening his grip, but not letting go. 

Venti waves him off, continuing to drink his juice box with his eyes locked on his computer screen. He’s watching some popular content creator play pranks on people using music. A typical Venti thing to do and enjoy. Other things the guitarist has come to know that his boyfriend likes to watch are: archery competitions, video games involving lots of plot, and old timey documentaries or even present day ones. 

Xiao finds it cute how Venti can be so engrossed in these things that he fails to hear him speak sometimes. It doesn’t really offend Xiao in any way because he knows the flutist isn’t doing it intentionally. Like he said, he finds it cute. 

When Xiao finishes braiding his hair, he ties it off and leans back against the pillow, pulling Venti down with him so the boy with now braided hair lays snuggly against his chest. They move the laptop into Venti’s lap so they both can see it as the flutist hands Xiao a juice box of his own to have. Apple juice, of course.

 The guitarist takes the juice box with a small ‘thank you’ and a kiss behind his ear. As he does this, he looks over the flutist’s shoulder to see that he isn’t even drinking the apple juice anymore, he’s just chewing on the straw absentmindedly as he watches the screen. 

With a quiet chuckle, Xiao detaches the straw from the box and punctures the box with said straw before taking the one from Venti’s hands and giving him the new one. This seems to snap Venti out of his absentminded chewing as he turns to Xiao with furrowed brows.

“I know apple juice is your favorite and you’ve been chewing on this straw for a while now,” Xiao says, tossing the juice box in the small trash bin beside their bed. When he turns back, Venti has a small pout on his lips as he tries to give his boyfriend the juice box back. “Venti,” he lightly pushes it back towards the flutist’s chest, “you can have it; it’s the last one.”

The flutist sighs, albeit lightly, before kissing Xiao’s cheek as a ‘thank you’ and turning back to the laptop. Then a gentle knock and an announcement of arrival can be heard before Doctor Baizhu lets himself in with a pleasant smile. “You two look like you’re doing well,” he says as Venti presses the spacebar to pause the video.

“Is that a compliment?” Xiao asks light-heartedly. The doctor huffs out a smile, shaking his head as he adjusts the clipboard in his hand. He walks over to a free chair in the room and takes a seat on it so they can hold a proper discussion.

“I would assume so,” Dr. Baizhu says, crossing his legs and folding his hands together on the clipboard that rests atop his lap. “Jokes aside, I’ve come bearing good news. Looking at the statistics and your behavior and overall attitude, you two may be able to be released as soon as today,” he says, a sly smile playing at his lips.

The two glance at each other with wide eyes filled with hope before turning back to their doctor. “As soon as today?” Xiao asks, tilting his head. Baizhu nods, looking down at his clipboard before handing it to the both of them.

“See here, the two of you have been healing exponentially well and can be released once the finishing care is over and you both are ready to leave,” Dr. Baizhu explains, pointing at different things on the sheet of paper. “We just need to know a few more things such as how well you’re faring pain-wise in case we need to prescribe medication that isn’t exactly over-the-counter and if you have a safe place to return to.” 

The two musicians nod in unison before Xiao turns to Venti and asks, “have you been feeling any excruciating or terrible pain from any of your wounds?” Venti shakes his head before pointing to his boyfriend in a curious gesture, clearly aiming the question back at him. “No, I haven’t either,” he replies, before they both turn back to Dr. Baizhu, “we will be returning to my home once released.”

“Excellent, then we just need you both to sign a few things and you’re free to go. It appears a few people may be waiting to help pack up your things and take you both home,” he explains, flipping the papers on the clipboard and handing them a pen. 

He goes over with them what each page means and why they have to sign it as they continue. Each of them takes turns signing off different papers, switching the pen back and forth between them. Fortunately, there is not much to sign, so things end quickly.

“Right then, thank you gentlemen, I wish you both a peaceful end to your recovery and we will send your friends in soon,” the green haired man promises, bowing his head before slipping out of the room just as agilely as he came in. 

The pair watch him go and as soon as the door shuts, Venti turns around in Xiao’s hold with a big smile and sparkly eyes and the guitarist’s heart just melts . They can finally go home after being in the hospital for an extended period of time. They can finally sleep in their own bed and move around freely without having to smell the scent of alcohol wipes everywhere.

Not to mention they can finally return to work and start their life together under one roof. Venti can finally see Dvalin again and Xiao can finally take a shower with his own toiletries. Oh, how nice it’s going to feel to finally get off this shitty hospital bed and into his own— their own, right, it’s Venti’s now too. 

The guitarist’s heart flutters at the reality of them living together and a slight blush appears on his cheeks which doesn’t go unnoticed by his lover. Venti’s eyes narrow as he smirks, shutting and closing his laptop and grabbing his phone to type out his thoughts.

‘are you blushing?? why are you blushing??’ he asks, showing the phone screen to Xiao which just makes him blush even more. Venti’s smirk grows as he invades his boyfriend’s space, attempting to pressure him into spilling the beans. ‘dont lie youre SO blushing right now! what kind of dirty thoughts made you blush this much??” he teases, giggling when Xiao’s eyes grow wide.

“I.. I’m not blushing for one. And for two they aren’t dirty thoughts, they are completely innocent, wholesome thoughts,” he explains, crossing his arms and looking away from Venti whose face is impossibly close to his own. 

‘okay if theyre so completely innocent and wholesome thoughts then why dont you share them with the class?’ Venti taunts, his smirk never leaving his lips alongside the mischievous glint in his eyes. Xiao sighs heavily, blush still coating his cheeks as he begins mustering up the courage to share his embarrassingly mundane and sugary sweet thoughts.

“I was just thinking about how we get to finally go home together, y’know? Instead of, like, going our separate ways we can finally spend all of the day and into the night together. Sleep in the same bed, wake up in the same bed, cook, clean, and eat together. It wasn’t anything dirty,” he explains, daring to take a glance at Venti whose mouth is slightly ajar with his eyes coated in shock. Though, there is another emotion there as well, Xiao dares to label it endearment. 

Venti takes a moment to type out his message, backspacing multiple times to fix some spelling errors as he goes. ‘thats surprisingly mundane of you XiaoXiao, who knew you were such a hopeless romantic?’ Venti replies, a lopsided grin on his face when Xiao glances back up with him with shy eyes. 

Right then, Zhongli and Childe make their way into the room carrying nothing but themselves. “What’s up guys, we have come to aid you in your escape from this dastardly confinement!” the ginger says dramatically as if he were the hero of their story that’s come to save the day. Little do they know, he kind of is.

Xiao rolls his eyes and Venti gives a silent giggle, getting up from his place in Xiao’s arms and going to give Zhongli a hug. Why? He just felt like it. The brunette stiffens, but hugs him back nonetheless, resting a hand atop the smaller’s head. His heart races inside his chest because he can’t remember the last time his best friend was this affectionate and open with him. It’s a good feeling. 

When Venti lets go he yawns, stretching where he stands before going to help back up the last remaining floater items. These include his laptop, Xiao’s guitar, phones and phone chargers, headphones, and any other lose hanging things. 

Childe and Zhongli do most of the heavy lifting, so heavier gifts such as flower vases full of water are passed over to them while Xiao is left to carry some pillows and blankets. It wounds the guitarist’s pride to be given such an easy task, but he knows it’s just the two taller men being cautious on the first day of free roam which he supposes he can appreciate. Not very many people have such caring friends nowadays. 

With everything they had brought to them now in their arms, they bid farewell to their doctors and head for the exit of the hospital. Venti and Xiao had to be wheeled out as per the law, but they still were able to set their things in their laps. 

Faces of familiar nurses and doctors pass by them, some of which they’ve gotten to know the names of and speak to more than just to switch IV’s. Though, hospitals aren’t the most comfortable place to reside in, it is still the place that housed them until they were able to stand on their own two feet again. 

Xiao would like to think the people working here genuinely care of their patients instead of getting this job purely for the money. Of course, you could have your outliers as well as people who did it for both, but as long as they do well, the guitarist doesn’t find that he minds. 

Although they did run into a few struggles with Venti’s communication at first, they were able to get things under control and so everyone who tended to them knew what to do. This made their stay a lot easier as well. 

Once they reach the exit, each of them are helped from their wheelchair as they say their goodbyes before making their way to— presumably— Childe’s car. The sky is clear and the sun is shining. The parking lot is calm and the wind is idle. It seems today will be a quiet and peaceful day to end their stay in the hospital. 

“How do you two feel about going out to eat to celebrate you being discharged?” Zhongli asks, putting some of their things in the trunk of Childe’s fancy car. One can tell it’s expensive just by the smell that hits you when you sit down in it. At least you know he takes care of his things.

Venti types out a message and taps Childe’s arm when he walks passed the open back door of his car. The ginger takes the phone from his hands and reads it aloud to Zhongli: “‘i would LOVE to go out to eat the hospital food is nasty and i can finally eat something other than what im forced to so can we PLEASE go get food???’ Is what Venti said. Xiao?” he asks, handing the phone back to Venti. 

“As long as Venti doesn’t mind, we can go,” Xiao replies as he shuts his door and buckles his seatbelt. Childe nods with an ‘okay’ before shutting Venti’s door and slipping into the driver’s seat. 

Zhongli takes his spot beside his fiancé in the passenger seat, buckling his seatbelt as well after he shuts his door. The brunette adjusts his posture and looks over to Childe who is currently scrolling on his phone in an attempt to find where they want to eat. 

In an effort to dissipate his lover’s indecisiveness, Zhongli speaks, “why do we not just take them to a family diner? Nothing too fancy, just a humble dinner between us four. I would hate to overwhelm them on their first day back.” Childe hums in thought, still reading something on his phone screen before he huffs and clicks the device off, tossing it in the cup holder between them rather roughly. Though he isn’t upset or anything, just being reckless. 

With one hand on the shifter and the other on the steering wheel, Childe’s car springs to life and he begins pulling out of the parking lot. “Sure, that sounds reasonable to me. We’ve got a load of options in this city so I suggest you guys figure out which you’d like to go to. If you’re looking for lots of seafood we can head to a traditional Liyuean style restaurant. If you’re feeling like a mix of seafood and dry land food then we can head to a Sumerian style restaurant. And last, but of course not least, if you’re looking for comfort food we can head to your average Mondstadtian joint,” he explains, all the while keeping his eyes on the road.

Xiao looks to Venti who is currently typing out his decision as he does so and when he is finished, he flips the screen over to Xiao. “Seems Venti is feeling like some Liyuean food right now,” the martial artist reads aloud. 

“All right, to your old timey Liyuean styled family diner it is then!” The ginger smiles, nudging Zhongli with his elbow, sparing a glance at his fiancé as he does so. Zhongli is not too fond of sea food but he’s sure there are some other things on the menu he will like. He grew up in Liyue not eating seafood, so there would be no reason that changes now. 

“ Eyes on the road, dear partner of mine ,” Zhongli warns. He hates it when Childe drives stick, but it was what he happened to drive to work today and he went to pick up Zhongli and head straight to the hospital without returning home first afterwards. So.. guess he just has to deal with it reluctantly. 

Childe laughs lightly, “of course, of course. Anything for you, my dear fiancé ,” he teases back, his eyes already having long been back on the road. For all their constant teasing one would wonder how they stand each other’s presence. Perhaps it is something only they can understand. 

Within a few short minutes, they make the necessary turns and lane switches needed to arrive at their destination which happens to be a place called ‘Liuli Pavilion’. It seems rather grand for only having been a family diner, but leave it to Childe to downplay his own wealth. 

Once parked and everyone is together, they make their way into the restaurant, Venti’s hand in Xiao’s as they walk to the entrance. When they get there, Childe flashes the doormen his ID and they let him and his three guests in easily.

“A table for four, preferably a booth overlooking the walk,” Childe says, handing his card to the beautiful waitress who takes it while a nod and a smile. She runs his card through the machine and hands it back to the ginger when she’s done with it.

“Right this way then, sirs,” a new person says, guiding them to their booth that overlooks the boardwalk. It’s tucked away in the corner of the restaurant and if you look out the window, you get a great view of the many strangers walking along the pier and sidewalk. 

Some are lovers, some are friends. Some are family, some are out alone. So many people with so many different lives and the view of the harbor only fuels the homey atmosphere. That and the fact that it’s not as noisy as Xiao expected it to be. 

The guitarist lets Venti slide past him and into the booth first so he gets the window seat and the flutist takes advantage of this as he stares out the window in awe. Zhongli slides in the seat across from him, Childe coming to sit next to him once he’s settled. 

“Beautiful is it not? The way one can see Guyun Stone Forest from here is absolutely amazing. It never fails to make me wonder how and why the people of our past decided to reside in such a secluded yet open space with many wonderful sights to see,” the brunette comments, sharing his thoughts to Venti specifically.

Venti nods with a smile, turning his attention back to the table before picking up a menu and flipping through it. After a moment he notices that Childe isn’t looking through the menu, so he grabs out his phone and asks: ‘are you not gonna look at what you want to eat?’. 

“Oh,” he laughs, “I’ve been here a few times so I already know what I’d like to order,” he says, his elbows on the table as he rests his cheek against his raised forearms. The ginger looks around the restaurant, bouncing his knee seemingly absentmindedly once he has answered the smaller man.

Venti can’t help but raise his eyebrow in suspicion. Childe is usually never this quiet. Unless he is, not like Venti would know; he hasn’t been around enough and for very long for him to know the Snezhnayan diplomat very well. So, without much mind, Venti shrugs it off and goes back to scanning the menu. 

Xiao takes his time looking over the nicely decorated paper enclosed in leather and plastic as he searches for what he wishes to eat. He hasn’t been out in so long he doesn’t even remember what he likes to eat. Back before Venti came into his life, the only time he went out was when the twins invited him out or Zhongli and Childe had him over for dinner.

It wasn’t very often the twins were around long and it also wasn’t very often both Zhongli and Childe had enough energy to host another person in their humble home. Both the men are usually very tired after their long draining days at work— Childe especially, though Xiao hates to admit it, he sympathizes with the ginger just a little bit for how hard working he is. The guitarist finds he can at least respect him for that much.

Once everyone has decided what they would like to eat, Zhongli, pushing his fiancé’s elbows from the table, politely tells the waiter what they each would like. Venti snickers at the pout the ginger gives the brunette as he hands his menus off with the rest of them to their waiter as well. This earns him an unheated glare and a huff from Childe. 

“Y’know it wouldn’t kill you not to be so proper all the time, Zhongli,” Childe says, resting his right elbow back on the table so he can rest his cheek in the palm of his hand, looking at him. Zhongli huffs, upset at the way the ginger just put his back elbow on the table again.

Childe’s eyes sparkle with amusement before drifting over to Venti’s phone screen. ‘hes always been like this even years back he would always try to maintain his “properness” he didnt always used to be so stuck up tho’ Venti says, laughing as Zhongli throws him a glare, daring him to reveal his past roughphian era. 

“Oh? Tell me mor-“

“That is enough,” Zhongli says, a slight, barely visible blush dusting across his cheeks. Venti snickers at him silently, scooching closer to Xiao because now he suddenly feels like being all up in his boyfriend’s space. 

“What are you doing?” Xiao asks with a slightly wavering and nervous voice as Venti slips his arms around Xiao’s waist and squeezes him tightly, but not too tight in fear of his freshly healed wound. “Venti,” he says, tapping on his arm gently causing the teal haired boy to look at him.

The guitarist gives him a desperate look, flicking his eyes over to the two taller men quickly as a means of getting his point across. Venti just pouts, releasing a sigh before he lets go and simply rests his head against his boyfriend’s shoulder instead. Xiao isn’t all that great with physical touch to begin with, so performing PDA in front of two guys he’s pretty close with is not really on his To-Do list. 

Luckily, Venti understands his boyfriend’s needs, so he doesn’t mind all that much that they can’t do more than simple touches in front of anyone. Plus, he’s sure over time it will get better and better and eventually Xiao will be comfortable enough with himself and his relationship enough to show his love publicly. 

Their food arrives eventually and they all enjoy a lovely meal together as they watch the sun set over the horizon. The ocean glitters with hues of reds, yellows, and oranges, illuminating the waters to make them look as if they may as well be lava. It’s a wonderful sight to behold. 

On top of that, the food is excellent and the two shorter men can’t believe they went so long without having eaten at this place before. Well, they can because it is pretty expensive here, but the point still stands— that being: the food is extraordinarily well made. If they ever have the time (and money), the two musicians definitely would like to come back. 

‘us aside how have you two been?’ Venti asks the two of the taller men. Childe hums as he chews, Zhongli wiping his mouth off with a napkin before he can answer. 

“We have been well, things with the agency are doing good and life at home is sweet and simple. A perfect thing to have as an end to an otherwise long day,” Zhongli explains. “And you, Childe?” he asks instead of Venti so the shorter doesn’t have to write it down.

“Likewise, things have been great. I proposed to Zhongli on a date where he had no idea what was going to happen and obviously he said yes so I was stoked. Then we jumped straight into wedding planning and so far we have clashed heads on very few things. The only thing we’re torn on is having a traditional Liyuean wedding or a traditional western wedding,” Childe says, setting his chopsticks down to better engage in the conversation.

“Yes it is as he says. I told him we need not hold a traditional Liyuean wedding should it inconvenience his family, but he has insisted time and time again that it will be fine. I just cannot seem to wrap my head around that truth, though,” Zhongli admits sheepishly.

‘well if you want to have your traditional liyuean wedding then have your traditional liyuean wedding! the guy who proposed to you said its okay and that hes fine with it as is his family so just have it!’ Venti encourages, all bright smiles and shining eyes. 

Zhongli swallows thickly, looking at Venti before looking over at his fiancé, uncertain. “Is it really okay?” He asks the ginger and Childe all but melts . His smile is so soft and genuine Xiao is sure such fluffy and soft warmth could warm even the coldest of places. 

“I already told you it would be, sweetheart,” he responds and Zhongli smiles at him, nodding and the two shorter men look away for a second to let them have their little sappy kiss in a semi-private area. 

When the coast is clear, they turn back to the table and continue eating as before, the air returning to its natural calm waves and gentle breezes that the four of them seem to share with each other.

Not long after, Xiao, finishing up the last of his food, speaks, “so, when are we supposed to receive our surprise? I’m sure Venti is curious as well,” he asks, wiping his hands with a napkin after he sets his chopsticks aside. For a man who used to be horrendously bad at using them, Childe has improved significantly at the art of wielding chopsticks. Xiao is almost proud. Almost. 

“Tomorrow, most likely,” Childe says as he clears his throat, swallowing the last of his food and setting his chopsticks aside. The ginger had removed his gloves while eating, saying something about how he found it easier to hold the chopsticks without them slipping against the fabric of the cloth around his fingers. 

‘tomorrow?? i wanna see what it is today!! its supposed to be a welcome home gift right? what kind of welcome home gift isnt given on the day of returning home :((‘ Venti argues, as Xiao reaches under his arms to grab and stack all of their dirty dishes in one pile. 

“Patience, friend, you will surely get your gift in due time. So, for the time being, please be patient,” Zhongli reassures with a soft smile playing at his lips. Venti pouts for the millionth time today before a yawn reaches through him, and he covers his mouth with his hand.

“Tired?” Xiao asks and he nods. The guitarist supposes today was a pretty long day after having been released and they haven’t even brought their stuff home yet. It’s better they get going before the sun sets completely and they have to move everything inside in the dark of night. “Let’s take our leave then,” he says. 

And with that they pay for their bill and head for the door, sparing one last glance at the setting sun from the giant window that sat perpendicular to their table. Xiao is sure without the help of Childe they may have never been able to experience such a fine dine, but if he can— as stated before— he would like to come here again. Next time, maybe let it be just him and Venti. 

*

“You can just put everything in the living room amongst Venti’s other things. Him and I will sort through it together,” Xiao says, setting down the lightweight items he had brought in from the car. 

Childe gives him a thumbs up and returns to car for more stuff as Zhongli brings in some more, moving past Venti who is sat cross-legged on the floor. In his arms is his bearded dragon, Dvalin, who he is giving scratches to. Xiao can tell from the expression Venti holds and the mirth behind his eyes that he has missed his pet dearly. 

With Childe bringing in the last of their things from his car, he sets them down and puts his hands on his hips with a huff and a smile. “I think that’s everything, you guys didn’t have very much in the hospital anyways,” he says, scanning the small pile of things. 

“Mm, we didn’t,” Xiao shakes his head, also looking at their small pile of items as a comfortable silence falls over them all. Zhongli shifts in his place next to Childe, causing the guitarist to glance at him who happens to be smiling softly at Venti. 

Maybe one of these days the two of them can have a proper get together— just the two of them— where they can sit down and discuss all the things they’ve missed out on with the other. It makes a tiny part of Xiao’s heart warm at the fact that his boyfriend and mentor seem to have begun rekindling their formerly close friendship.

Having them already having been friends previously saves the martial artist a lot of explaining of how he met someone so famous as well as how he maintains a relationship with said famous person. Not that he wouldn’t have explained who Zhongli was had Venti not already known.

Since everything is settle in now, that means it’s time to bid farewell to the two riches people in this room. So, Xiao turns to Zhongli and Childe and bows his head, “thank you both,” he says first, raising his head afterwards, “it really helped us out a lot to have access to some of our things.”

“Don’t worry about it, comrade, it’s what friends are for,” Childe says, slipping his hand around Zhongli’s waist and pressing him to his side in emphasis. Zhongli, of which, just shook his head with a small smile on his lips at his fiancé’s actions.

“It is as he said: it was no trouble for us at all and we would do it again in a heartbeat,” he turns to Venti then, “all you have to do is let us know you are in need of our help,” he finishes. A knowing smile is on his lips, but his eyes hold desperation for his friend to understand— understand that he is here for him no matter what. Xiao can’t help but feel bad.

Venti swallows thickly, nodding his head without breaking eye contact. This makes Zhongli chuckle and shake his head, walking over to his friend and ruffling his hair before turning towards the hall. “We will see you both another day then, rest well,” he says, walking past Childe and out the door. 

“See you guys later,” the ginger adds, waving his hand before following after his fiancé. Xiao watches their retreating forms, specifically the way Childe fumbles for his keys in his pocket as he puts his shoes on and exits through the front door. Xiao refuses to laugh at him, so he, instead,  just huffs, shaking his head.

When he turns back to Venti he is startled by how close the boy is, taking a step back. He’s pretty sure the flutist may have just scared the ever-living shit out of him. Really, how did he not hear him get up and walk over to him?? “Archons,” he curses, hand over his heart, “you scared me.”

Venti just giggles, before taking a step closer and motioning Dvalin on his arm in Xiao’s direction as if telling Xiao to pet him. So, with a bit of hesitation, he does and he can’t say for sure what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t this. 

The creature is cold and its skin is roughly textured, but it doesn’t feel bad. Intrigued, Xiao uses two fingers to pet him instead of one and really lets himself take in the sight and feeling of Dvalin against Venti’s arm.

Seeing this, the flutist smiles a mischievous smile before he uses his free hand to position Xiao’s against his own body. He presses his arm firmly against his torso as if to tell Xiao to keep it there before he gently transfers Dvalin to Xiao’s arm. 

“Venti.. no, no wait!” But it was too late, Dvalin was already happily situated on Xiao’s arm, flicking his tongue curiously. The guitarist gives his boyfriend a prettified expression, shoulders tense and mouth slightly ajar. This sends Venti into a fit of silent laughter, seemingly uncontrollable.

“This isn’t funny! What if I drop him?!” This just further fuels his boyfriend's laughter with him even dropping into a crouch because he is laughing too hard. Xiao will admit, this does ease his tension, but that still doesn’t mean Venti can just hand him his pet lizard without telling him first!

At this point there are literal tears bordering Venti’s vision as he rises to his feet again, guiding Xiao to sit on the couch and relax with Dvalin in his arms. The guitarist obliges, sitting on one leg as he lets the other dangle from the couch. 

Venti goes to grab a blanket from their room before bringing it to Xiao and placing it over him and Dvalin, leaving just the lizard’s head poking out from underneath. He then goes to grab a small side table and sets it up in front of Xiao, placing his laptop on top of it and opening it. 

Venti then goes to slide underneath the blanket with Xiao, turning on a movie they can both enjoy together on their first night back home. The flutist rests his head on Xiao’s shoulder, snuggling up to his side and smiling down at Dvalin to give him little head scratches. The lizard enjoys this greatly. 

Deep into the movie, Xiao realizes Venti has fallen asleep next to him, but he’s too comfortable to move just yet, continuing the movie until its end. When it does end, he gently removes Venti from his side without waking him, placing Dvalin back in his tank and closing it quietly. 

The guitarist then shuts and closes the laptop, setting it up to charge and moving the small side table back to its original place before returning to Venti. He bites his lip with his hands on his lip as he looks down at his sleeping lover, debating. 

His wound is nothing but a scab now, not much he can mess up this late into the healing process, but it still makes moving too roughly a bit worrisome. Alas, his sleeping boyfriend looks too calm and cute to wake up, so he sighs before scooping him and the blanket on top of him up in his arms and carrying him to their bed. 

Miraculously, he doesn’t wake up. Instead, his head just lulls to the side to rest against Xiao’s chest as he carries him. Setting him down, Xiao pulls the covers over the blanket Venti already had over his body, once again hesitating with a strong blush on his cheeks before planting a small kiss to his lover’s temple. 

With quiet whispers of a good night's rest, Xiao climbs in on his side of the bed after shutting the door and turning off the lights. Together, they sleep soundly on their first night back home. 

*

Waking up the next morning within their own bed is more refreshing than Xiao has expected. Despite falling asleep first, Venti is still sleeping soundly, braids now undone and hair a complete mess. Xiao’s sure he can see a little trail of drool leaking from his mouth as well and he huffs out a quiet laugh, brushing it away with his thumb.

This makes Venti stir, scrubbing up his face before he rubs his eyes, yawning. Such a mundane action, but Xiao finds that all the more cute and once Venti opens his eyes, he smiles over at him, reaching out to touch his face. ‘Good morning,’ he mouths.

“Good morning,” Xiao replies, threading his fingers through Venti’s on his cheek. “Would you like anything to eat? Those two told me they restocked the fridge before they took us home, so there’s probably something I can make for us,” he asks, slightly excited and also slightly nervous about cooking for Venti. 

The flutist thinks for a moment before he gets up, tossing the covers off of himself and going to find something to write on seeing as his phone wasn’t near him. Once he finds the pencil and little notepad he was gifted when leaving the hospital, he writes down his reply. 

‘eggs, sausage, and toast,’ is what he requests and Xiao doesn’t know what he was expecting, but he’s somehow not surprised. This is such a simple breakfast and such a popular one here in Mondstadt, so it isn’t much of a surprise that he would request such a thing.

Xiao nods, before turning to the kitchen after having followed Venti out of their room to see what he was going to request and gets to work. In the meanwhile, the flutist gets to unpacking the things brought home from the hospital asking Xiao where things should go.

Xiao’s only reply is: “no need to ask me, this is our home now, so put things wherever you see fit.” If there is a blush on his cheeks and a tint to his ears there is no one there to witness it except for Venti. 

Once breakfast is done, he makes a plate for both him and Venti, setting them on the counter/bar setting he has that separates his kitchen from the living room. The flutist wastes no time in going to sit down and enjoy the meal his lovely boyfriend made for him, immediately grabbing a fork and digging in.

Xiao awaits Venti’s reaction, a nervous expression appearing across his face when the reaction isn’t immediate. The flutist lets the flavors marinate on his tongue before his eyes widen and he smiles brightly, back straightening in excitement as he goes to scribble out his opinion.

‘this is so good!! when did you learn to cook like this?!’ he asks, handwriting all messy and Xiao takes the pencil to write down his reply before remembering he can just say his response out loud. This makes Venti giggle, of course. 

“Zhongli was always fond of good food and the difference between the two main cooking styles back in Liyue, so I just picked up on some things I suppose. Not that those would really apply to a non-Liyuean dish, I suppose,” he explains. He brushes his hair behind his ear before deciding to eat as well, using a fork instead of his usual chopsticks. “The twins also enjoy my cooking, so I am glad you enjoy it too,” he mumbles shyly.

Venti giggles silently, slathering his toast with some jam before taking a bite of it pressing the tips of his fingers to his lips at the wonderful taste. To be honest, Xiao doesn’t understand how someone can enjoy a simple piece of toast this much, but if it makes Venti happy then so be it. 

Just as they are finishing up their breakfast, both of them cleaning up the chicken, a knock sounds at their door and Xiao goes to get it curiously. When he opens it he is met with two familiar faces: Aether and Lumine. 

“Hey guys! What’s up, hope we aren’t intruding on your first day back home but it is currently around noon and you weren’t answering your phone so—,” Aether smiles, walking leaning to the side so Lumine can be seen behind him as well. She waves.

“Noon? It didn’t feel like we slept that long,” Xiao says, mainly to himself. He then steps out of the way of the entryway, allowing the both of them in. “Sorry, my phone is probably dead. I didn’t remember to charge it,” he explains, shutting the door behind them and following them into the chicken where Venti has just finished cleaning up. 

He dries his hands on a towel before waving at them with a smile. “Hey Ven— whoa! Venti with no braids? This feels illegal to see,” Aether jokes, which makes the flutist laugh. 

“Why are you two here?” Xiao asks. It’s not like he isn’t used to the two of them showing up unannounced without a reason, but he still asks anyways.

“We’re here to get you two ready for your surprise,” Lumine chimes in, “so get dressed and get in the car; we got places to be, sites to see,” she says, a smile on her lips. 

Venti and Xiao throw each other a look before Venti just shrugs and heads for their room and this is when the realization hits him that they’ve never seen each other naked— er almost naked— before and the blush that spreads across his face is unstoppable and immeasurable. 

Of course this doesn’t go unnoticed by Lumine. “Oh, what’s this? You nervous? Never seen him unclothed before?” She teases, elbowing him in the side. Xiao just sends her a glare before looking back at their bedroom door and nervously making his way to it and closing it behind him when he enters.

Venti is still sifting through his and Xiao’s combined closet and there is a clear difference between their two styles when they are put side by side. It’s as if a windy earth fairy met a stray black cat on the street and they decided to coexist with one another. A striking contract, to be short.

Venti turns to him and smiles and even if he doesn’t appear to be showing it, Xiao can tell Venti is nervous about this as well. So, deciding to take the initiative for a change, he walks over to Venti and stands next to him sifting through their closet as well.

He can tell that Venti is hyper aware of him because he himself is hyper aware of himself and Venti. Not dragging this out any longer for the fear of the twins assuming things, Xiao grabs his clothes for the day from the closet and walks over to the bed setting them down before taking a deep breath and pulling his shirt over his head. 

He wants so badly to turn around and look at the expression Venti is wearing right now, but he’s too nervous! He wants to, though.. and he does. He tries to play it off causally by shifting his stance to the side and glancing over at Venti in his  peripherals, but he can’t help but be shy over his boyfriend’s expression.

Venti is openly staring at him, seemingly lost in exploring Xiao’s torso with his eyes. His hands are clasped around a shirt on the hanger he is holding and when his eyes finally come up to meet Xiao’s he brings the clothing hanger up to hide his face behind the shirt hanging from it, embarrassed.

Xiao just blinks for a moment before he snaps out of it and swallows, walking over to Venti nervously. He gently moves the hanger down from Venti’s face and is met with big nervous and embarrassed and impossibly green eyes. This causes Xiao to swallow thickly again before his whispers, “it’s okay, I don’t mind if it’s you.”

This seems to lower Venti’s guard as his eyes fall from Xiao’s own to his chest, to his stomach and he reaches out a hand. His eyes flick back to Xiao’s and the guitarist bites his lip subtly, nodding. With permission granted, Venti’s fingertips meet Xiao’s abdomen and he runs them across it feeling all the muscles that reside there. 

The guitarist tries his best to keep his emotions in check as he watches Venti’s face rather than his hand gliding across his stomach. He gauges his boyfriend’s reaction to his body keenly before the hand on him leaves and retreats to its owner.

The next few moments happen in a blur. One moment Venti is tossing the clothing hanger aside, the next he is gripping the hem on his own shirt and bringing it over his head. Somehow Xiao’s fingertips end up on Venti’s body as well, held there by Venti’s hand on his wrist. 

He’s warm.. and soft. Is Xiao’s first thought when his fingers brush his boyfriend’s skin. His second thought is: oh my archons I am touching Venti’s bare stomach. 

The flutist then lets go of Xiao’s wrist, giving him permission to touch him as he pleases. So, Xiao swallows and looks up at Venti with a nervous look, making sure one last time he is okay with this before he lets both of his hands rest on his lover’s skin. 

Xiao lets his hands trail up Venti’s chest and spread across his bare shoulders, feeling just how soft his skin actually is. And it’s very, very soft. It’s smooth too. He then lets his hands trail down Venti’s bare back , bringing the flutist closer to him in the process. 

Once he’s finished his little expedition of Venti’s upper body, his eyes finally return to Venti’s and the boy is looking away from him with a raging blush on his cheeks, a hand over his lips to semi-hide his embarrassed expression and Xiao’s pretty sure his brain short circuits. 

When he snaps out of it, he shakes his head, blinking before gently grabbing Venti’s hand and turning his attention back on him. The flutist looks at him before his eyes flutter closed when their lips lock for a slow and deep kiss, their bare chests pressing together. 

Venti stumbles, struggling to keep his balance in such a high tension situation, so Xiao decides that’s enough— for now— and slips his hand around Venti’s waist before knocking his forehead against his gently. “Later,” he whispers, before kissing the flutist cheek and pulling away to actually get dressed. 

Venti is left there, too stunned to speak— even if he could— though, not long after he snaps out of it and gets dressed as well. Once they’re both fully dressed and looking somewhat presentable, they exit their room and meet the twins in the living room admiring Dvalin in his tank. 

They both unanimously look over their shoulders, “you two love birds ready?” Aether asks, both him and Lumine adorning knowing smiles. The two of them blush slightly as they nod. 

“Okay, let’s go!” the blonde male says, turning around and heading for the door. Xiao hasn’t deciphered yet whether he should be excited for this surprise or not anymore, considering the dirt the two of his friends have on him now. 

Oh well, guess he’ll just have to wait and see. 

Chapter Text

Five minutes into the drive and the twins still haven’t let him and Venti in on this little surprise of theirs. Venti more than Xiao has tried pestering the two of them to get them to spill their secret, but neither of them are budging. Though, they’re both sure it’s for good reason.

Whatever this surprise is, it must be very big considering the amount of time and effort the twins have put into keeping them from being spoiled. Even the location was never revealed to them which is why when Xiao sees that they’re driving closer to where he works, he starts to question things.

“Is the surprise that you’re going to make me return to work on my second day back?” Xiao asks jokingly and Aether looks at him through the rear view mirror. The look catches Xiao off guard and his brows furrow as he turns to look at Aether outside the mirror. “It’s not, is it?” he asks, genuine concern lacing his voice. 

Aether shrugs, “it could be or it couldn’t be; you’ll find out when we get there,” he says, a smile playing at his lips. Xiao sighs heavily as he slumps back in his seat, his seatbelt helping him stay somewhat upright. 

“We’re not taking you to work as your surprise, Xiao, otherwise why would we have brought Venti? You think he’s gonna go to work with you too?” Lumine scoffs out a laugh, looking out the window as the city flies past them.

The trees are turning different shades now, painting the town with different warm colored hues. Some leaves have already fallen from their tree creating a crunchy pathway to any and all who step on them. And the people have started to dress slightly warmer than before as they prepare for the chilly atmosphere that is sure to greet them soon enough. 

“Thank the archons,” the guitarist sighs again, crossing his arms as he closes his eyes for a moment, but he opens them when he hears a gasp come from Venti alongside his aggressive tapping. 

When Xiao opens his eyes he looks in the direction Venti is pointing and out the window many people can be seen crowding a new building that is to open up for business today. The signature red rope is ready to be cut and the crowd seems lively.

“What’s with that big crowd? Is some grand opening in this town really that big of a deal?” Xiao asks, staring at the crowd trying to reason why this grand opening in particular is so popular.

As he asks this, Aether pulls the car over and parks just a little distance away from the big crowd and shuts off the car. “It might not be so much so the building that’s so popular, rather, who is here for the grand opening of said building,” he says, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening his door.

Lumine does the same and hops out as well which confuses both Xiao and Venti who throw each other a look. Venti just shrugs and unbuckles his seatbelt as well, opening his door and shutting it before walking over to the twins. When Xiao shuts his door after exiting it, Aether locks the car with a loud beep! before walking right over to that very same big crowd that was previously mentioned.

Feeling nervous, Xiao wraps his hand around Venti’s to ground himself so he doesn’t freak out about the big crowd as they walk across the street and right into it. The two dark haired men watch as both Aether and Lumine explain something to the security guards there before they step aside.

When they do, Xiao can see Zhongli and Childe waiting there for them on the red carpet laid out underneath the rope as it leads to the entrance of the building. Now more confused than ever, Xiao tilts his head as he looks around only to end up more confused. Two of his students are here— Qiqi and Chongyun— both accompanied by someone.

Chongyun is standing with Xingqiu and a girl with short dark hair he doesn’t recognize and Qiqi is being held in the arms of her caretaker, Baizhu. Chongyun gives him a little wave as well as Qiqi and Xiao can’t help but wave back a little nervously. Why would they be here for this? Whatever this is.

Venti seems to recognize some people in the crowd as well. A tall blue haired man, a tall maroon haired woman, and a tall red haired man who is standing next to Klee who is standing next to Albedo who is standing next to Sucrose who, of which, he met at the marketplace. And standing next to them is none other than Captain Beidou herself and Kadehara Kazuha.

The pair wave to their acquaintances before their attention is snapped back to Zhongli and Childe when they reach them. All around them is a big crowd being held back by more red ropes connected by golden poles and amongst the crowd are many photographers and news anchors. Surely they’re not here for them, rather than they are here for Zhongli and Childe.

“What’s with all of this?” Xiao asks as he feels Venti hug his arm a little tighter, clearly uneasy with all the attention put on them despite being a pretty extroverted person. More cameras flash and Lumine walks over with big scissors.

“This? Why, this is your surprise,” Zhongli says, stepping out of the way and gesturing towards the big rope in front of the building. Childe steps out of the way alongside him as Venti is the one handed the big scissors. Both of the musicians lurch forward as they are shoved firmly but gently forward as if to say ‘go on, this is all you’ .

The four of their friends take a step behind them and Xiao turns to look at the building in front of them only to notice it’s a music store.

It’s a music store.

Xiao’s face lights up with glee and excitement at being happy for Venti. He no longer needs to worry about a job, he no longer needs to feel sad over losing the store, and he doesn’t need to sit at home all day and be sad any longer! 

But when Xiao turns to Venti..

“Venti look! The surprise was a new shop for y— Venti..?” Xiao asks and the flutist just breaks down. Tears rolls down his cheeks rapidly and he drops the large scissors in an attempt to wipe away at his tears and hide his face. 

Startled, Xiao immediately brings Venti into his chest, holding his head to his shoulder and rubbing his back. He looks over to the four of their friends who all adorn his shocked expression, but that’s when Venti’s knees go weak and he drops to the ground, his fall stifled by Xiao’s hold who sinks down with him gently. 

Loud shutters of cameras can be heard all around them as Venti’s sniffles grow louder and louder. The flutist nuzzles his face into Xiao’s shoulder who just coos his quietly, trying to keep himself calm in this situation where everyone’s eyes are on him. On them. 

Venti turns his head in Xiao’s hold and reaches an arm out to their friends who all look at each other and point a finger at themselves. The flutist gives a nod and a sniffle, more tears streaming from his face when they don’t immediately understand what he means.

“I think he wants you guys to come here,” Xiao tries and to his delight, Venti nods. So, Zhongli, Childe, Aether, and Lumine all make their way over to them and crouch down besides the two of them. 

Almost immediately, Venti yanks Zhongli down by the neck, causing the taller man to stumble forward into their hug. He just huffs out a laugh and hugs the two of them, encouraging the twins and Childe to do the same. It’s heavily implied that this is Venti’s own special way of saying thank you. 

The hug is warm and feels extremely nice. Xiao’s arms are still wrapped around Venti whose arms are wrapped around both him and Zhongli. Aether and Lumine are behind the guitarist, squishing their faces on either side of Xiao’s as Childe hugs Venti’s other side. It feels nice. It feels like home. 

Many camera shutters flutter during this time as the crowd seems to have all simultaneously agreed to let them have their moment. All six of them just living in the moment for even just a few seconds it doesn’t feel like the world has fallen down on them.

It’s such a relief. 

After a moment of much needed cuddling, their friends pull away and give them space, stepping back to watch them from afar. Xiao helps Venti to his feet, brushing his thumb under his left eye to wipe away at redden eyes. The flutist just sniffles and smiles, leaning down to pick up the big scissors again.

Together, they walk over to the big red rope, Venti making Xiao hold one half of the handle while he holds the other so they can snip it together. And with one final glance back at their friends and a thumbs up from each twin with a smile, they look back at each other.

“Can I kiss you?” Xiao asks, which surprises Venti to the core, considerably even more so than them gaining a whole new store to themselves to run and own. With a little hesitation from the initial shock, Venti nods and Xiao smiles.

“On three then. One..,” Xiao adjusts his grip on the scissors, swallowing nervously as Venti blinks at him with his beautiful green eyes. Which are rimmed red from all his crying.

“Two..,” he leans in, hearing the way the crowd’s cheers grow louder and more camera lenses shutter. Xiao can see through his peripherals that more cars have stopped to witness this big grand opening from their spot on the street.

“Three..!” the tit of their heads allow their lips to meet in the middle as the both of them simultaneously cut the red ribbon to their (unknowingly) new home. 

When the rope is cut completely, Xiao lets go of the scissors with one hand to hold Venti’s face in the other, deepening their kiss. If he’s gonna make a show of it he might as well go all in right? The twins did tell him he should learn to live a little and now seems like the perfect opportunity. 

Parting from their kiss, they each lay rest against the other’s forehead with a smile, Venti’s silent laughter causing Xiao to laugh as well. He brings the flutist into his arms once more, even though he’s now hyper aware of all the pairs of eyes on them now. Even so, he pushes himself so as to not ruin the moment as he turns his head to admire their new home. 

That’s when the four of his friends decide it’s their time to shine as they come up behind them for a group hug again, engulfing them both in their warmth as they smile. Aether and Lumine turn them around so their backs are facing the store as Kaeya steps underneath the rope holding a camera. 

He smiles at them genuinely, sweetly, as he’s given a thumbs up by Lumine. The six of them squish together, bodies all practically fusing as laughter fills not only them but the crowd as well. Kaeya snaps a couple of pictures of them in this position before he nods at them and returns to his place outside the rope.

That’s when Childe speaks, “hello! You may or may not recognize me, but I am Childe Tartaglia and I was only one of many helping hands for the fundraiser for this project. My fiancé and I were humbly invited to help out by these two short blonde photographers who, of which, are friends of these two right here,” he gestures to Xiao and Venti with a smile. “From the hearts of all of us, we’d like to graciously thank you all for participating in helping these two get back on their feet and helping all those who are victims to such violence as well. All money not used here will be donated to charities to survivors of these situations as well as programs to help educate about it. We thank you dearly,” he finishes, turning to smile at all of the crowd. 

The crowd claps, cheers and whistles ringing out from every which way as the cameras flash and the news anchors shove their ways to get the perfect view of the infamous ginger-haired Snezhnayan diplomat. In return, Childe just waves, laughing lightly at his fame as he looks to his fiancé to continue on.

Zhongli speaks next, hands folded in front of him as he does so, using them to talk, “Greetings, I am Zhongli, the CEO and founder of Morax Music Majors and a proud sponsor for the fundraiser. These two here happen to be very close friends of mine and when I heard the news I could not have been more devastated. Ceasing any opportunity I could get to help, I donated a portion of money as well as many musical items to this shop and will continue to be a proud partner with it in the future. Just as before, this music store shall be titled ‘Four Winds Music Store’, though, it adorns another name: ‘home’,” he looks down to both short, dark haired men. “To both of my dear friends, I would like to say: congratulations, I wish you only the best in the future of this music store,” he concludes.

Home? They couldn’t mean.. Venti looks to Xiao with wide eyes, arm still hooked around his as he pulls on it with a big smile. His eyes begin to water again and the guitarist panics, “no, no. No more crying, you’re okay,” he says, “you’re okay.”  He brings Venti into his side as he continues listening to their friends. 

“Nice to meet you, I am Lumine and this is my brother Aether. It was the two of us who had this initial idea to start the fundraiser for not only our friends, but the victims out there who have suffered a loss or injuries from the uncontrolled violence in cities. We are over the moon that so many people reached out with their stories to share and things to talk about that we have decided to go all in and have many of the stories posted in a little booklet that can be found for purchase inside of this very store here. Exclusively, might I add,” Lumine says, pausing for dramatic affect.

Everyone in the crowd is paying close attention as the speaker switches from Lumine to Aether, photographers snapping photos of the both of them as the crowd peacefully stands by.

“Right, exclusively, and with not much else to say,” he turns to Xiao and Venti then, “we’d like to give a warm welcome to both Xiao and Venti to their new home and music store! We hope you enjoy our pick!” he smiles and with that the crowd is all smiles and cheers. 

Xiao’s eyes scan the people to lay rest on Chongyun and Xingqiu who are both clapping and smiling alongside their female friend. Chongyun, in particular, gives a shy wave and a little pump of his fist in encouragement and it just melts the guitarist’s heart. Then his eyes pan over to Qiqi and Baizhu who both wave at him with closed-mouthed smiles, but he can see the genuine mirth behind them, so he waves back. 

Venti, on the other hand, bites his lip as he gives a shy wave over to the tall blue haired man and tall maroon haired woman Xiao doesn’t recognize as well as a tall red haired man Xiao does recognize. He recognizes him to be the bartender back at the arcane they went on a date at. This causes Xiao’s blood to boil and his body to tense, but Venti just squeezes his arm, letting him know he’s fine. 

The dark haired man and woman just smirk at Venti, making him shrink as if he were cringing, but their laughs seem to lessen the tension in his shoulders. As for the bartender, he just scoffs, shaking his head, before he’s elbowed in the side roughly by the darker haired man. Once elbowed, the red haired man then holds up a receipt. Xiao doesn’t know what it is at first, but when he looks at the small endearing smile on Venti’s lips, he assumes it must be something good. 

Then the martial artist’s eyes catch sight of Klee who jumps up and down excitedly, hand wrapped tightly in Albedo’s presumably so she doesn’t run off and get lost. Following her arm up Albedo’s, Xiao locks eyes with said man who just gives a short wave and a smile, hoisting Klee up so she can do the same. The guitarist waves back of course and then waves to the green haired woman, Sucrose, as well, her smile just as bright as her personality.

Both the dark haired men’s eyes drift over to the next people awaiting their attention which happen to be Beidou and Kazuha. Beidou, being the ever obnoxiously supportive person she is, shouts as loud as she can. Singing hopes of their well being as well as congratulations for their newfound home. Next to her, Kazuha just shakes his head with a laugh, folding his arms over his chest as he gives them a small wave with two of his fingers. 

That is when they start letting the first of many interviewers in to talk to not only them but Zhongli, Childe, Aether, and Lumine as well. Though, they’re just focusing on the person in front of them currently. “Hello! I would like to ask you two a couple questions if I may,” the photographer asks, holding out his mic to them.

Xiao looks at Venti in question who just shrugs, leaving the decision up to Xiao. If he didn’t feel the intense pressure from all the eyes on him, he would have definitely said no immediately.. but he does, unfortunately, feel it. “..okay,” he says reluctantly and Venti snickers silently. Xiao just shoots him a glare.

“Of the two of you, which one owned the previous store?” she asks and Venti raises his hand before letting it drop back down, this time resting it on Xiao’s elbow that’s linked with Venti’s other arm. The photographer then nods, holding the microphone out to Venti, “could you please describe the experience you went through in detail during your fight for the store?” 

Venti’s eyes widen as he looks at the microphone being held in front of him. His eyes then shift from the microphone to the photographer and then to Xiao. This causes the guitarist’s to swallow thickly as he clears his throat, redirecting his attention to the photographer.

“Well.. you see.. he can’t exactly speak,” Xiao tries, hoping that’s enough of an explanation to make her understand the situation. Lo and behold it is not enough. The photographers eyebrows then scrunch up in confusion, as he pulls the microphone away from Venti awkwardly.

“What, do you mean he’s just shy? Or..?” she tries and the martial artist has to try his hardest not to seem rude at his thinning patience and unintentional disrespect to his partner.

“No, I mean he physically cannot speak. His throat was slit and his vocal cords became damaged. It was either him or the vocal cords that had to go. Obviously the doctors chose the vocal cords,” Xiao explains, watching her face contort into all different kinds of expressions as the realization hits her. 

“Oh..,” she says, “I am.. so sorry. Please forgive my insolence. I will leave the two of you be,” the photographer apologizes quickly, almost running away in embarrassment. When Xiao scoffs at her retreating form, he looks to Venti only to see him holding back a laugh. 

This makes Xiao smile, shaking his head, “it was kinda funny, wasn’t it?“ the guitarist loathes to admit, but Venti just laughs silently, tugging on his arm playfully. With this things have seemed to relax more.

The rest of their grand opening continues like this until the crowds disperse and the news anchors leave. Both of them bid farewell to their friends, students, and acquaintances, before they sigh a heavy sigh of relief, turning back to their four lifelong friends who are standing there waiting for them.

“So when were you gonna tell us it was a whole group project apparently?” Xiao teases, walking over to the four of their friends. They all laugh lightly at his joke, the air feeling light and smooth once more. The crowd was very suffocating the longer it remained.

“Xiao joking around? Who knew we’d ever see the day!” Childe teases back, nudging the shorter man with his elbow who glares at him. Childe just smiles widely and ruffles his hair as if the martial artist was one of his siblings.

“Anyways,” Lumine says, “you guys wanna see the second part of the surprise?” she asks, waggling her eyebrows as if to make them even more excited. Venti lets out a breathy laugh and Xiao shakes his head, nodding afterwards. “Great! Follow me this way then,” she instructs.

All of them follow her through the store and past the aisles and rows of musical items ranging from the instruments themselves to pieces and parts of each instrument. The layout of the store isn’t too different from before. It’s just that now the checkout counter is at the back of the store and behind that counter is a hallway leading to steps. Steps to where? They’re probably about to find out.

As for the rest of the store, the practice rooms have been moved to be on either side of the checkout counter but the hallways to get to them are separate from the one leading to the stairs. What’s left of the store is just shelves upon shelves of things one may ever need in a shop like this and the walls are still decorated with various instruments. 

“We knew Venti had his place above the store as his own little apartment before, so we made sure to find a building just like it!” she explains as she walks, gesturing for Venti to go up first followed by Xiao and then herself and the rest. “We didn’t have much time to pick out a place that’s perfectly adequate, but Zhongli helped a lot and we think we did a pretty good job,” Lumine concludes. 

When they reach the top of the steps, Venti’s jaw drops. On the wall furthest to them is this big wall to wall length window that sits perpendicular to the living room area. And before that sits the kitchen area which is what you first walk into. Like Xiao’s place, it has an island/bar stool sitting area for guests and themselves to enjoy. 

On the right when you walk in there is two magnificent looking doors that lead into the master bedroom which is the length of the entire apartment. The bed is just as grand as the wooden doors and the bathroom connected to it is even grander. The bedroom is so big it also has its own little seating area, but part of that area is occupied by a tank for.. a lizard. 

Venti immediately whips out his phone: ‘IS THAT FOR DVALIN????’ he asks in all caps, eyes wide and smiles bright with excitement. The four of them nod and Venti jumps in the air before getting too excited and hugging all of them, even Xiao for some reason. He didn’t know about anyone of this but he still received a hug, a kiss on the cheek too. 

“Yes, it’s for Dvalin. We thought since you guys get a new home, he should too. Who— by the way, will be just fine staying in his old home tonight. So, just enjoy your night here together. Settle down, just the two of you,” Lumine replies after her hug from Venti. Xiao and Venti look at each other and visibly melt at the sight of one another as they both silently agree to these terms.

The four of their friends just shake their heads at the love birds before they drag them out of the room and to the other side of the apartment which just holds a spare room with a bed that they can do whatever with as well as a guest bathroom that they can also do whatever they please with. 

Once their tour is over, they find themselves back in the kitchen, ordering pizza. “What toppings do you like on your pizza guys? Don’t yell at me but, I like pineapple on my pizza,” Childe says, his hands up in defense awaiting the grossed out replies.

“SEE?! He gets it! Pineapple on pizza is so good!” Aether says, shoving his sister and Xiao in their sides. Both of whom just roll their eyes looking at each other like they haven’t already been through this ten million other times. 

‘okay then Aether and Childe will share and the rest of us can get a supreme pizza or something like that,’ Venti suggests. Childe and Aether agree immediately and high five each other before Childe turns to them once more. 

“Who else wants a supreme pizza?” he asks, looking over his friends as he leans on the countertop, phone in hand and ready to punch in their order. Both Venti and Zhongli raise their hands, Zhongli looking over at Venti with a sentimental smile probably from the memories of them eating pizza together in the past. 

The flutist just nudges Zhongli with his shoulder playful, causing the brunette to laugh airily, just happy to be there. That just leaves Xiao and Lumine to decide what they want on their pizza and then they’re all set to order.

“Xiao? Lumine?” Childe asks, shifting his phone from one hand to the other before standing up straight and leaning on the counter with his hip.

“Sausage,” both of them say at the same time with a deadpan stare. This startles Childe for a moment but he snaps out of that moment just as quickly.

“O-kaaay..,” he trails, maintaining eye contact with them as he taps a few buttons on his phone before looking down to make sure he even pressed the right ones. Once he’s sure he pressed them correctly, he hits the order button and slips his phone in his pocket. “You guys up for a movie while we wait?” Childe asks.

“Sure, why not, we’ve been in their hair all day, what’s a little more time spent?” Aether agrees, making his way over to the living room and plopping himself down in one of the very comfy and very squishy chairs that are placed there. All the furniture was picked out by the twins personally so they definitely know they’re good.

‘weve been watching nothing but movies and other videos so i dont see the harm in watching one more,’ is Venti’s response, following Aether over to the living room except he chooses to sit on the love seat in the room. This leaves the couch space open for Zhongli and Childe to take which they gladly do, Lumine sitting next to them. 

Xiao, of course, takes his spot next to Venti on the love seat, grabbing the blanket off the back of it to cover them both with so as to get comfy. Once everyone it settled in and the lights have been dimmed, they all start to shift through the movies which brings up a question from Xiao.

“What’s going to happen to all my other things at the old place? Venti’s too,” he asks, eyeing Lumine who is watching Venti switch between multiple movies which Childe and Aether are either agreeing to or disagreeing to. One says yes but the other says no and it’s a continuous cycle so far.

“Oh, we already arranged for everything to be transferred here tomorrow. Even Dvalin if you want, but we assumed you’d want to move him yourself just for safety reasons,” Lumine explains. Venti nods, never looking away from the screen where he’s still flipping through movies. 

Speaking of Venti, his ass is practically right in Xiao’s lap with the way he’s sitting with his knees folded and off to the side, feet just over the guitarist’s knees. The shop owner doesn’t seem to mind, though, as he just continues scrolling, but Xiao is hyper aware. He’s fighting between making Venti sit completely on his lap or pushing him off just enough so that he’s not so.. close. He does neither of these things.

By the time they pick out which movie to watch their pizzas have arrived and Childe gladly pays, thanking the guy who brought them the pizzas before he brings them back upstairs. He slays each of them out on the counter, each pair taking from their respective pizzas before they all go sit back down, everyone now adorning blankets. 

Together, they all watch their chosen movie and chow down on the pizza that was deliciously made. Even with the aforementioned movie playing in front of them, Xiao’s mind can’t help but wander. With this new place, his work is closer, the market is closer and even the city center is closer. They are further away from the beach and docks, though, but the location of this new music shop seems to be too good to give it up for a shorter ride to the beach.

He also thinks about all the thought that was put into this suprise gift for him and Venti. Never in his life did he ever think he deserved as much as his friends have given him, but here we are. He does believe Venti deserves this and is beyond happy that the flutist can go back to doing what to loves thanks to everyone’s help. If he had known about this suprise as well, Xiao would have definitely helped out. 

But alas, he didn’t know and the surprise was thought through and executed without his knowledge. Normally he hates surprises, but for once he’s learned to stop being so tense all the time and enjoy it. To be fair, it was and is a very good surprise. Nothing quite like having such real friends he supposes. 

Halfway into the movie Venti is starting to doze off and Zhongli has already passed out next to Childe on the couch. Aether and Lumine have fallen asleep on their little spots leaving Childe, Xiao, and Venti as the last ones awake. 

‘ask them if theyd wanna stay the night’ Venti types, showing Xiao his phone screen as he rubs his eyes with a yawn. At first, the guitarist is reluctant to ask considering the possibility of them all having work tomorrow, but he brushes that thought aside in favorite of being polite since they all worked so hard today. 

“Childe,” Xiao whisper-yells and that gets the gingers attention to snap to him. “do you guys wanna stay the night for today? Just use the spare bedroom?” Childe doesn’t answer right away, humming in thought as he looks down at his fiancé leaning into his space. 

This whole time Zhongli has been snuggled up against the ginger’s side with said ginger absentmindedly playing with small strands of his hair. Xiao is sure that if he was in Zhongli’s position he would definitely fall asleep soundly as well. 

“If you don’t mind. Zhongli doesn’t have work tomorrow and neither do I— thought we’d take the day to ourselves after all the hard work we’ve done recently,” he explains gently tapping the brunette’s shoulder to get him to wake up a bit. “Zhongli~ wake up, lovey, we gotta move so the twins can sleep here,” he explains to his sleepy fiancé.

Zhongli just makes a face at the ginger, clearly not processing anything he just said in his sleepy state before nuzzling his head back in Childe’s side. The diplomat just huffs out a quiet laugh before getting up and hoisting the brunette up in his arms which must be pretty challenging considering how built he is. 

If it is a struggle, though, Childe doesn’t show it as he nods his head in thanks before making his way to the spare room. “Goodnight, you two,” he says before shutting the door behind him with his foot. 

The room falls quiet once more and Venti gets off the love seat to make his way over to a soundly sleepy Aether, shaking his shoulder gently to wake him up. The blonde groans and swats Venti’s hand away and so the flutist looks over his shoulder to Xiao who is sat snickering at their friend’s actions. 

The shop owner tries again and this time Aether swats Venti’s hand away so hard that the momentum of it causes him to nearly fall off his chair. Luckily, the flutist is there to catch him before he actually falls resulting in the blonde to now be fully awake. 

He blinks up at Venti with wide eyes before looking around the living room and seeing Zhongli and Childe gone and Lumine now more stretched out on the couch. “Where’d—“ a yawn from Aether, “where’d they go?” he asks, rubbing his eyes as he lets go of Venti to sit up right. The flutist points in the direction of the spare bedroom before releasing a fake yawn to get what he means across to him. 

“Ohh, okay. I’ll sleep on the other side of the couch than Lumine then,” the blonde says, holding back another yawn as he moves passed Venti and flops down on the end of the couch opposite his sister. “Goodnight, sleep well,” he yawns, snuggling under the blanket and falling back asleep almost immediately. 

Venti then turns to Xiao who is already standing up waiting for him. The flutist smiles and makes his way over to his boyfriend before they both enter their shared room together. The space is just as big as it was the first time they saw it and though it doesn’t exactly feel like home yet, they each chalk that up to it being the shock of it all.

Shutting the door softly behind them, Xiao follows Venti into bed, shutting off the nightstand lamp once the both of them are settled. It’s kind of uncomfortable to sleep in their street clothes, but it’s all they have for now, so they make it work. 

“Do you like it?” Xiao asks Venti, brushing his hair behind his ear now that his braids are undone. His face is just barely visible in the moonlight through the windows as he nods, leaning into his boyfriend’s touch. This causes Xiao to rub his thumb across Venti’s cheek lovingly, admiring the soft skin underneath it.

Xiao wants to say more, but he doesn’t know what to say. He wants to hold Venti and tell him how much he means to the guitarist. Is that moving too fast, though? He doesn’t know. Considering they almost died together and now live together because of it he assumes telling Venti how much he matters to him isn’t too much of a big step. 

So, with a deep breath, he does. “Venti, I.. know I’m kind of shy in expressing it, but you really do mean the world to me and I’m so lucky to have you. If you had really died that day I don’t know what’d I’d have done,” he whispers, voice cracking slightly at the end. “I am.. very greatful to our friends and to the doctors for doing all they could for us it really means a lot because now I get to spend every day with the one I..” the guitarist swallows thickly and Venti places his hand around his wrist encouragingly, rubbing his thumb across it comfortingly. 

“It really means a lot because.. now I get to spend every day with the one I love,” he finishes, “thank you so much for choosing me, Venti, I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I—“ he inhales sharply, tears pooling in his eyes as Venti coos him quietly, brining the martial artist’s head to his chest. “Thank you so much,” he whispers once more, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend tightly. 

For a few moments Venti just lets Xiao calm down, running his finger through his hair gently and planting kisses atop his head every so often. Just a few minutes ago the flutist was about ready to pass out but now he’s wide awake with his chest feeling fuller than it has in years . If only he could vocalize just how important Xiao is to him, but then he remembers that he can.

Venti gently reaches behind himself and plucks his phone from the night stand, resting his chin on top of Xiao’s head as he types out his reply. Once finished, he shows it to the guitarist: ‘Xiao even though youre shy in expressing your care for me that doesnt mean i dont see it i see the way your hands wrap around mine to keep me grounded and i feel the way your heart connects with mine to calm me down you dont value yourself half as much as i value you and its so painful to bare but thats why im here im here to make sure you know your worth and remind you every day that youre the best and only one i could have ever asked for youre the moon to my sun and the stars to my sky you remind me why i shouldnt give up and throw my life away youre my everything, Xiao, i love you,’ he writes and if Xiao wasn’t crying before he is now. 

Oh, how easily they went from Venti crying his eyes out earlier to Xiao now crying his eyes out. He can’t help but cling to his boyfriend like he is his lifeline and in reality, he kind of is. If it weren’t for Venti he’d still be drowning in his own sadness back in his old apartment dreaming of the day he could let go of the past. Wondering when life gets better like in all the stories and movies and TV shows. Nothing could fill the gap in his heart left there by his Yaksha brethren.. until..

Until this beautiful shop owner with big green eyes and cute twin braids whose hair  was decorated with a multitude of colorful hair clips alongside brightly painted nails appeared before his eyes and suddenly he could breathe again. Air refillled his lungs and the world seemed brighter. He could hear the birds chirping and the cats rummaging in the alleyways. He could see the kids outside playing with their friends and the parents sat there smiling, watching their little bundles of life and joy. 

Life became more beautiful when Venti stepped into it and suddenly he had a motivation for getting up every day, suddenly everything now seemed worth it. And the shop owner— whether he knew it or not— saved him. 

Venti saved him and for that Xiao will always be greatful.

Chapter Text

It’s been around two months of living together and Venti and Xiao have their relationship established and all is well. Except.. for their sex life. Not much as gone down in that scene since they even started dating. Of course they’ve had their intense make out sessions, but they always end before it can get too far. Xiao is the one to stop them. 

Xiao is a very private person and that includes his own body. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Venti because he does, he really does, he’s just afraid. Afraid of.. if things will change.. if Venti won’t like what he sees. He’s scared of letting himself be so vulnerable in front of someone even though the flutist has proved time and time again that Xiao can trust him.

Other than that there’s the issue behind the fact that Venti cannot verbally consent which is a huge rock to just try and skip over or ignore. He thinks he could get Venti to write down his consent on paper or type it out and sign it or something, but wouldn’t that kill the mood? Ugh, he doesn’t know.

Deciding it’s better to just be straight with him, Xiao asks Venti to talk once work ends and he comes back upstairs. Usually Xiao helps around the shop after he showers when he gets home, but he’s been mentally preparing himself for this talk all evening which is why he’s up here and not down there.

Suddenly, Venti makes his way through the door and shuts it softly behind him, catching Xiao off guard and nearly causing him to jump out of his skin. The flutist pauses in his step and looks at his boyfriend with a look of surprise as his eyes shift to one side of the room to the other in curiousity. 

“Oh.. it’s nothing bad, you just surprised me is all,” Xiao says, walking over to Venti and giving him a kiss on the cheek to which he returns. The guitarist then takes Venti’s hand and leads him to the bedroom to talk instead of the living room.

He isn’t trying to make this some superficial business meeting, so he figures just sitting on the bed and talking like normal works just fine. As Venti sits down, Xiao shuts and locks the door (for obvious reasons) before coming to sit down on the bed with Venti.

‘whats up? you okay? you said you had something to talk to me about,’ Venti writes, criss crossing his legs as he takes in his boyfriend's features. Xiao’s breath hitches and he holds it for a second before exhaling and closing his eyes.

Too nervous to look at Venti directly, he does the best he can’t and stares at the  man’s hands that are folded in his lap as he speaks. “I thought about us— I mean, uhm,” he steadies his breathing as his head dips lower, cheeks flushing, “when we would.. make out we would always get far and it would almost lead to more, but I’d always stop us. I just.. I’m nervous and..,” he takes a deep breath, ready to admit this to himself and Venti.

“And I’m scared to do it. I know I have nothing to be scared of with you and don’t think it’s because I don’t trust you I do I just—,” Xiao is interrupted by a phone being shoved under his face.

‘Xiao if you arent ready then i can wait for however long it takes even if that time is never,’ Venti writes and Xiao feels his shoulders sag in relief. The reassurance feels nice, but it’s not that he doesn’t want to do it, so..

“Thank you, I appreciate it, but I do want to,” Xiao clarifies and as if he wasn’t already clear enough he tries to explain further without thinking, “fuck you, I mean,” he finished. Suddenly, it registers to himself what he just said and his head snaps up with wide eyes, ready to apologize. “Venti I’m so—“ 

Venti's eyes are blown wide and his cheeks are flushed a nice shade of red such as the color of apples and the phone almost slips from his hand but he catches it. Typing vigorously, the flutist replies, “its okay i understand its fine to be open and direct with me just tell me what you want,’ he says, looking at Xiao with lust filled eyes. 

The guitarist swallows thickly, their gazes locked before he whispers, “can you tell me that you want this and you’re okay with this? To give me some peace of mind,” Xiao says, watching as Venti gets to typing quickly. When he finishes, he shoves the phone in Xiao’s face, his body already becoming excited. 

‘yes ofc im okay with this why woiudoj I not be okay with ihithius im more than okay with this im giving you my consent for this,’ he rushes, ignoring all this spelling errors. Xiao just blinks before he takes the phone from Venti and tosses it lightly on the bedside table.

“Okay, then let’s.. do it,” he whispers, leaning in to kiss Venti. The kiss quickly becomes heated with the both of them wrapping their arms around each other and feeling each other up. 

Xiao’s hands slide down Venti’s chest and he pinches his nipples through his shirt causing the flutist to tense up and let out a breathy huff. The guitarist hums against Venti’s lips using his hands to map out the rest of his boyfriend’s body. His fingers dig into the shop owner’s hips as he uses that leverage to grind their groins together causing Venti to break from the kiss with a gasp as his head rolls back. 

The martial artist isn’t that experienced, but he does pride himself on being told that the times he has done it that he’s done a good job. With that in mind, he reconnects Venti’s lips with his own as Xiao slides his hands under the hem of Venti’s shirt, pull it up to lay rest just above his chest. 

Deciding his boyfriend’s nipples need more attention, Xiao kisses his way down Venti’s neck and chest until he reaches them. He takes the right on in his mouth, sucking on it and and swirling his tongue, his right hand working on Venti’s left nipple at the same time. 

The flutist’s back arches as a hand comes up over the corner of his mouth shyly, watching Xiao work his chest like he’s known it for ages. The guitarist hums at the pleasant and encouraging feeling of Venti’s fingers running through his hair and when he looks up to lock eyes with the flutist, his movements pause and suddenly now he’s being the shy one. 

As if sensing Xiao’s hesitance, Venti mouths: ‘ good boy~’ and just as quickly as it appeared, the guitarist’s sense of shame disappears and evaporates, getting right back to work. Moving back up to kiss his boyfriend. The flutist grabs at the hem of Xiao’s shirt and yanks on it in an upward motion, silently telling him he wants it off. 

So, the guitarist leans back in his place between Venti’s legs and lifts his shirt over his head, tossing it to the side and when he looks back at the shop owner, his eyes are blown wide and his cheeks are flushed. Xiao short circuits for a second before he realizes Venti is acting like this because he likes what he sees. Not because he doesn’t like what he sees. 

With newfound confidence, Xiao slips off the bed and grabs out lube from the drawer and tosses it on the bed so it’ll be easier to get when the time comes. Venti eyes him suspiciously and decides to sign instead of using his phone: ‘where did you get that? When did you get that?’ Xiao looks at the bottle and then back to Venti with a sheepish smile.

Signing as he talks for practice, Xiao speaks, “just got it yesterday, I had this planned,” he admits. Venti smirks at him and the guitarist can’t help but look away with a blush. The flutist pats the bed in command for Xiao to come back and finish the job, so wasting no more time, he does.

Hooking a strong arm underneath Venti, the martial artist yanks his boyfriend upwards and slips underneath him, letting Venti sit reverse cowboy on his lap. The flutist immediately turns to look over his shoulder and Xiao just grins shyly. “I thought it’d be easier on us to start this way,” he explains and Venti nods. Slipping his jeans off but keeping his loose shirt on. 

Slowly, Venti shyly pushes his ass in Xiao’s face, his knees on either side of his boyfriend’s head. Hesitantly, the guitarist grabs Venti by the waist and brings his cock to his lips, kissing it with a small lick. This causes a full body shudder to leave Venti’s body as he arches his back to bury his face in his arms. 

Deciding to push his burning blush down, the martial artist uses one hand to rub his boyfriend’s cock as he kisses and licks the tip. He takes the beginning of Venti’s dick in his mouth, sucking on it gently as he makes sure to coat it all with his saliva. 

Humming, Xiao begins to move both his hand and mouth causing Venti to shiver and shudder, attempting to pull away from his lips. With a strong grip, the martial artist brings his boyfriend’s ass back into his face by the man’s hips. Xiao swirls his tongue around the tip before bringing it deep in his mouth and sucking.

Precum begins to leak from the flutist’s cock and that just fuels Xiao further as he deepthroats Venti from this position. The shop owner gasps at the action, gripping the fabric still around Xiao’s legs tightly. The guitarist hums with satisfaction as he moves his head accordingly to drag more honest reactions out of his boyfriend’s body.

That’s when he feels something wet and hot touch his own hard cock and suddenly Venti’s lips wrap around Xiao’s own dick. The guitarist groans around Venti’s cock as his boyfriend swirls his tongue around the tip and licks up and down the shaft. Xiao’s movements temporarily pause as he closes his eyes to focus on Venti’s movements.

The shop owner’s lips are soft around his boyfriend's cock, kissing the sides as he licks it up and down making sure the whole of it is coated in his saliva. Once he’s sure he covered the full thing, he takes it into his mouth and begins his own work, knocking his ankle gently against Xiao’s temple to tell him to keep going. 

Taking the hint, Xiao continues by fondling the flutist’s balls between his fingers as his lips work around Venti’s dick all the same. He hums and kitten licks it, tasting his salty cum against his tongue. Pulling away for a moment, Xiao uncaps the lube he tossed on the bed earlier and dribbles some on his fingers before tense up in pleasure when Venti sucks particularly hard. It’s not that it hurt, it’s the it felt really fucking good.

Getting back to work, Xiao takes his lube coated fingers and runs them along Venti’s entrance who shudders at the lukewarm feeling. He slips one finger in and tests how tight his boyfriend is before he quickly adds another, deeming it loose enough to do so. As the guitarist focuses on fingering Venti, the flutists hot precum begins leaking out of his cock more than before which catches Xiao’s attention.

“Are you gonna come?” Xiao whispers in a husky voice. And Venti nods with Xiao’s dick still in his mouth, so he picks up the pace with his fingers while jerking him off with his hand. 

The shop owner tries but fails to keep his mouth open over his boyfriend’s cock, so he pops off of it and closes his eyes. The pleasure is building so much that Venti’s head drops to lay rest against Xiao’s hips as his hands ball into fists. His breathing is erratic and from the slight angle at which Xiao can see his face, Venti is really feeling it right now. 

Not much longer after he began does Xiao bring Venti to his climax with the shop owner shivering and shuddering out his release all over Xiao’s palm. The guitarist slowly removes each of his hands from his boyfriend, the hand he was using to finger Venti now having three lube coated fingers seeing as he slipped in another during that time to further the pleasure. 

Grabbing a tissue from the nightstand, Xiao wipes off Venti’s cum and tosses it on the nightstand for now. He’ll throw it away later. Venti lays rest on the bed breathing heavily as his hair is all disheveled, braids having been taken out and sweat making his bangs stick to his forehead. Despite his dirty looking appearance, he still looks just as beautiful as ever with his big green eyes hooded with lust and his lips covered with Xiao’s sperm. That thought makes the guitarist blush and grow even harder. 

Crawling back on the bed, the martial artist leans over top of Venti, kissing his lips and running his fingers through his hair. Their lips move in sync with one another as Venti brings his palms to lay flat against Xiao’s chest. The flutist slides his hands down his boyfriend’s body and into the hem of his pants fondling his ass before eventually sliding them all the way off. 

Xiao kicks them to the side and Venti takes that opportunity to switch their positions, pushing Xiao flat against the bed and straddling him instead. Deciding he will take the lead from here, Venti smirks down at Xiao with a lustful gaze and jerks the guitarist’s dick a few times while sitting on him which is all kinds of hot and doing a number on Xiao’s already fried brain. 

Once he’s decided to be done teasing Xiao, Venti lines his boyfriend’s cock up with his hole after he has lubed it up only to be stopped by the man. “Whoa, hey, is three enough for you? And what about.. a condom?” Xiao asks cautiously. Venti blinks at him and then looks down at himself and then looks at his fingers. Without even thinking much more, Venti coats four of his fingers with his own saliva before bringing them down to his hole and sliding them in. 

Xiao is pretty sure he nearly died from the action causing his heart to surge and his cock to somehow harden even more. With wide eyes the guitarist watches his boyfriend work himself with his own fingers, trying to see whether four would be needed for him, but as it seems it would not be. So, with a huff and a pleased face, Venti retracts his hand and as if to prove to Xiao what he, himself just witnessed, the shop owner shows Xiao his fingers and shrugs. 

“O-Okay and the condom..?” the guitarist asks, voice shaky from his overwhelming lust towards his boyfriend. Venti just waves him off causing Xiao to bite his lip nervously, but he nods his head in understanding all the same. Once he has the green light, Venti realigns his partner’s cock to his hole and slowly, oh so slowly, slides down the length of it, head thrown back and mouth ajar with pleasure. 

Xiao nearly whimpers from the hot, tight feeling of Venti around his cock as his hands fly up to grab at his waist. After a couple seconds of getting used to being filled, the flutist begins moving, raising his hips before slamming them back down with a satisfied huff of air. His eyes peek open to look at Xiao whose face is all twisted in pleasure, his eyes are hooded and looking shyly up at his boyfriend, cheeks dusted pink with shaky hands around his waist. 

Leaning down, Venti brushes Xiao’s hair behind his ear as he kisses his boyfriend deeply. Keeping their lips locked, the flutist begins moving in more of a rhythmic pattern causing Xiao to moan against his lips which fuels Venti’s urge to continue as a smile graces his lips. 

Their tongues collide as their bodies do the same creating all kinds of lewd noises to be heard all throughout the room. Said room is beginning to smell of sex and it’s so intoxicating that Venti could get lost in it as his breathing picks up from all the extensive extercise. 

Deciding the kissing was too much for him as he got pleasured from his backside, Venti pulls back and grips the headboard just focusing on keeping a persistent rhythm. Xiao’s hands aid him in not losing stamina as he sort of folds forward to kiss at his stomach causing butterflies to form there. 

While Xiao kisses up his abdomen, Venti clenches tightly around his cock when he feels his boyfriends begin to leave little love bites anywhere he could reach. Venti is sure if he could whine right now he would be because suddenly he feels an intense surge of pleasure form in his stomach that Xiao seems to have picked up on.

“Me too.. I’m close too,” he whispers breathily, licking over the places where he left his marks and fondling Venti’s ass. The martial artist lays back once more as he brings his hips up to begin meeting the flutist’s in the middle all the while stroking his cock to give him an even more intense pleasure. 

Before Venti can even blink, Xiao is switching their position, as he flips Venti over and presses him against the mattress. Xiao no longer lets Venti take the lead as he further spreads his boyfriend’s legs and fucks him hard and deep. The flutist’s head flies back as his hands fly around his boyfriend's back. 

And he tries to, he really tries not to scratch him, but with how intense the pleasure is he can’t help it as Xiao buries his face deep in Venti’s neck and bites. The flutist’s back arches off the bed as his boyfriend’s hips slam into his, the martial artist using the hand he isn’t holding himself up with to stroke Venti’s cock.

With the bed now shaking from how hard they’re doing it, Venti mewls silently as Xiao’s breathing picks up and small moans leave his lips. Both of their faces are buried in each other’s shoulders and Venti brings one hand up to run his fingers up the base of the guitarist’s neck and into his hair, pushing him down to keep his face there. 

Xiao’s breathy moans fill his ears which causes a huge amount of pleasure to build in his groin alongside him being penetrated and jerked off. With all of this combined, Venti’s back arches off the bed as the hand still around Xiao’s back scratches him even more. His head flies back as his eyes shut tightly with pleasure, mouth ajar in a silent but intense moan as hot cum shoots from his cock. 

At the very same time Xiao slams his hips down against his boyfriend one last time, making sure to reach as far as he can before releasing his load as well. The groan of pleasure he makes is muffled by him biting into Venti’s shoulder once more. 

For a moment both of them just lay there in each other’s arms, not pulling out and not letting go as their breath glides across each other’s skin. Their heads are hazy from their intense orgasms causing them to blink slowly as they process everything that just happened.

Sweat covers their bodies and Venti can feel the stickiness of it from Xiao’s forehead against his shoulder, not that he exactly minds right now. The flutist absentmindedly runs his hand up and down Xiao’s back as he plants multiple kisses on his shoulder, the side of his face, and the top of his head in an encouraging manner knowing very well that if he doesn’t the guitarist might over think about it later. But it’s not because he has to that he does it. It’s because he wants to. He wants to make sure how good of a job his little guitarist knows he did. Because even if he can’t verbalize it, Xiao did one hell of a fine job for their first time together. 

Once they’ve each calmed down a bit more, Xiao pulls away and gazes down at Venti, brushing his bangs back with his hand and planting a kiss to his forehead and then to his lips. “That was great.. you felt amazing,” he whispers, cheeks flushing with embarrassment from such an intimate statement. Venti just giggles silently and returns the favor, brushing Xiao’s hair behind his ear and bringing him down to reconnect their lips in a gentle, but long lasting kiss.

When he pulls away the flutist gives his boyfriend a dopey lopsided grin, his heart filling with mirth and his eyes very telling. Xiao knows this look very well. It’s the look Venti always gives him before he explodes with happiness and what do you know, explode with happiness he does. 

Xiao laughs lightly as Venti yanks him down by the neck and crushes him in a very tight hug. He begins showering him with kisses once more and when he goes to kick his legs with happiness as well he shudders from the sensitivity of his hole still being filled with his boyfriend’s now softening cock. 

He was going to warn him, but he couldn’t get a word in through all the rain of kisses. Giving Venti a knowing look, Xiao kisses him on the nose before slowly pulling out and sitting back on his knees. He reaches his hand out to Venti in order to help him sit up as he suggests, “should we go take a bath?” to which his boyfriend nods. 

Hopping off the bed, Xiao fights Venti’s arms and legs to get him to let Xiao carry him, because the flutist insisted he wouldn’t fall. So, to prove him wrong, the martial lets him try to walk on his own only for him to stumble the very first step he takes with Xiao having to catch him before he goes crashing to the floor. What makes it worse is that Xiao’s cum slips out from his hole and plops loudly onto the hardwood floor. 

Xiao laughs at his boyfriend’s pink colored cheeks, “I told you so,” he teases, as he swings Venti’s legs over his arms and carries him to the adjoining bathroom. The guitarist sets him down on the closed toilet lid as he shuts the door and begins running the bath. 

Testing the water, Xiao reaches a hand underneath the flow before taking it back and flinging the remaining water at Venti’s face. The flutist scrunches up his nose as he wipes it off with his hands as Xiao laughs. Catching the guitarist staring at him, Venti gives him a soft smile before it turns mischievous. 

The flutist uncrosses his legs and pats his naked lap as if to tell Xiao to come sit on his lap. This time it’s Xiao’s turn to scrunch up his face with a funky smile. “No,” he laughs and Venti pouts and crosses his arms dramatically as he turns his head away defiantly. The guitarist just shakes his head before looking over at the tub to see it’s filled enough now. 

So, without warning, Xiao crouches down and spreads his boyfriend’s legs who instinctively goes to close them without realizing what he’s trying to do. The martial artist looks up at Venti’s flushed and surprised face and just smiles, shaking his head. “Ven, I’m trying to scoop my cum out of your ass right now, so would you please keep your legs open?,” Xiao says, his face completely straight and serious.

It doesn’t last long, though, as Venti’s face filled with shock from such vulgar language alongside him obliging by slowly opening his legs causes Xiao to lose it and start laughing. The guitarist wipes away a tear from his eye and places his hands on each of Venti’s thighs, ready to get to work. “Oh, how I love you so,” Xiao murmurs quietly, causing the flutist’s heart to swell.

He doesn’t get to respond to Xiao, though, as the martial artist gets straight to work. Xiao slips his fingers inside his boyfriend’s hole and gently drags them out, bringing along with it globs of his own cum. It makes him blush seeing just how much he dumped inside of him but it couldn’t be helped. 

Once he’s finished, he rinses his hands off and picks up Venti to gently set him in the tub, slipping in behind him once everything is settled. The tub has been long shut off and filled with bubbles as per Venti’s request and said man leans his back against Xiao relaxingly. 

The two just sit together in silence, basking in each other’s presence as they soak in the warm water. Eventually Xiao gets to washing Venti’s hair, scrubbing his head with bubbles which causes the flutist to giggle silently and shape his hair into a deflating bow. At this time, Venti turns around to help Xiao with his hair as well.

He dumps some shampoo onto his hand and smacks it on top of his head unceremoniously before roughly and jokingly scrubbing his head. He runs his hands through Xiao’s hair and to the base of his neck before pushing it all out of his face and holding his face in his hands.

Like this, with bubbles in his hair and a slight blushy tint to his cheeks with tired eyes, Venti’s martial artist looks soooo cute! Thinking this, he leans in and squishes the guitarist’s cheeks together and kisses him deeply. When he pulls away he looks at his boyfriend with a dopey grin who adorns one just like his own.

With Xiao’s face still in his hands, Venti mouths: ‘I love you too.’