Chapter Text
“Xiao, take Barbatos out of the battlefield now!” Xiao heard Rex Lapis’s voice on top of all the screaming and it felt like his brain started to work all over again.
Without a second thought, he took Venti in his arms. The God has always been like a feather but right now he felt lighter, Xiao didn’t like it. He took a glance at Rex Lapis, torn between if he should leave in the middle of the battle but scared to death about Venti. Rex Lapis locked his eyes with Xiao’s. A single nod was all he needed before jumping out of there with his lover in his arms.
Xiao wasn’t sure where he was going but he knew no place was safe. All of Teyvat was in the middle of a war. “ Another war,” Xiao thought to himself, “ this one looks bloodier than the Archon War” . Xiao kept going until their current battle in Liyue was left behind. He looked down at Venti in his arms and felt like his soul was leaving his body. He needed to hurry.
Xiao stopped at Venti’s statue in Windrise, only because what was Mondstant at a time, now was nothing but rocks and desolation. Xiao thought it wouldn’t be any good for Venti to see his beloved kingdom like that. Venti’s rock figure was still standing, only the left wing was broken and, behind it, the tall tree stood imposing. Xiao laid Venti down in front of the tree.
“You brought me to my favorite spot,” Venti’s voice was a bit louder than a whisper and it pained Xiao to the core hearing him like that.
“Shhh, don’t speak for now,” Xiao caressed Venti’s bangs and started to tender his injuries.
But the thing was, there was so much blood, Xiao didn’t know what to do. He kept murmuring to Venti “ you’re going to get better, you’re going to get better, you’re going to get better” . His movements started to get erratic and nervous. Just the thought of losing Venti was enough to make him lose his mind.
“Xiao”
Venti’s voice sounded far far away. With a trembling hand, he wiped Xiao’s tears, which only made Xiao cry harder.
“You called?”
At that Venti laughed a little, only to transform the laughter into coughing blood. Xiao felt like a fool for making him do that.
“Are you trying to make me fall in love with you again, Alatus?” Venti muttered, closing his eyes, he looked so tired. “Because that won’t be necessary.”
Xiao took Venti’s delicate hands in his. He was cold.
“Venti?” Xiao hated how scared and trembling his voice sounded but he couldn’t help it. He was scared to death.
“Yes?”
“Please don’t leave me”
Venti opened his eyes and they were as beautiful as always. Green and blue combined with a mischievous spark. Even on his deathbed, Venti still looked at Xiao with his eyes filled with love and adoration and Xiao couldn’t stop crying.
“I’m sorry Xiao”
Xiao shut his eyes and hugged Venti’s body as his life depended on it. As if keeping Venti closer would somehow stop this brutal war and bring back his lover. Xiao couldn’t keep losing people, he just couldn’t. He wanted to be mad at Venti, for making him fall helplessly in love with him, he wanted to be mad at Lumine and Aether for starting this war, he wanted to be mad at Rex Lapis for quitting his duties as the Geo Archon. But he was just angry at himself, for not protecting Venti when he should have. And it pained him, it really did.
“Xiao, look at me”
And Xiao did, because everything Venti wanted, Xiao did. He opened his eyes and Venti once again wiped his tears away.
“I need you to promise me you´ll live” Venti caressed his cheeks and Xiao leaned into the touch.
“I will” he lied.
“Good. In return,” Venti motioned to sit so Xiao helped him, he never took his hand out of Venti’s waist, holding him tight. “I’ll promise you, Alatus, I’ll find you in our next life.” He said, looking at Xiao with nothing but love and determination.
Xiao hugged him and put Venti’s head under his chin. That was the last image he wanted to have of him.
“You better, Barbatos. I love you.”
And with his last breath, Venti replied,
“I love you too.”
Xiao woke up with a jump and panting. He looked around at his bedroom, still dark, and calmed a little. He felt his heart going a million miles per hour. He removed his forehead sweat with his right hand and that’s when he noticed he was crying, again.
After his heart stopped racing like crazy, he collapsed again in his bed. He still had some time before his alarm rang. Before drifting back to sleep he thought that those nightmares were getting more intense every time.
Xiao woke up for the second time, but this time because someone was banging on his door.
“ Xiao, you’re gonna be late. Breakfast is ready” he heard Zhongli’s voice through his door.
He emitted a low grunt as a sign of acknowledgment but it wasn’t heard.
“ Xiao? Did you hear me?”
“I’m coming” and that’s all Zhongli needed, he heard him walking down the hall.
Xiao turned in his bed and looked at the ceiling. The nightmares from a few hours ago were still fresh in his mind. It was always the same thing: he had a nightmare with a boy (whose name was apparently Venti and had braids), he would wake up calling his name or screaming or laughing or just smiling, and he would always end up crying the second he opened his eyes, no matter what the dream was about. The nightmares weren’t always nightmares, sometimes they were dreams, beautiful dreams with beautiful scenery. Xiao and this boy, Venti, would sometimes be on a rooftop in the middle of the night, looking at the stars; or Xiao would see himself listening to Venti talk while he touched his braids; or simply they would exist together, doing nothing in particular. Those were the good dreams. Somehow, those were the ones that hurt the most waking up from. Nevertheless, no matter what the dream was about, he always felt a little more empty every time he woke up.
Xiao sighed and looked at his clock. He had no time to think about this again. He rolled out of his bed and opened the curtains, another bright day was ahead of him.
When he entered the kitchen slash breakfast area was greeted by a really smiley Childe. He had a black apron that read “ Kiss the Chef” with a narwhal embroidered. It was a gift from Zhongli years ago and Childe thought it was a great joke until he saw Zhongli’s hopeful eyes. He said he loved it and wore it every day ever since. Xiao thought they were the cheesiest couple he had ever met.
“Good morning Xiao. Hurry up, your breakfast is gonna get cold,” Chile said, sliding some tofu into his plate.
“Morning,” Xiao greeted. “I can make my own breakfast y’know?” he bite one of the toast and it was delicious even though it was a simple toast.
“Of course, you can. But your thought of breakfast is a cup of plain dark coffee. I’d prefer for you to be alive for a while longer,” Childe said and sat next to Zhongli, who was reading something on his work tablet.
“He’s got a point.”
“I know, and thank you again for the breakfast,” this time Xiao drank his coffee with just the perfect amount of sugar. He was indeed grateful for Childe sometimes.
“You’re very welcome.”
“How do I flip the page in this thing?” Zhongli asked Childe, changing the subject.
“Mmh, let me see.”
Childe turned around and poured a little more coffee into Zhongli’s cup and placed his right hand on the other’s nape, leaning a little to see what he was reading. Sometimes Xiao felt like an intruder between the two of them. They had this power to make the entire room only for the two of them by doing just a simple gesture. When Xiao was younger he thought that was gross. Right now in the middle of the kitchen, he still thought it was gross but he also understood they loved each other deeply, in a way Xiao thought he could never understand. And after this particular nightmare where he felt for a second, his world was over after what happened to that Venti boy, the feeling of emptiness he felt from the moment he woke up, only increased.
He found himself hoping Venti was alright before he shook his head at his thought and finished his breakfast.
Venti opened his eyes the minute his alarm went off. He groaned to himself and cursed the heavens, why the hell did he stay up finishing his assignments? Right, because he procrastinated everything until the last second, again. He felt his pillow wet and sighed, wiping the remaining tears away. Another dream. This one was weirder than usual. He literally died in Xiao’s arms, his lover in that fantasy world.
To say he was getting obsessed with his dreams was an understatement. They started from a very young age but Venti realized the dreams were always about the same person only a few years ago. Ever since then, he started writing everything he remembered about it, he thought there was a secret message hidden in those dreams. He also thought he was losing his mind, because the boy who was always with, Xiao, was literally a dream, no pun intended. He was a few inches smaller than Venti, had a terrible character, and hardly ever smiled. Except when they were together, those times had Venti sighing every day. Xiao always took care of Venti in his dreams, he had a weird fixation with Venti’s braids (who thought it was adorable) and his favorite meal was almond tofu. He tried to cook it once and thought it was the most boring dish ever.
This particular dream was a really traumatic one. Mostly because he didn’t remember much. Venti remembers feeling pain all over his body and feeling really weak. Xiao was crying and all Venti wanted was for him to stop, he wiped his lover's tears every time he felt like lifting his arm wasn’t the most painful thing in the world. He could feel Xiao’s desperation and it pained Venti with his entire being knowing that it was the last time he would see Xiao.
Venti jumped in his bed. The last time he would see Xiao. With the speed of lighting, he opened his windows to let the light in and sat on his desk.
“What if this is the last time I have the chance to see you?” he said, opening his sketchbook.
His sketchbook was one of the most important things in his entire world. No one has ever seen it and no one ever will while Venti is breathing. The number of drawings he had of Xiao embarrassed him from time to time but he figured there was no harm in it. He traced with his fingers the last one he had made, with each dream, drawing Xiao was getting easier and easier, by now his hand sort of photographic memory, drawing lines and details as if the boy was in front of him. And every time he did, it looked more like the Xiao from his dreams.
Venti gulped. This dream felt weirder from the moment he woke up from it. It felt like a goodbye and left a sour taste in Venti’s mouth. He didn’t like it. Indeed, the one who was saying goodbye was him, making a promise to Xiao that he will find him in their next life, right before he confessed his love for him with his last breath. If Xiao had replied, he didn’t know. Venti felt a shiver down his spine and started to draw another portrait of the boy of his dreams.
“Good morning sleepyhead,” Lisa sang the moment he sat at the table for breakfast.
Venti groaned and placed his face on the table.
“Morning”
He felt someone touching his hair tenderly and knew instantly it was Jean.
“Another dream with the mystery boy?” she said, placing his breakfast next to his head.
“Yes, but this was awful. I literally died in his arms,” he said exasperated.
Venti missed the glance Jean and Lisa shared.
“That sounds horrible,” Jean said, drinking her coffee right next to Lisa.
“It was, he looked so heartbroken,” Venti said and started to eat. “This is amazing by the way.”
“You’re welcome, dear.”
“Everything was so painful. I woke up feeling empty inside, more than ever.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure that when you see him again-” Lisa interrupted herself with a pained expression.
“What happened?” Venti asked, eyebrows furrowed.
“Nothing. Jean dear, looks like your new shoes are pretty comfortable” Lisa said with a painful grin.
“Yes, they are,” Jean replied with a fake smile. Venti thought they were weird. “Venti, remember you have to take the train today. The car is still at the workshop”.
“What? Still?” Venti complained just for the sake of it, he didn’t mind taking the train.
“You have our dearest Lisa here to thank,” Jean said touching Lisa’s shoulder, “What did we learn about drinking and driving?”
“That is so not fair!” Lisa raised her voice a bit, “I only had a glass of wine before dinner and that cat came out of nowhere,” she said, with the tiniest of the pouts in her mouth.
“I know” Jean sighed, touching Lisa’s hair, “But I think I’ve never been more scared in my life Lisa,” Jean said looking her straight in the eyes, “please never do that again.”
“I know, I’m sorry” Lisa apologized with a light blush on her cheeks. “I promise you I’ll never do it again.”
They smiled at each other and shared thousands of emotions by just doing it. Venti gagged.
“Sometimes you guys are gross.”
Lisa and Jean shared a glance and stood up at the same time. They both placed a kiss on Venti’s cheeks and he laughed.
“Stop it,” he said with a big smile on his face.
“C’mon Lisa, I’ll drop you off at work on the way to mine,” Jean said, grabbing her bag and a few folders. “Bye Venti, have a great day today.”
“Yes, Venti!” Suddenly Lisa had a big grin on her face that scared Venti, “have a great day today!” she said, emphasizing the word great.
“Thanks?”
And they closed the door, leaving a really confused Ventin behind them.
Venti took the train for the first time and it was packed. He sighed, he thought he could practice his drawing while sitting but he wasn’t sure now. He was scared to death to miss his stop so he figured it was not that bad after all, he was constantly checking his phone making sure he wouldn’t get lost. His senses of direction weren't the sharpest and he wasn’t in the mood to get lost in the middle of the city.
Luckily, after a few stops, people started getting off the train and Venti had a chance to sit next to a woman. He sighed and pondered whether he should try and draw a little or keep checking his phone. He thought the last option was the right one when he panicked because he thought he missed a stop.
The train was an interesting place, there were lots of different kinds of people, everyone was busy with their own business and Venti found it fascinating. The woman next to him was wearing an expensive suit but also sneakers and thought it was funny. There were people reading, and listening to music, and he could spot a few sleep-deprived students sleeping. Everything caught Venti’s attention.
He checked his phone one more time. Three stops and he was there. Everything was fine, he could do that. He lifted his gaze out of his phone and something caught his attention, the boy who just stood up dropped had dropped something. Venti stared back and forth between the stranger’s back and the thing that fell out of his pocket, but it seemed like he hadn’t noticed. Venti looked around, maybe someone was going to let the boy know but no one seemed to note. The boy was about to get off the train. In a quick movement, Venti jumped off his seat, grabbed the item, and called the stranger.
“Hey, you dropped something?”
But the stranger had really big headphones so, of course, he didn’t listen to Venti. Right when the boy crossed the glass door, Venti grabbed his black sleeve.
“I’m sorry but you dropped-”
And Venti left the sentence unfinished because, suddenly, a million images crossed his mind the moment he looked at the stranger’s eyes. He felt electricity running through his body and, out of nowhere, his eyes were filled with tears. He felt like his heart was about to explode because of how intense the emotions were.
Everything went quiet.
“Venti?” he heard the boy with golden eyes say. Venti had no idea how he caught that, as the stranger’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. Nevertheless, his breath stopped the moment he heard his name out of the boy’s mouth.
Venti felt his head heavy and thought he was having an out-of-body experience. Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. He felt his mouth talking without him wanting to. He heard himself saying,
“Xiao, I found you”
And just as the magical moment started, it ended, without previous notice. He felt like coming out of the water, all the sounds from the train came to life and startled him. He let go of the stranger’s sleeve and lifted his gaze to apologize but the boy’s eyes were filled with tears. As he was about to say something, the glass door closed between them, and the train started to move.
Xiao and Venti locked eyes until they were out of each other sight.