Chapter Text
Xiao has never believed in love at first sight.
That is, until he finally lets his guards down and decides to move to an apartment next to Childe’s in Liyue’s downtown—after months of hesitation and last-minute second thoughts, of course. To his amusement, living here isn’t as bad as he assumed, at least for the first few days.
The only downside of it is his noisy neighbors. One loud neighbor, to be precise. Other than that, Xiao’s had a pleasant experience living on this side of Liyue. Truth to be told, he is far too grateful that Childe—his old childhood friend—proposed that he start working with him in his tattoo parlor and rent the apartment beside him.
Xiao’s not the type to visit foreign, remote places, let alone settling there for a living. However, he must admit that the change of environment has helped him cheer up and lift his mood. Besides, working with Childe gives him enough cash to keep his head above water. It was an acceptable offer coming from someone like Childe Tartaglia, and Xiao went for it.
That said, he’s still trying to get used to the situation and surroundings and all. You see, Xiao is not a very sociable person. He enjoys a quiet and peaceful atmosphere relatively better than some crowded place. And here... it’s a literal mob scene, people crawling around from every corner and trespassing. But as he said, he just needs some time to get used to the new area and all.
Right. Back to the ‘noisy neighbor’ discussion. That’s, much to his dismay, the main reason he’s been asking his friend—Chongyun (which he knows from the coffee shop he was working in a few years ago)—to come over. Not that Xiao believed it’s going to work, but...
He accepts the fact that he’s just making a fool of himself. Knowing Chongyun and his personality, he would be no help to Xiao or his situation with that particular neighbor. The very neighbor that’s been bothering him for days, making Xiao want to bang his head into his apartment’s thin walls because of the past sleepless nights of hearing them start sobbing at 3 am.
Chongyun’s loud giggle hauls him back to the real world, making him narrie his eyes and toss a brow up. About that...
“Don’t laugh at me,” Xiao tries and presses his palm against his forehead. The other boy keeps on laughing and choking on his water, and he just wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole. “Hey.” He clears his throat, “Chongyun.”
To which Chongyun actually does stop cackling and sits back. He coughs a few times and looks down as silence dwells in the living room.
Chongyun eventually sighs and throws his hands up in defeat. “Okay, okay! I’m sorry. It’s just…” Another long, exaggerated sigh. “If you’re genuinely this worried about their condition, why don’t you go check on them? This is a bit... hilarious, in my opinion.”
That’s hilarious, indeed. But not in the way Chongyun thinks, because how can Xiao be worried about the condition of someone who he hasn’t even met? The thought makes him scoff. If anything, his neighbor’s situation is none of his concern, and all he wants is to sleep in peace for one night.
Though admittedly, the continuous circle of cries and giggles in the middle of the night makes him extremely curious and nervous. But as said, Xiao doesn’t even know who this specific person is, and neither does the said person. Their health should be more important to them than Xiao, right?
He looks down at his lap as Barbatos—his black, fluffy adopted cat—bounces in it and nuzzles against his hand. Xiao presses his lips together, clears his throat, and shifts slightly to properly pet his cat.
Xiao then settles his gaze on his friend and continues, “I usually don’t talk to... neighbors. Socializing with people is tiring.”
“You sound like a boomer.”
“Yun,” he warns, expression deadpan, nose scrunched up. “If you don’t stop calling me that–”
“Okay! I apologize! No need to get all angry now. I hear the sentence ‘I will snap your neck’ enough in my life. Man, I can’t even joke around.”
“–I was going to say I will make you check on that person yourself.”
“Oh.” Chongyun’s shoulders slag, and he lets out a nervous laugh. Xiao still hasn’t quite realized why his friend acts this tense and anxious around him—old habits, perhaps. Xiao does admit that it took him years to open up to Chongyun and consider him a...real friend. “Oh, that doesn’t sound bad. Do you want me to be your wingman, Xiao?”
Oh no. This isn’t going well.
“No.” It doesn’t even take him a second to respond. He’s here to work and pay his rent, not date the neighbor who’s been the main reason for his insomnia in the past couple of days. Besides, that person could be a centenarian. You’ll never know.
Chongyun confidently goes on, “why not.”
“Yun.”
“Xiao.”
“Chongyun. I’m here to eke out a living, not date my neighbor.”
“That said neighbor is someone you seem to be caring about a lot, though.”
Xiao rolls his eyes, lifting Barbatos to put a small kiss on the top of his head as Zhongli—another one of his childhood friends—hae shamelessly told him so. Since his cat likes affection, he should do it more often. The thought almost makes him laugh. “Yeah, if I hear that said neighbor howl one more time in the middle of the night when I’m trying to get some sleep, I swear to the Seven you might be starting to hear the sentence ‘I will snap your neck’ again every day, and I promise, that’ll not be painless.”
“Sheesh.” Chongyun bursts into a fit of giggles. “I told you you’re going to be complaining a lot about the not-very-soundproof walls.”
Salt right into his open wound. Now Xiao’s scarred for life, many thanks to his dear friend Chongyun.
He wishes that he knew the walls are going to be this thin before renting the place.
So thin that it’s like his neighbor is sitting right beside him on his bed instead.
“Well, I agreed to rent here as is. So. Arguing about this was meaningless in the first place.”
“Xiao, listen. I get that it might be hard for you to...try to communicate more with these people. Especially not knowing who they are and what’s their deal, but...if you think it’s something serious, I would intervene just a little bit.” He sighs. “But yeah, you fall on your feet nicely. My advice is basically pointless.”
A pause.
“In any case, you’re here,” Xiao whispers.
“That’s right. I’m here for you, Xiao.” Chongyun smiles.
Clearing his throat, he slowly rubs his eyes and looks down, trying to change the subject into something more...comfortable. “About that bakery shop that opened a few days ago...”
“Huh? How do you know about that? I thought you weren’t into sweet stuff,” he responds. He reaches out for his phone, and it only takes a moment for him to let out a loud gasp and allow his eyes to grow three times their previous size. “Speaking of bakery... I, uh, what did I forget...? Oh! I was supposed to meet up with Xingqiu there five minutes ago! I’m sorry Xiao, I really have to go now. But let’s talk soon.”
“Xingqiu? Your friend in college?” he asks, rising to his feet and putting Barbatos on the couch. “You have to introduce him to me someday.”
Chongyun laughs as he grabs his coat and runs toward the front door. “I will, I promise. I’m too late, though. I’ll take my leave now. See you, Xiao.”
“See you.” He waves. “Take care.”
After Chongyun takes his leave, Xiao heaves a long sigh and leans against the door. He gently rubs both of his eyes. There’s something that’s telling him to work up the courage and go for it, but he also feels a bit uncomfortable. Wouldn’t it be weird to walk up to your neighbor’s door and tell them to keep their voice down without proper greetings?
But then again, Xiao’s curious, and he knows that the certain feeling won’t leave him alone until he gets to meet the famous neighbor. He’s also concerned for their safety. He doesn’t want somebody to possibly get hurt just because he didn’t take action sooner. Well, that just answers Xiao’s question: should he go?
Yes. He should go. If not for himself, for the sake of his neighbor in case they were in some dangerous situation. Regardless of his nervousness and lack of enough social skills to communicate properly, this is something that Xiao must do himself. He can’t throw his responsibilities at somebody else now, can he?
Thus, he walks over to his mirror and fixes his hair and dark hoodie, gives Barbatos a small pet, and rushes to his door to run to his neighbor’s apartment. With a deep breath, Xiao allows himself to knock on the door and have a mini panic attack right before the person open the—
Oh.
Wow.
Well, this definitely was not what Xiao was expecting. Perhaps some old, lonely granny with a bunch of pets as their kids. But instead, he’s met with...
Gods. Xiao gulps back his feelings and lets their gaze meet. He doesn’t know how long it takes, but he stares into the boy’s eyes for a couple of good minutes before even realizing what he’s doing. He’s... mesmerized, for the lack of a better term. The boy is possibly one of the most beautiful people he’s laid his eyes on.
Where should Xiao even start from? That little cheeky grin the boy’s wearing looks as if it can be a ray of sunshine and happiness itself—and the adorable dimples on both sides of the boy’s face make him smile—just a little bit. The boy’s wearing a simple white t-shirt, his black hair with short twin braids that fade into aqua at the tips framing his lovely, fair skin. If anything, the exact same neighbor Xiao thought to be an old loner happens to have the most cheerful, lively expression on his face ever.
A pleasant chuckle snaps Xiao out of his thoughts. He prays to the gods that he is not acting that rude and offensive, considering he did gawk (lovingly) at his new neighbor for a few minutes and enough to seem creepy, enchanted by the beauty in front of him.
“Hello there!” the boy finally greets, and Xiao gulps even harder. His voice sounds...pretty. Very nice, in fact. It immediately makes Xiao wonder how he would sound when singing.
“Hey.” Xiao lets his eyes dart around, avoiding the pretty boy’s deep gaze. Well, that’s awkward. “I’m your neighbor? I recently moved here.”
“Figured as much! I am Venti; you might know me from The Albedough, the local bakery shop one block away! I work there.”
Venti. Bakery. Explains the sweet, thick aroma coming from inside the apartment. Can Xiao daresay that Venti’s name is as sweet as that? At least he doesn’t have to call him ‘the pretty boy’ now (which he didn’t mind in the first place).
“You work there? Cool. That’s nice,” he murmurs, extending an arm in greetings, to which ‘Venti’ grabs and gives it a small shake. “Xiao.”
“Nice to meet you, Xiao! I hope moving here wasn’t such a plow.”
A what now.
Oh.
Venti rhymes. With his name.
Xiao feels a sly smile tug at his lips. “I...” Clearing his throat, he continues, “it’s easy to get used to living here,” he says, perhaps a tad awkward, “nice to meet you too, Venti.”
“That’s good to hear! Please, never hesitate to come over if you needed anything here—” Venti then lifts a hand and scratches the back of his neck in return, a short, nervous burst of laughter escaping his mouth. “—oops. Force of habit.”
“That’s very sweet, though,” says Xiao with no hesitation.
“Oh? You think so?”
“Mhm,” he reassures, “are you a poet?”
“Why yes, I occasionally enjoy writing poems. But I can’t say I’m a ‘professional’ writer of the sort. I appreciate that, though, hehe.”
Xiao’s heart skips a beat. The smile Venti gives him makes his breath hitch, an obvious blush creeping up his face, which he tries to hide but miserably fails. The boy sounds...very talented and creative. Two things Xiao has never been able to be. More reasons to swoon over your pretty neighbor, he supposes. Perfect.
“Don’t mention it.” Xiao takes a step back, clearing his throat. He lifts his head and watches as aqua green eyes stare at him. It’s bewitching how their gaze locks, and Venti looks at him like that. He wishes he never had to leave, but then again, he’s extremely awkward around new people. “See you around, Venti.”
“Hey, wait,” Venti calls out right as he turns to take his leave. “Do you, by any chance, have a cat around here somewhere?”
His eyebrows rise. His lips set into a hard line, then, “hmm? Yeah, I adopted him about a year ago. Why?”
“Nothing! Well, they do say ‘walls have ears’ here in Liyue, am I correct? Or is the context wrong here? There’s a lot I have to learn.”
“Well, you can say that. I don’t see why not.” Xiao says with a small chuckle. “The walls here are thin.”
“Sure they are. We’re mostly quiet neighbors, though, so you don’t have to worry about clamor.” Not you, though. You’re the reason I haven’t been sleeping for days, and I can’t even be mad at you because you’re so pretty it’s almost insane. Instead, Xiao merely nods his head, giving Venti a meaningful glance. “Anyway, I won’t bother you anymore! Have a good night, Xiao.”
“You too, Venti.”
And Xiao doesn’t tell Venti what he intended to say. He doesn’t complain about the past sleepless nights, nor the fact that Venti keeps him awake and annoyed. Rather, he leaves with a melted heart and a mind filled with Venti’s voice.
Xiao: he’s
Xiao: pretty
Chongyun: Oh no
Xiao: everyday i question my previous life decisions about agreeing to talk w you on an all that doesn’t have a delete option
Xiao: *an app
Chongyun: Actually now that yoy said it I’m really happy you did
Chongyun: Who’s pretty again?
Xiao: nobody.
Chongyun: Xiao.
Xiao: you’re not going to let go are u
Chongyun: Glad to see that you know me well
Xiao: it’s the boy next door with blue braids
Xiao: he’s the prettiest person ive seen in years and no im not kidding
Chongyun: Holy shit
Xiao: fucking language
Chongyun: XIAO YOU’RE WHIPPED
Xiao: tf does whipped mean
Chongyun: Well he does work in a bakery
Xiao: hold on
Xiao: how do YOU know that
Xiao, unfortunately, concludes that perhaps he is indeed a bit ‘whipped’ for his pretty neighbor, Venti. Though, that isn’t the word he would use in similar situations. He’s...charmed. Captivated. And that’s normal, isn’t it? Anyone who sees someone like Venti would unmistakably feel that way as well. So, no. ‘Whipped’ is far too strong for the Xiao who’s all but interested to know Venti better.
However, when he thinks about that idea, he can already feel the butterflies in the pit of his stomach. That’s...not what Xiao would experience every day. Actually, as a matter of fact, Xiao’s never felt this way toward anyone before. It makes him nervous. Exactly what about Venti makes him this special? Xiao wishes he knew.
But Venti’s far too kind for his own good, and Xiao believes in that statement even though he’s only talked with him for a few minutes or so. There’s these vibes that Xiao’s been getting, feelings that reassure him. Venti’s a good guy, too sweet, and Xiao likes him for that.
Wait, no. ‘Like’ is a dangerous word. Xiao’s interested, and that’s why he’s currently walking toward the local bakery ‘The Albedough’ only to meet Venti again.
The door chimes as he enters, followed by a red-head stepping ahead from around the corner. Xiao can’t say he’s not disappointed—he wants to meet Venti again, of course—but the smell of sweets and cakes surrounding makes up for it.
“Hello?” he tries.
“Hey. How can I help you?” the man asks, resting his elbow on the desk, sounding genuinely bored and exhausted.
“I was looking for–”
Before he’s able to continue, a familiar person comes to the view and wraps his arms around the man’s shoulders with a bright, warm grin. They look close; best friends, maybe? Their relationship is adorable, to say the least.
“Ah! My favorite homebody is here! Thank you for your cooperation, Master Diluc. I got this from here.”
‘Master Diluc’ merely shakes his head and disappears away to the corner, seeming to start putting loaves of bread on the shelves and arranging some cakes on the stand of the display glass counter. If Xiao didn’t know better, he would’ve asked them to let him try all the delicious-looking sweets here.
“Favorite homebody?” Xiao asks in amusement, but he keeps his gaze on the other man arranging the cookies now.
“Thin walls. They reveal one’s most significant secrets.” And they must’ve revealed the fact that I have a penchant for staying in and spending time with my cat, Xiao thinks, but bites his tongue. “What’re you doing here?”
“I moved here three weeks ago, but I never had the chance to explore the area. The environment seems... welcoming. Still foreign.”
“Now you understand my pain. I moved here all the way from Mondstadt after living there my entire life with Master Diluc. Settling down here was one of the most difficult things I’d done in my life,” Venti says and, oh, Mondstadt? He’s heard many different things and stories about that city, but admittedly, he’s never been interested enough to visit anywhere other than Liyue. It’s both compelling and intriguing to know that all people from Mondstadt are extremely attractive because—
Nevermind.
“Oh. So you are from Mond. Explains the charming accent.”
What did you just say, Xiao. Pull yourself together. Why are you flirting with your poor neighbor—
“So you do think my accent is charming.” Venti laughs, the sound like a pleasant melody to his ears. “Yours is not bad either, Mr. Homebody. What can I get you?”
Xiao says the first thing that comes to his mind, “hmm... I’m not sure. I really didn’t think about that when I decided to pay you a visit. Strawberry shortcake, maybe? One slice?”
“Ooh. Gotcha.”
He walks behind the counter and takes a slice of their strawberry shortcake out for him, offering Xiao a sweet, sheepish smile. Humming to himself, Venti moves it inside the box and passes it to him.
“So. Albedough?” Xiao starts, breaking the overwhelming silence in the bakery.
“Oh no, that’s a long story indeed!” Venti giggles. “To start, I just want to inform you that the owner of this place—Sir Kaeya—is my very good old friend! We met in my workplace when he was in, uh, how shall I put it... an inebriated condition.”
“Utterly shameless,” says Diluc from the other side as he rolls his eyes.
Diluc, for one, seems to...not have a liking for this ‘Kaeya’ person.
“Most of his comments are light-hearted, don’t worry about that,” Venti adds, “as I was saying, we became good friends after that. It was only one month ago that he opened this shop, though.”
Xiao smiles. He genuinely does. It’s funny how Venti’s tone never fails to make him laugh and happy. “Interesting. So the name was just a random idea.”
“Um. No. Albedo is his boyfriend,” Venti awkwardly replies with a grin, clapping his hands together. Xiao can only smile because whoever Albedo is, they’re sure a lucky person to have Kaeya. Or vice versa. They seem to be very generous people. “And in his words, ‘the sweetest darling ever to have existed in Teyvat’.”
“I...” Xiao shakes his head with a slight smile dancing on his lips. “This ‘Sir Kaeya’ is a strange man.”
“In a good way, of course!”
“Of course.” He slips Diluc, who’s finished cleaning the stands and now has joined the conversation, a curious glance. “And...”
“Kaeya’s brother.”
Ah, now it makes sense. The light-hearted jokes and fake anger with slight disgust. Typical sibling behaviors.
Xiao inclines his head. “Of course.”
“Misfortune,” Diluc comments as he eyes Xiao, but there’s a hint of smile apparent on his face. “I still find the gesture somewhat adorable.”
“For the record, Master Diluc’s baking is amazing. With a little bit of brib– ah, prepositions and pleas, he agreed to help Sir Kaeya and I,” Venti replies, “why, if I had that kind of sibling privilege too, without a doubt I would’ve done all the baking myself.”
“Somebody had to stop Sir Kaeya from picking Albaedough as in ‘bae’, after all,” Diluc adds.
“That’s oddly romantic.” Xiao smiles.
A pause. The other two share a knowing look, chuckling to themselves, then Venti responds, “wait until you meet Albedo himself.”
“I can’t wait,” he says, looking down at the stands. “Lemon bars?”
“Yep! Do you want to try one? It’s on the house. It’s your first visit, after all. Can’t let our lovely customers leave discontent now, can we?”
Diluc smirks.
“Sure.” With that, Venti gets out one of his lemon bars and passes it to Xiao. He takes it out of the bag and takes a bite, a small moan escaping his lips. “Oh this...” he starts, gulps, then takes another bite, “this is good.”
“I’m glad! Then I will put some of that in the box too,” Venti says. He gets more out and arranges them next to the strawberry cake, making sure they’re neatly next to each other, tongue sticking out slightly to focus. Then, “though I should say that it seemed a bit unlikely for someone like you to get strawberry shortcakes. Yet...”
Xiao frowns. “Why not? Is there something wrong with that?”
“Nope, it’s just your personality and all. I didn’t expect strawberries. I assumed dark chocolate.”
“Do I look that unkind?” he asks.
“Quite the contrary, you’re too sweet it makes me nervous. The strawberry that adds more flavor to a plain, ordinary cake. Just like a cutie pie in our shop that we bake. Some kind of sweet that we all want to take,” Venti says, and... and... “See you around, Xiao!”
Xiao just stares. Blinks. Diluc throws a brow up and looks at them with amusement, and Xiao already knows what he’s thinking about.
Before he says something stupid, he nods and takes his leave with the box, disappearing outside into the crowd and getting prepared to overthink what Venti just said for a long time ahead.
Chongyun: 1000 mora and I will delete this photo of you blushing
Chongyun: Joking ofc, unless...
Xiao: i was not blushing
Xiao: your eye sight is as broken as your sense of humor
Chongyun: That kinda hurt
Xiao: delete the images rn
Chongyun: I THOUGHT YOU WEREN’T BLUSHING?
Xiao: i was not blushing there must’ve been some lightning issues but that’s hard to explain to others
Xiao: so delete them before i indulge in some more violent ways
Chongyun: Who are you kidding xiao we both saw you go all red bc of the bakery boy
Xiao: ...
Xiao: both?
Chongyun: so you AREN’T denying..
Chongyun: Me and xingqiu ofc!!
Xiao: are u two stalking me or sth
Chongyun: Why should /we/ stalk /you/ .. we just hang out here a lot
Chongyun: Usually we get some sweets and walk around in the local park
Chongyun: Should I tell you more
Xiao: no tmi already
Xiao: so that’s how you know venti
Chongyun: You got his name !!
Chongyun: Did you get his number too
Xiao: sometimes i regret being friends with u
Chongyun: I love you too
Xiao: i dont
Chongyun: Why must you always hurt me
Xiao: fine
Xiao: you’re ok ig
Chongyun: "ig"
Chongyun: I’m keeping these images for future references
Xiao: oh no
Chongyun: Oh yes
Xiao: so about 1k mora