Archive of Our Own

It almost feels like the universe is getting back at him for squandering his unlimited sick days given by the job that he loves from the bottom of his heart, but in his defense, he’s been feeling uncreative lately. Surely the universe can forgive him for being burnt out enough to have what he unlovingly dubs 'curator’s block,' struggling to create a proper exhibit on the newly-unearthed instruments the museum received about a year ago.

So he’s had to take a few sick days to kick-start his brain back into action, and what better way to do that while not actually being sick than to say that he had an imaginary boyfriend that was sick and needed to be taken care of? He could take the day off and attempt to recover the final remaining brain cells he had; a win-win situation all around.

Except now he’s standing in front of their in-office bulletin, trying to set the holiday flyer on fire with his mind as it taunts him with the encouragement to bring someone along.

“Venti, will we finally see your boyfriend?” Sucrose asks shyly. 

Kaeya comes up behind her with a devilish grin. “I’m also very curious to see this boyfriend of yours that you’ve been taking all those sick days for.”

Sucrose is too nice to murder with his bare hands. Kaeya, on the other hand, is fair game.

“Oh, don’t feel pressured into bringing your mystery man,” Lisa quips from beside him.

Bless Lisa for being reasonable-

“But I know we’ve all been very curious to see him,” she finishes, much to his chagrin.

He gives the group a tight smile. “You all know he’s pretty shy but I’ll see what I can do.”

“He doesn’t even have to talk to us,” Kaeya says, grin widening. “As long as he shows up, I think we’ll all be satisfied.”

Lisa sighs forlornly. “Ah, to be in love. What an exciting thing we’ll be looking forward to.”

Nodding vigorously, Sucrose gives his shoulder a pat. “So excited!”

Whelp.

The realization that he is fucked follows him the entire day as he tries to figure out how not to arouse the suspicions of his coworkers. Why does he care so much anyway? They just wanted to know who his boyfriend is. It can literally be anyone as long as they’ve never met him before, right?

But the only person he’s comfortable even pretending to date is… well, that’s besides the point. All this worrying isn’t helping his ongoing uncreative streak, the piles of ancient sheet music and instrument diagrams taunting him. The latest artifacts to enter their archives are, as far as they can tell, all instruments used by a group of mythical legendary beasts known as ‘adepti’ that existed long, long ago in Liyue’s history.

Of course, being the one with a focus in music, Zhongli left it up to him to create an exhibit, but his tired, overworked brain has given him almost nothing to work with. The deadline is still several months away (the deadline that he offered to Zhongli foolishly, he reminds himself), but as the days pass and he can’t think of an idea to save his life, his dread steadily increases.

And now, the closer he gets to being able to go home, another knot of dread tangles around the existing one. He attempts to prolong the inevitable moment he has to face his fears by taking as many random pit stops as he can on his commute home, until he’s too tired to continue and wants nothing more than to face-plant into his bed. 

Fine, he’ll resolve this thing tonight so he won’t have to worry about it later, with the help of all the snacks he got along the way.

“Xiiaaooo,” he yells when he returns home, spotting the head of teal hair around the corner of the hallway as he places his mound of snacks on their kitchen counter. “My bestest roommate and friend in the world, the light of my life-”

“What did you do?” Xiao asks, peeking around the corner, voice muffled by the piece of toast in his mouth.

His approach here has to be delicate if he wants to escape Xiao’s wrath. “Why are you eating toast for dinner?” Good starting question, something to distract him.

“Felt like it.” Xiao shrugs, shoving the last bite into his mouth. 

Gods help him because he finds that incredibly hot, and the intense stare currently being directed at him is not doing anything to rid him of undesirable thoughts.

“What did you actually do?” Xiao asks again, breaking him out of his Xiao-spiral. 

Brain, stop this. Fantasize later, ask questions now.

“So you know how I sometimes spend time at home doing nothing and I say I have a day off from work?”

Xiao crosses his arms. “Yes?”

“Don’t get mad.” He doesn’t like the skeptical look Xiao gives him. 

“I feel like I should get mad.”

“I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend at the museum’s holiday party that’s happening in a month.”

“What the fuck.” With a sharp inhale, Xiao closes his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose. “Why?”

“I may or may not have used an imaginary boyfriend as an excuse to take sick days for the past few months so I could be a vegetable at home because I’m burned out?” He books it to the couch to put it between him and Xiao. Xiao wouldn’t hurt their dear couch, would he?

“Zhongli would’ve happily allowed you to take a few days off if you’d just told him,” Xiao points out, taking a not-too-menacing step towards the couch.

Not-too-menacing is better than menacing he supposes, so he flops stomach-first onto the couch and hopes Xiao doesn’t torture him. “I don’t want him to worry,” he mumbles into his arms.

The couch dips near his upright legs and they receive a reassuring pat. “He’ll worry either way. Just tell him so you can get more time off.”

“But I feel bad,” Venti whines as he rolls over, sitting up to face Xiao. “He got me this job and everything. How else can I pay him back other than with my soul?”

He receives a light flick on his forehead and an eye roll. “Zhongli isn’t a monster. He cares about you and knows you don’t take advantage of people’s kindness.”

“Xiao, you’re being too logical right now. Let me wallow in my misery.” Not giving Xiao any time to react, he lays his head down on his lap, staring up at the beautiful gold of his roommate’s eyes. No, his best friend. No, the love of his life who he’s had a massive crush on ever since they’d met on the playground as wee lads.

...Right, he still has a problem to deal with.

“Anyway,” he clears his throat and pokes Xiao’s cheek, “is that a yay or nay for saving my life?”

Xiao snorts. “I hardly think your coworkers would really care if you were pretending to have a boyfriend.” 

“A bunch of them literally just told me today that they’re excited to meet you. I bet they’ve already arranged an assassin to take me out once they figure out I’ve been lying.

“Sure, if that helps you sleep at night.” Xiao ruffles his hair, to which he huffs indignantly. “I’ll do it as long as you do something for me in return.”

“Deal! I’ll do anything of course. It would only be fair.” He grabs Xiao’s hand and shakes it haphazardly in the air. “Now, do you want something other than toast for dinner? I got some killer fried tofu on my way home.”

The rumbling stomach next to his face tells him all he needs to know.

All things considered, Venti’s week had been going far too normally for someone who’d just propositioned the object of their affections to be their fake boyfriend. Reality starts to hit when he and Xiao are out on their weekly grocery run.

“Xiao, this is too many packs of tofu,” he complains, attempting to move one of the said packs back onto the shelf.

“It balances out all the apples and snacks you’ve dumped into our cart,” Xiao deadpans. “If the tofu goes then some of your stuff has to go too.”

Giving Xiao a dejected look, Venti hurriedly pushes their cart towards the produce aisle. “Fine,” he mumbles to himself and rounds the corner, coming in contact with a solid object.

“Hey, watch where you’re going assh- oh, it’s just you Venti,” the solid object says.

“Tartar sauce, fancy you here.” He cackles at the grimace he receives from his coworker, the other of whom mutters something about going by Tartaglia one time.

“Ajax, are you alright?” a voice asks from behind Ajax.

“Zhongli!” Venti exclaims. “What are you doing here with tartar sauce?”

“If you are referring to Ajax, I am helping him acquire produce.”

“But why?” Venti asks innocently, already knowing the answer based on how Zhongli and Ajax’s faces redden ever so slightly.

“Venti, stop antagonizing the other customers.” Xiao appears in his periphery. “Oh, hello Zhongli.”

Zhongli nods at him. “Xiao. Good to see you are well.”

Venti doesn’t like the way Ajax’s face lights up as his expression turns to something akin to solving a great mystery.

“Ah, you must be the sickly boyfriend, huh?” Ajax laughs, giving Xiao a wave. “Kaeya talked my ear off about how you were going to bring him to the party.”

Gods, Venti has never wanted to murder someone in cold blood so quickly in his life, especially when he can see the gears spinning in Zhongli’s brain as one of his eyebrows raises. He prays to the universe Ajax doesn’t blow his cover. 

Pointing at Xiao, Zhongli repeats “boyfriend?” like he’s never heard that word before.

“Yup, my boyfriend right here,” Venti quickly laces his hand with Xiao’s and holds them up, “next to me, the one I love very much. And is sick sometimes. Right Xiao?” 

If Xiao is uncomfortable with this whole thing, he certainly doesn’t show it when he leans in to peck his cheek, rolling his eyes as he pulls away. “The very one.”

He can’t believe he’ll be the first human to ever spontaneously combust from a kiss.

Unfortunately, the kiss only causes Zhongli to raise his other eyebrow. “Venti, may I have a word with you?”

Already shoving their cart and Xiao forward, he gives Zhongli his best apologetic smile. “Maybe next time? I really have to put these apples away.”

Zhongli shoots him a stern ‘we need to talk about this later’ look and waves them off, looking like he’s ready to form conspiracy theories with Ajax. He’ll have to deal with Zhongli after he’s had time to think of a story.

When they’re out of range and near the apples, Venti gives Xiao a thumbs up and a relieved smile. “Thanks for playing along there. The kiss was a nice touch.”

“Only the best for my fake boyfriend,” Xiao jokes as he places some of the apples back.

He lets out a hearty laugh, trying to ignore the way his heart twinges at ‘fake’ by distracting himself with reorganizing the apple pile.

Their discussion about ancient sweet flowers distracts them from the fact that the cafe door won’t open despite several strong tugs. Venti cuts himself off mid-sentence to groan at Sucrose to open the door for him.

Observant as always, Sucrose points out the sign on the door. 

“Closed today? Ah, closed because the owner’s cousin is getting married, nice!” Venti hums happily for them.

“Hm, then I suppose we’ll have to continue this discussion tomorrow,” Sucrose says sagely.

“Didn’t you say you needed an idea by today? You’re free to come to my place if you’d like. Let me just ask my roommate.” He pulls out his phone and quickly shoots a text to Xiao, to which he immediately responds with a ‘k’ and a thumbs up emoji. Satisfied, he beckons Sucrose to follow him as they head to his apartment.

“I didn’t know you lived with your boyfriend. That’s so sweet!”

He chokes on his spit. Cover almost blown right there, all because he forgot about his stupid fake boyfriend. “Mhm, very nice. Boyfriends do live together sometimes, don’t they? Anyway, back to those sweet flowers?”

Thankfully, their discussion stays on Sucrose’s current research, only interrupted when Venti fumbles with his keys and flings open the door to the sight of Xiao on the couch, staring daggers into his laptop screen.

“Hey Xiao! This is Sucrose. She works on all that cool ancient biology stuff I’ve talked about. Sucrose, this is my boyfriend,” he says, willing with all his might to fight the blush creeping up his neck.

“Nice to meet you,” Xiao greets pleasantly with a wave. “I’ve heard much about your work. It sounds interesting.”

Sucrose giggles nervously. “That’s reassuring. I know it can sound pretty boring at times but I promise it’s all very fun.”

“Which is why we’re bringing the conversation to you,” Venti says, heading over to the couch and settling on the floor next to Xiao’s legs, gesturing at Sucrose to sit. “Do you mind if we talk about it here? Are you doing work?” For good measure, he kisses the side of Xiao’s knee.

Xiao coughs lightly, hiding a blush, and Venti squeals internally at how cute that is. “Yeah, just a little bit left but certainly more bearable with company.”

What he thought would be a fairly short discussion ends up being a couple hours long, the moon already in the place of the sun by the time they reach a point that they’re happy with. He’s propped up against Xiao’s leg, eyes growing heavier by the minute, only to be startled awake by Sucrose’s surprised gasp.

“Look at the time! I should go before it gets too late,” Sucrose says, gathering her things.

Venti helps her up and leads her to the door. “Time flies! Let me know when you’re home, and don’t hesitate to call if you need.”

“Will do. And I apologize that our conversation never steered away from sweet flowers, I know you’ve been having trouble with your instruments,” Sucrose says sheepishly as she steps out the door.

“No worries at all. I’ll figure it out eventually.” He laughs and waves, watching her until she rounds the corner to the elevators. When he’s sure she’s made it out successfully, he closes the door and he makes his way back to Xiao, taking his usual spot next to him on the couch. “Still working on that thing?” He leans against Xiao’s shoulder, trying to understand what’s happening on the screen. 

His heart skips a beat when Xiao shifts so Venti’s leaning deeper into his side, giving him a better view of the screen. “Almost done. Just need a few more lines of code here,” Xiao says, pointing at the middle of his screen.

“Hacker Xiao, at it again.” Venti yawns.

Xiao snorts. “If this counts as hacking, I definitely want more money for it.”

“I’ll fight Ningguang to give you a raise,” Venti mumbles, stifling another yawn.

“Sleep. I’ll wake you up when I’m done.” 

Not one to argue with his warm pillow, he drifts off to the gentle sounds of the laptop keyboard...

…

...And then wakes up to the gentle rise and fall of Xiao’s chest in his face.

An incredible amount of willpower is spent not recoiling in panic. Instead, he rolls his eyes upwards to catch Xiao’s serene expression, unburdened by the tension he usually carries when he’s awake. Judging by how they aren’t crushing Xiao’s laptop, Venti figures that Xiao put the laptop down and promptly fell asleep on his own accord, too lazy to move away from the couch.

Great minds sleep alike, it seems. He giggles to himself and peels himself out of Xiao’s arms, stretching as he squints at the time blinking on their microwave. 7:54 AM. Not too bad, considering he had to go to work in about an hour. Might as well be a nice roommate and return the favor by making both of them breakfast.

Bringing the plate of breakfast over to their coffee table, he lightly shakes Xiao awake. “Xiao? Breakfast is ready. You have to work in an hour too, so don’t be too much of a sleepy head.”

And when Xiao opens his eyes and stares blearily at him, a small smile directed at him like he’s the only thing in Xiao’s world, his heart practically seizes from the amount of love he feels.

Oh, he’s in deep.

Venti is thankful every day that he’s not allergic to dogs, because being allergic to cats and loving cats is already torture enough.

“Who’s the best girl? You’re the best girl!” he coos at the snow white pomeranian yipping happily at him. He sneaks in an extra treat placed on top of the frisbee he’s holding, watching Xiao attempt to detangle the leash that Ganyu had handed him in her haste to clock out of work.

“Cloud, come here,” Xiao calls, squatting to get the harness on the ecstatic dog. Thankfully, Ganyu trained her dog well enough to sit still while Xiao finishes adjusting, to which Venti loudly declares she deserves another treat.

Xiao looks like he wants to stop him, but instead sighs with a hint of exasperation. “If she gets spoiled, I’m blaming you.” He stands and tilts his head toward the door, tugging Cloud along with him. 

The sight of Xiao’s flat expression contrasted with Cloud’s enthusiastic panting is one that Venti never tires of, no matter how many times he’s seen it, especially when the soft light of the street lamps frames Xiao in an angelic glow. He secretly thanks Ganyu for spending a night with her girlfriend so he can have the opportunity to see Xiao like this again, walking blindly forward because he’s too busy ogling Xiao.

There is a tug on his arm and Xiao’s giving him a worried look and oh he almost just walked into a street lamp, brain crashing down to earth as his gaze flickers between the hand on his arm and the dog looking at him expectantly.

“If you’re not up for a walk, I can take her myself-”

Venti shakes his head, snatching the leash out of Xiao’s hand. “No! I’m fine. I love spending time with Cloud.” He bends down to ruffle the dog’s head, trying to prove his point. “And you,” he almost says out loud, but decides to save himself from the agony of revealing that information.

An arm hooks onto the crook of his elbow and he whips his head at Xiao, braids hitting him in the face as he tries not to blush too hard.

“What? Keep walking. I’m just making sure you don’t knock yourself out against a street lamp.” Xiao pointedly looks away and tugs them forward.

In his life, Venti thought the hardest thing he’d ever do is get his PhD, but the universe apparently had other things in mind. He fights with every step not to keel over and curl up in a fetal position, mind unable to comprehend the weight against his elbow. He’s glad that Xiao at least knows where they’re going, because he’s not sure he can function properly to this much exposure of Xiao clinging to his arm.

His death will be swift, arms full of dog and Xiao but heart filled with love and happiness.

“Venti, we’re at the dog park,” Xiao says, ripping him out of his thoughts for the second time tonight.

“Dog park!” he parrots back pathetically, clearing his throat to give his brain a restart. “Frisbee?”

“Yeah, that’s what we came for.” Xiao pulls away so he can remove the leash from the harness. “Give her a good first throw for the night, will you?”

Yes, frisbee. He can do that. “Aye aye sir,” Venti says, saluting as he flings the frisbee into the distance with as much force as he can muster. He laughs when Cloud barks excitedly at the flying object and makes a beeline towards its landing spot, hitting herself in the nose with the frisbee as it descends. She makes a graceful recovery, picking up the frisbee off the grass and running back towards them, tail wagging happily.

“You did so good!” Venti coos, taking the frisbee from her as Xiao crouches beside him and gives her back a few affectionate pats.

“Venti!” a familiar voice greets from behind them.

“Lisa!” Venti turns around to be greeted by the sight of Lisa hand-in-hand with a woman he’s never met. However, the dog sitting next to her, tail thumping against the grass, is one that he knows.

“Aww, Dvalin! Look how big you’ve gotten,” Venti coos at the big husky, moving so he’s crouching in front of him. Dvalin happily sniffs his hand and lets himself be pet. “Lisa, just how big is he going to get?”

“At this rate, bigger than the whole city,” the woman next to her jokes.

Venti finally turns his attention to her, giving her a friendly smile and an outstretched hand. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Venti. I work with Lisa at the museum.”

“Jean. Pleasure to meet you.” She takes his hand and shakes it firmly. Oh, he can see why Lisa likes her alright.

“So, out on a dog date with your girlfriend?” Venti laughs when Lisa smacks his arm. “Long time coming.”

“Shut up.” Lisa sniffs indignantly. “I’ll explain when we’re home, dear.”

With a chuckle, Jean pecks her cheek. “I’ll be all ears.”

Of course, he’s not allowed to tease without the universe deeming it necessary that he go through torture of his own. He hears Xiao come up beside him, casually propping his arm on his shoulder (his shoulders are blushing, gods help him) and waving at the couple in front of them. 

“Hello. I hope he’s not bothering you.”

“Hey!” Venti pouts. He wiggles his shoulder, trying to shake off Xiao’s arm to no avail.

“He’s being such a bother.” Lisa giggles. She looks between the two of them before realization dawns on her face. “Is this the mystery boyfriend that gets sick all the time?”

The urge to murder is not as strong as when Ajax had showed up, but that’s only because Lisa is nice. He seriously considers it though.

“I'm Xiao. Nice to meet you,” Xiao says, pinching Venti’s cheek as he gestures down at Cloud. “In case he hadn’t made it clear, we don’t own a dog. We’re currently dog-sitting Cloud for a friend.” 

Venti chimes in, trying desperately to distract Lisa from asking too many invasive questions. “If it weren’t for the fact that she loves her owner, we might have kidnapped her.”

“That’s a shame,” Lisa sighs dramatically, “It’s lovely seeing you outside of work once in a while, you know?” She conceals a mischievous smirk behind her hand, but Venti can see how her eyes twinkle.

“Maybe we can convince Ganyu to let us have her for another night so we can hang out again?” To push the point home, he turns to give Xiao’s cheek a kiss - only to land squarely against soft, parted lips. 

Xiao pulls away first, the surprise in his face dissolving into a small smile. “She probably won’t mind.”

He can’t help the way his mouth falls open, staring at Xiao in shock as his brain replays the last minute over and over in his brain.

“Anyway,” Lisa sing-songs, a knowing look on her face, “we’ll be heading out. Let’s hang out for longer another time. See you tomorrow at work, Venti.”

The half-hearted wave he gives her does nothing to slow down his racing thoughts. He knows his face is probably the deepest shade of red it’s ever been and his lips are dry from how long he’s kept his mouth open, but he just kissed Xiao on the lips.

“Venti?” Xiao waves a hand in front of him. “Did you… not like that?”

Oh, he doesn’t even know. “I just,” he flails his arms like that will make the red on his face dissipate, “I was surprised you agreed with me on stealing Ganyu’s dog!” 

Cloud yips, none the wiser to the antics happening around her. To be a sweet, innocent dog beloved by many and free of earthly responsibilities, he laments.

“Let’s go home before Ganyu finds and kills us for trying to steal her dog,” Xiao says with an amused exhale, holding out his hand. 

If Xiao’s offering, then he might as well take it, right? Venti grabs his hand, letting out a yelp when Xiao laces their fingers together and tugs him to his side. Maybe being a human isn’t so bad after all if he can be like this with Xiao, affectionalty bumping their shoulders together as his heart beats faster when Xiao smiles brilliantly at him.

Venti tries not to let his sour mood affect his work, but when he notices his coworkers giving him a wide berth in the hallways, he rushes to the restroom to clear his head.

It all started when Venti accidentally bumped into Xiao during breakfast, breaking one of Xiao’s favorite mugs, a present from Zhongli, and it spiraled into an ugly argument where some rather unpleasant words were exchanged. He stormed out without another word, fuming when he stepped into the museum today. 

Then, to make matters worse, it seemed like he regressed in his progress towards a non-shitty exhibit for the instruments in his care, his brain seizing up with nary a creative thought in sight. The way the melodies are constructed are unlike any he’s seen before. Somehow there is a hint of familiarity in the patterns he’s managed to extract, but he can’t quite put his finger on it. To prevent himself from flinging the very delicate sheet music off his desk out of anger, he decided to take a stroll in the hallway to clear his mind. 

Except now he’s here in the bathroom, pacing around like a mad man. At least when he peeks into each stall, they’re all empty, much to his relief. He clasps his hands on his mouth and screams as loudly as he can, trying to release the frustration within him. Why did he have to argue with Xiao this morning? If he’d just shut his big mouth, that argument wouldn’t have happened and he’d be enjoying a lovely bathroom break instead of mentally clawing at his brain.

“If you don’t stop that, someone might file a police report for a bathroom murder,” Kaeya says, swinging the bathroom door open. “What’s got you in a mood like this?”

“Had an argument,” Venti mutters into his hands, closing his eyes to stop his tears.

“Ah, boyfriend troubles.” Kaeya approaches him and gives him an awkward pat on the shoulder. “I’d offer to talk about it, but it seems like whatever words you have for me should be told to him instead.”

Removing his hands, he opens his eyes and gives Kaeya a wet laugh. “Yeah. I’ll try to keep it cool today.”

“Do you want to go home? I can tell Zhongli.”

Venti shakes his head. “I’d rather just work off my frustration and go back home with some common sense back in here.” He knocks a hand against his head and he heads towards the door, giving Kaeya a nod. “Thanks for checking up on me.”

“Yeah, yeah. I expect to see you all sunshine and rainbows like you usually are tomorrow, you hear?” Kaeya waves him off, heading into one of the stalls.

Of course, when he’s heading home and he finally feels ready to apologize to Xiao without bursting into tears, something is wrong when he enters their apartment: the lights are off and the curtains haven’t been drawn, like no one’s been home since he left this morning. He does a quick sweep of their rooms, stomach dropping at the lack of Xiao.

It’s pretty rare for Xiao to get home after him, and even then he usually isn’t far behind. He’s probably just running a bit late. The clock on their microwave reads 6:03 PM, so he makes himself dinner and doesn’t think too much of it.

An hour later, he decides to send Xiao a quick ‘are you okay?’ text. He doesn’t receive a response.

Another hour later, he tries calling Xiao, but it goes straight to voicemail.

By nine, he’s trying to keep himself from thinking of the worst case scenarios. He checks his phone for what feels like the hundredth time that night, but to his dismay, no new notifications greet him. 

Wrapping himself in a blanket, he loafs around on the couch, wanting to be there when Xiao gets home.

(If he comes home.)

He will come home, he tells himself, and proceeds to lose himself to a video playlist of random dessert recipes, holding back worried tears.

Finally, when the microwave blinks 10:36 PM, the door clicks open and Venti has to resist the urge to throw his laptop off him from sheer relief, instead haphazardly tossing it aside along with the blanket onto the couch as he scrambles up to greet Xiao at the door.

“Xiao! You’re home,” he says, trying to keep his voice steady. He worriedly shakes Xiao when he gives no response, standing there with his eyes half-open like he’s dead on his feet. 

“Work ran late and my phone died. I’m sorry.”

Ah. “Are you hungry? I’ll heat up these leftovers if you want.”

Shaking his head, Xiao kicks off his shoes and shuffles over to the couch, flopping down face-first with a groan. “I just want to sleep.”

“Don’t flop down here, let’s get you to bed.” Venti makes his best effort to drag Xiao off the couch without hurting him, but Xiao stays on the couch like a dead weight. He will admit that sleeping on the couch isn’t the worst thing in the world, but nothing beats sleeping in his own bed. “Come on, I promise that future-you will appreciate the nice soft bed you’re in when you wake up tomorrow.”

Xiao hums, eyes closed.

With a huff, Venti settles on the floor next to the couch and stares at Xiao, trying to figure out what to do. He crosses his arms, holding himself so he doesn’t shake too much, relief setting in as Xiao lays in front of him, alive.

He doesn’t mean to cry, but as if a switch had been flipped, his whole body goes into ‘sob your heart out’ mode and he can’t stop his tears. His hands try in vain to muffle his sobs, his lips screaming in pain at how hard he bites them to stop them from wobbling.

A particularly loud sniff pulls Xiao’s attention to him, his gaze lazy until he realizes what he’s seeing. “Venti?” He sits up with alarm.

“I-I’m fine,” Venti stutters out, scrambling to his feet. “Go back to sleep.”

“Hey, it’s fine. What’s wrong?” Xiao asks gently, standing and placing a comforting hand on Venti’s arm.

Despite his emotional state, he remembers that they are in fact both supposed to be asleep. “If you go sleep in your bed, I’ll tell you.” 

“If this is some elaborate way to get me to sleep in my bed, you got me,” Xiao mumbles. He tugs both of them to his room and settles on his bed, pulling a still-sobbing Venti onto it with him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

A few deep breaths later, Venti is able to make sounds with his mouth again. “I thought you died, Xiao,” he says shakily, heart breaking a little more when Xiao’s gaze goes soft. “I thought you died and the last thing I did was yell at you about a mug.”

Xiao pulls him into a hug. “Fuck. I’m sorry Venti,” he murmurs into his hair. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I didn’t even think about that.” He grunts disapprovingly at himself, hugging him tighter. "Work burned out all the argument and anger in me. I didn't think about how you were feeling, I'm sorry." He knocks his head affectionately against Venti's.

“I know you didn’t do it on purpose,” Venti hiccups, wiping at his eyes furiously, “and I’m sorry too. For breaking your mug, for the argument, everything,” he wails, tears starting anew.

“I can always get a new mug,” Xiao wipes away a few tears with his thumb, “and mugs aren’t as important as making sure my best friend isn’t distressed. I’m so, so sorry Venti. I can’t imagine what you were thinking the whole time you were waiting for me.” He brings both his hands to cradle Venti’s face. “I won’t do that ever again.”

He despairs in the fact that if Xiao keeps saying such heartfelt things, he may never stop crying, especially when Xiao begins stroking his face with his thumbs soothingly, further proving that he’s too good to him. Him being unable to stop crying is not good because through his tears he can see Xiao’s eyes struggling to stay open. He needs to leave now to give Xiao his rest - it’s not fair of him to be greedy, even though he wants to sit here drinking in every touch and every bit of Xiao’s presence forever.

Venti reluctantly pulls his face away from Xiao’s hands and stands. “You’re tired and I need to cry this out by myself.” He tries to move but Xiao grabs his wrist.

“Sleep here tonight. I can’t let you go knowing that you’re still sad,” Xiao insists, a slight blush on his cheeks. He lies down, arms open in invitation. “And I want to make good on my promise to make sure you know I’m safe.”

Oh? What’s that? Is that the sound of his heart bursting with love?

Probably.

But if Xiao’s offering, then once again, who is he to refuse? Venti crawls into bed and lets himself be soothed by the arms that wrap around him, sobs dying down when his brain finally registers that Xiao is safe next to him, their argument long forgotten.

Lips brush gently against his forehead, relaxing his body as they fall into a deep sleep together.

Their touches from that night onward become an entirely different beast, one that Venti is not prepared to handle. It took years for Xiao to open up to his touch, begrudgingly accepting it with less resistance as time went on. Cuddling up next to Xiao on the couch, giving Xiao hugs from behind, rubbing Xiao’s arm in comfort when he’s upset, that’s all Venti’s territory and he only lingers for a short while, knowing that Xiao is not as touchy-feely as he is.

But within the span of a week, it’s Xiao pulling him closer when they’re sitting on the couch, Xiao coming into his space to rest his head on his shoulder when he’s tired, Xiao leaning into his touch first when he needs comforting. And worst of all, the touches linger for what feels like an eternity.

Okay, it’s not the worst thing. In fact, he might argue it’s the best, but it’s the absolute worst for his brain. He’s been thinking about the same few minutes from this morning, when Xiao handed him his mug and he felt a finger trace the back of his hand, almost as if in longing… 

No. His brain really needs a lesson in how to not spiral into wishful thinking and just take things at face value, because overanalyzing every touch will be the death of him.

(What does it mean though, if you’ve been falling asleep in your best friend and roommate’s bed, showered in delicate kisses, for the past week?)

“Venti. Are you available for lunch today?” a familiar deep voice asks, cutting through his musings. Zhongli waves his hand in front of his face, forcing his focus back to reality.

“Huh? Uh,” he wipes a bit of drool with the back of his hand, “sure I’m down for lunch.”

“Perfect. Then let us be on our way.” 

Watching Zhongli’s retreating back, it occurs to Venti that he’s been sitting there, leaning into his hand and daydreaming for almost a full half an hour, on a Friday no less. Gods help him through the rest of the day, he prays as he scrambles out of his seat and follows after his friend.

He realizes where this lunch is going when they sit and Zhongli’s expression shifts to what he can only call the ‘I am concerned for my child look’ that appears when he talks about Xiao, despite there being no blood relation.

“You know you do not have to keep secrets from me,” Zhongli begins, taking a sip of tea.

“And I haven’t technically kept any secrets from you,” Venti cuts in quickly.

“I know you need to have your privacy as well,” Zhongli continues, “and I am not offended that you do not come to me with every matter in your life. But I feel a little… left out, you could say, not knowing that you and Xiao were dating. I imagine if you had your way, I would only discover this fact in a few days at our holiday party.”

With a sigh, Venti reaches over to pat Zhongli’s hand reassuringly. “If it makes you feel better, we didn’t mean to keep it a secret. We didn’t want fanfare around it.”

“It would have also been nice to know so that I could have provided medicine for Xiao, since it seemed like he was contracting illnesses quite often. I am impressed he was able to feign normalcy during our weekly dinners together, but I know he was always one for hiding his pain.”

Ah, there it is. His punishment for his shenanigans. He takes a large bite of his meal, not wanting to say something stupid to crumble his alibi further. Thankfully, Zhongli doesn’t take notice, instead consuming his meal in kind.

He thinks he’s in the clear after their meal is finished and their conversation moves to work-related matters.

But of course, thanks to one (1) lovely vengeful universe, he receives earth-shattering news as they’re leaving.

“Venti, I am truly happy that Xiao is able to confide in you in his times of need,” Zhongli says casually, holding the door for him. “He has been in love with you for so long. It brings me joy to see his feelings reciprocated by a person that I put my utmost trust in.”

Venti trips on the doorframe and almost faceplants into the floor.

What?!

“Has he failed to mention this? My apologies for spoiling a story for him to tell, in that case.” Zhongli has the decency to cover his mouth in embarrassment, but his eyes betray his mirth. “Ask him about it. I am sure he will be happy to indulge your curiosity.”

He feels sick, but in the good kind of way, if there even is a way to be that kind of sick. Him and Xiao need to have a conversation right now and it can’t wait until tonight. 

“Oh no!” he cries dramatically, “Zhongli, I’m not feeling so well. Do you think I can call it early today?”

“Of course.”

Venti isn't sure he’s a fan of Zhongli’s knowing smile, but he pushes that thought aside to focus on the important task at hand of gathering his things as quickly as possible and heading the fuck home.

As soon as he has taken off his shoes when he’s home, he calls Xiao.

“Venti, something wrong?”

“Yes, something super wrong that requires you to come home right now,” Venti blurts out, his brain screaming at him to not freak Xiao out too much. “But not like life threatening! Okay, maybe debately life threatening depending on who you are-”

Xiao exhales with amusement and Venti can almost hear his eye roll. “Alright, stay put. I’ll be home soon.”

The door clicks open and Venti is in front of Xiao in seconds, face making all sorts of complicated expressions as he tries to figure out how to broach this subject.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah. Everything’s okay, sort of?” Without much of a plan, Venti grabs Xiao’s arm and drags him towards the couch, debating whether or not to sit them down for this. Maybe it’s better if they’re standing in case Zhongli is mistaken and he needs to make a quick escape to lock himself in his room.

“So.” Venti looks at Xiao with his eyebrows scrunched up, like he’s trying to telepathically transmit what he wants to ask.

“So?”

There’s no other way to ask, is there? “I had lunch with Zhongli today and he told me something really interesting.”

“Like what?” Xiao tilts his head.

Gods help him if he is rejected because he doesn’t think his poor heart can take it. “He told me that you’ve been in love with me for a while. Is that true?”

His heart breaks when Xiao gives him the most defeated look he’s ever seen.

“Fucking Zhongli,” Xiao mutters. He closes his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose, sighing with such melancholy that Venti wants to give him a hug. “It’s true. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

As he thought, Zhongli’s wrong. Wait, no, what? 

“Hold on a second.” Venti takes a deep breath. “You’re telling me that we’ve been in love with each other this whole time and we haven’t done anything about it?!” He holds his hands on his head, incredulous. “All this time pining for no reason?”

Xiao stares at him for a moment, likely processing the same revelation, and they end up staring at each other for a full, silent minute.

Then Xiao’s face breaks into the loveliest smile he’s ever seen and he takes a step closer, closing the distance between them. “Do you want to do something about it now?”

Confronted with the possibility of actually being intimate with the love of his life, his brain short circuits, but not one to waste anymore time, he leans forward and captures Xiao’s lips with his own. Xiao deepens their kiss, running an inquisitive tongue over his bottom lip, to which he obliges and parts his lips to let him in.

Sighing contently, Venti moves them over to the couch, yanking Xiao down with him while their lips stay locked. Unintentionally, his knee brushes up against Xiao’s crotch and he breaks their kiss in surprise, not expecting to meet something solid.

“Buh?” Why is he acting like he’s never encountered arousal before? “You’re hard,” he says dumbly.

Xiao exhales with amusement. “And?” 

“Congratulations?” Brain, get it together! “Sorry, it’s dawning on me that the best friend I’ve been crushing on for forever finds me physically attractive. Give me a minute.”

The inquisitive stare Xiao gives him only serves to make his embarrassment multiply tenfold, his neck and face already an unhealthy shade of red. 

“Is that a bad thing?” Xiao asks with hesitance in his tone.

“Absolutely not. In fact, I think that’s a very good thing,” Venti says matter-of-factly, trying so hard not to stutter as he musters up the courage to push further. “So good that I’d rather have this conversation on a bed than a couch.”

With another amused exhale, Xiao picks him up bridal-style and goes to the first room with a bed, which happens to be Venti’s room, and places him down with the reverence of a priest handling the body of a god. The internal struggle Xiao has is clear on his face, finally climbing on top of Venti when he’s made up his mind, taking care not to put too much weight on him, and places his arms next to Venti’s head. 

“Is this fine?” Xiao says quietly, breath tickling Venti’s nose.

“It’ll be fine if you kiss me again.” Venti tilts his head upward, whining at Xiao to come closer. He sighs into their kiss, wrapping his arms around Xiao’s neck to pull him closer.

It doesn’t take long before Venti’s hips involuntarily buck upwards, trying to find release for his own hardening cock. Xiao’s surprised gasp only makes more warmth pool in his gut as his arousal gets stronger, groaning when Xiao stops kissing him.

Xiao places a hand on his chest. “Do you want to keep going?” 

“Gods, yes,” Venti replies, already tugging at Xiao’s belt insistently. “Less clothes, more touching please.”

“Demanding,” Xiao mumbles, but allows himself to be undressed, helping Venti do the same. By the time they’re down to their underwear, Venti’s mind is not fully present, taking in the toned body that belongs to his best friend.

They’ve certainly seen each other in various states of undress before, but something about how Xiao gazes at him with adoration as he tugs off his boxers makes his whole body heat up, self-conscious under Xiao’s scrutiny. He tries to ignore his shyness, focusing on tugging Xiao’s own pair of boxers off, but only manages to go into a stupor at the sight of Xiao’s leaking cock.

Ever observant, Xiao cups his cheek. “Do you still-” 

“One hundred percent yes, but I’m still processing,” Venti cuts Xiao off, rolling them so they’re on their sides and proceeding to pepper kisses along Xiao’s face, jaw, neck, anywhere that he can grab ahold of, leaving love bites in his wake. The noises coming out of Xiao only encourages him further, thrusting his hips so their hard members rub against each other. He loses his momentum after his dick rubs against Xiao’s in just the right way and moans loudly at the sensation, to which Xiao covers his mouth.

“Hold on,” Xiao pants out, pointing at the wall next to them, “we might disturb our neighbors.”

Venti pouts. “I’m not about to get cock-blocked by our neighbors.”

“We’re not. I’m just suggesting- you know what, let me just show you instead.” Xiao rolls out of bed at speed Venti’s never seen before and scoops Venti in his arms again. “Let’s go to my room.”

Always considerate even when they’re about to make love, classic Xiao. “Ah! Do you have lube in your room?” 

“Yes,” Xiao says simply, continuing out the door.

“Condoms?”

Xiao looks down at him, pink dusting his cheeks. “Are you clean?”

What? Oh. “I- yes, I haven’t slept with anyone in forever and my last checkup was good.” 

“Same.” 

“Good! Then we’re good,” Venti says a little too loudly, trying to stamp out the blush on his own face. At this rate, he’ll explode before they can even have sex. His dick twitches at him in irritation at the thought, hard beyond belief as he’s set on the bed.

“Impatient?” Xiao asks, grabbing the lube and climbing into bed, slotting himself next to Venti.

The affirmative noise he gives is embarrassingly desperate, but he doesn’t have much time to dwell on that thought since Xiao begins to give him the same treatment, leaving a mixture of kisses and hickeys all along his body starting from his lips and ending with his head between Venti’s thighs. He gives the inside of his thigh another gentle bite before tilting his head at Venti in question.

“Please,” Venti begs without hesitation, resisting the urge to hide his face in his hands. 

Warm lips wrap his tip and Xiao hums, taking his time with his tongue to lick the full length of his dick, swirl it around his tip, anything and everything that makes Venti want to tangle his fingers in Xiao’s hair and buck his hips up into his mouth. The louder he moans, the deeper Xiao goes, drawing out every ounce of pleasure from him.

His last remaining brain cell yells at him to reciprocate, reminding him of Xiao’s own neglected member, and he snaps out of his aroused stupor to say something. 

“Wait, Xiao, bring your legs up to me.” 

Xiao’s cock comes into view and he gives it an experimental tug, delighting in the noise Xiao makes. 

“It’s no fun if I’m the only one feeling good,” Venti explains against Xiao's length before enveloping wholly with his mouth in one swallow.

He feels like barely a minute has passed and yet the idea of being close to Xiao like this, pleasuring each other without restraint, brings him dangerously close to coming. So close that he pulls away from Xiao and insistently pokes his thigh. “Xiao, if you keep going I’m going to come.”

Xiao pulls away. “Okay.” He goes right back to what he was doing.

“No, Xiao, I want to come with you,” Venti elaborates, dropping his voice for the next part, “preferably with you inside me.”

He hears the cap of the lube bottle pop off, feeling a teasing finger at his entrance swirling in time with the tongue lapping up his precome. 

“Xiao! You’re a menace,” he sucks in a breath, pleasure making his hips buck up as the finger enters him, “and if I’m a spineless blob by the end of the night, it’s entirely your fault.” It’s difficult to be too mad when the finger inside him soon turns into two, then three, all while Xiao continues to give him what he thinks is the best blowjob of his life. 

Unfortunately, he can’t hold out much longer. “I’m going to come, Xiao,” he says weakly, trying again one last time to get Xiao to pull off, but that only prompts Xiao to go harder, coaxing the orgasm out of him as he spills into Xiao’s mouth and Xiao swallows it all up, giving his softening cock a kiss after he licks it clean.

Meanwhile, Xiao hasn’t come at all, and Venti likes to think he’s not that bad at giving a blowjob. “Xiao, how am I falling apart while you’re in pristine condition? It’s not fair.” Venti pouts, giving Xiao’s dick a defeated lick.

“I have a lot of self control,” Xiao grunts out, shifting himself so they’re face-to-face again.

“Well, I don’t,” Venti quips. He aligns himself with Xiao’s leaking member, using his hand to tease his entrance with the tip. “Can we…?”

“If you’re ready.” Xiao’s face reddens just a fraction, as if the weight of the situation is finally dawning on him. He hastily covers his length in lube and gives Venti one last questioning look.

At the behest of his shy nod, Xiao pushes in slowly, exhaling with relief when he’s fully sheathed. Venti holds his breath, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“Okay?” Xiao asks, brushing aside his braids. 

He nods and rolls his hips, forcing a surprised gasp out of Xiao that goes straight to his cock. “More than okay.” 

“Then I’m going to keep moving,” Xiao says, slowly finding his rhythm, pulling out and pushing in as deep as he can go while trying not to hurt Venti.

The gentle way Xiao handles him as they make love has him unable to stop himself from babbling embarrassing sweet nothings with each deep thrust, overwhelmed with the urge to tell Xiao how much he adores him.

“Xiao, Xiao,” he gasps, stroking his already-hard-again cock to the timing of the sharp buck of Xiao’s hips, “you’re so good to me.” With his free hand, he tangles his fingers in Xiao’s hair. “I’ve loved you for so long, you don’t even know.”

Leaning forward, Xiao bites his neck and sucks hard, moaning into the love bite. “I’ve loved you too, for far longer than you know.”

“Since when?”

Venti delights in Xiao’s moan when he sinks down to meet his thrust halfway. “When you left to get your PhD,” another moan when Venti rolls his hips again, “I realized I loved you when you stepped on the plane and I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again.” 

With his heart full of an indescribable amount of love for the man inside him, he surprises himself by coming unceremoniously, pushed over the edge by his heartfelt confession. On reflex he squeezes hard around Xiao’s length, bringing him to his climax soon after with one final thrust. In the aftermath, only their breathing fills the silence that stretches between them as they both calm down from their orgasms. 

“Xiao,” he breathes when he has cognitive function again, skin on fire from overstimulation, “why didn’t you tell me this?”

Xiao attempts to pull out but is stopped by Venti’s legs, huffing in amusement as he gently settles on top of Venti so as to not crush him. “Because I couldn’t bear the thought of you giving up on your dreams more,” he states simply, cupping Venti’s cheek with a tender gaze.

Oh. Oh no. He’s crying, isn’t he? He lays there sniffling helplessly at a fretting Xiao hovering above him as he frantically wipes away his tears. “I’m just really happy right now.” He rolls them over so Xiao’s still inside him but he can be lying on his side next to him, feeling bad that Xiao’s been holding himself up this whole time. “I’m happy that the person I’ve been in love with since we met loves me back.” 

Xiao gives him a quiet hum, closing his eyes. And then his eyes shoot open. “Since we were kids?”

“Ah.” Venti smiles sheepishly. “Is that weird?”

“I didn’t take you as the pining type,” Xiao says, flicking his forehead lightly. “You’re always so spontaneous and,” he sweeps his arms up and down, “so you. I didn’t think you’d want to be stuck with someone like me.”

“If you mean you didn’t think I’d want to be stuck with someone like the most incredible human being in the world, then I’m sorry, but you have poor taste.”

“I wasn’t the most incredible human being in the world when I was a child,” Xiao teases.

Venti huffs, pinching Xiao’s cheek lightly. “Fine, but I’ve had the pleasure of watching you become the most incredible human being in the world and that only made me fall harder. Better?”

“Marginally.” Xiao covers Venti’s hand with his own, flipping it around so he can lace their fingers together. “We needed time to become our own people. Not that I don’t think we could’ve worked it out if we’d gotten together sooner, but I think it helps that we’ve built our own lives in the meantime.”

Shuffling closer, Venti buries himself into the crook of Xiao’s neck, wrapping his arms and legs around Xiao like a koala. He whines slightly when Xiao’s cock slips out, shivering at the sensation of his come dribbling down his thigh. “That’s true. But I’m still a little miffed that we could’ve been doing this sooner.”

Xiao’s chuckle tickles his nose. “Then I guess this means we’ll have to make up for lost time.” 

Hm, lost time? Wait…!

“Xiao! You’re a genius!” Venti pulls away. “You’re also a menace for suggesting we have more sex given our busy schedules, which I’m absolutely not opposed to but that’s still pretty shameless of you.” He reaches blindly around for some sort of writing implement, finding one in Xiao’s drawer, and starts scribbling on his arm.

“Does me being a genius have to do with you writing all over yourself?” Xiao peers down at the unraveling text before him.

“How could I have missed this? Those songs are about longing.” Venti pauses to slap himself in the forehead. “It’s a call and response between two parties.”

Xiao hums with understanding. “The sheet music that you’ve been examining?” 

“The very ones. And if I’m not mistaken, there is a legend pertaining to one of the adepti having a god as a lover. It seems like a tragedy at first, where the adeptus is duty-bound to protect their land and the god is duty-bound to travel to distant lands. But they always meet in the middle with their music, and one of the scores has to be about their sessions.”

Gentle fingers stroke his hair in encouragement as Xiao gives his forehead a kiss. “I’m glad some of your curator’s block is cured.”

Venti leans up to peck Xiao on the lips. “No thanks to you. I still have a ways to go but I think I can work with this. If I just figure out the remaining patterns in this piece, the others will make more sense.”

Something rumbles, causing Xiao to blush and hide his face in the top of his head. Venti giggles, poking Xiao’s stomach. 

“But first, some dinner for my lovely assistant.”

“I have a confession to make,” Venti says after downing his champagne flute. He hopelessly taps a toothpick against the empty glass to get his coworkers’ attention, to which Xiao helps him by pulling out their keys and hitting that against the glass instead. The conversation peters out and they all turn curious gazes towards them.

“Let me guess, this is your fake boyfriend and you don’t actually take sick days just to take care of him?” Kaeya offers.

“Kaeya, your intuition never ceases to amaze me.” Venti waves his hand. “But not quite! In fact, up until a few days ago, Xiao was my fake boyfriend. He’s real now though, so all is well.”

“Fuck,” Ajax grumbles, slipping a few bills towards Zhongli. 

Sucrose and Lisa hold out their hands expectantly at Kaeya and he begrudgingly hands them cash as well. 

Venti whistles, leaning against Xiao. “Wow, I’m impressed that more of you were hoping Xiao was real.”

“Contrary to popular belief, we do enjoy it when you are not suffering,” Zhongli says. “But I am once again mildly offended that you would think so little of me not to give you a few days off without a reason.”

“Sorry,” Venti says, smiling sheepishly. “On the bright side, I have an exhibit idea now that I’ve figured out the sheet music! It involves some of us actually playing the instruments, if you’re cool with that.” 

Zhongli tilts his head thoughtfully. “As long as you are careful.”

“All thanks to Xiao by the way,” Venti continues. “You know, he helped me figure it out after the first time we-”

Xiao covers his mouth, saying “please don’t” at the same time as Sucrose blurts it out.

“Let’s keep this conversation palatable, shall we?” Lisa says, letting out a chuckle.

“Fine,” Venti says into Xiao's hand. “Oh! I haven’t actually kept up my end of the bargain, have I? You’re supposed to tell me what you want from me in exchange.” He props his chin on Xiao’s shoulder, staring at him affectionately. “So? What do you want me to do?”

“How about…” Xiao trails off, brushing aside his bangs, “how about a vacation? Just you and me, somewhere nice.”

“Yes. Absolutely. Zhongli?” Venti pleads with his best puppy-eyes look he can muster.

“Of course,” Zhongli says easily.

“Then it’s settled. I’ll take a vacation with the boyfriend I love very much and no one can stop me.” Leaning forward, he kisses the corner of Xiao’s mouth and pulls away with a smile. The smile he receives in return makes every part of him melt with love.

Looks like the universe has finally forgiven him for his sick day transgressions.