Work Text:
Venti knows all the ways to drive Xiao mad, in any way there is.
The way he likes to leave his empty dishes lying around left for Xiao to clean, how he always gets Xiao to make him food with the power of his pleading eyes, how he never closes the lids on his snacks properly so they end up becoming soggy the day after—all these little habits that Xiao hadn’t noticed before they moved in together, he notices them now and it’s enough to drive him to his wits’ end.
Venti is more distracting up close, even if he looks beautiful all the same when sleeping blissfully on the windrise tree or when he’s playing songs for the Monstadtian public. Xiao finds it necessary to hide it when he’s flustered, which happens a lot more than usual now that he gets to spend most of his time around his fiancé, his heart constantly throbbing and leaving him dizzy with joy.
Xiao awakes to the sound of Venti’s soft snoring against the nape of his neck, half of his body on top of his own, legs tangled with each other. Drool droops down the side of his mouth, framing Venti much like a child with his baby face and tiny frame but even then, he doesn’t look any less treasurable. Xiao watches Venti move with the rising and falling of his chest, caressing his hair affectionately. To most, Xiao looks unapproachable, unparalleled and like he’s about to commit mass genocide—which is true, other than when he’s with Venti.
He watches his boyfriend with so much affection, as if it’s the only person he’d been created to protect. Gently as to not wake him, Xiao strokes his hair, occasionally taking a couple strands on his index and twirling it.
“Mpmh,” Venti grunts against his chest, lips shifting ever so slightly, now wet and puffy against Xiao’s skin. He exhales deeply as he stirs awake, his eyes fluttering open gently. He blinks a couple of times sluggishly, pushing himself up. With a dopey grin, he greets his husband-to-be with a warm good morning.
“Want me to start breakfast?” Xiao whispers, moving Venti’s fringe out of his eyes. Venti nods, thanking the other with a quick peck on the lips. Pushing himself up, he gestures towards the bathroom with his head. “Together?”
Venti nods eagerly, rolling off the bed. Once Xiao has crawled off the bed too, Venti doesn’t hesitate to hold his hand, dragging him to the bathroom with excited little jumps in own steps. “You’re always so energetic, even at ten in the morning,” he lets out a deep-throated chuckle, applying toothpaste on his brush and on Venti’s too. Xiao brushes his teeth, watching Venti from the corner of his eye.
“Someone’s got to be happy around here,” he jokes, pinching Xiao in the cheek. The Yaksha grimaces, hitting Venti on the shoulder playfully. He holds Venti by the wrist, keeping his arm far away from his face.
“I’m brushing my teeth,” he argues.
“I can pinch your face whenever I want,” Venti frowns, attempting to free his wrist but Xiao only keeps his grip firm until spits his toothpaste out and his mouth is clean.
“Nice try,” Xiao mocks, planting a kiss on Venti’s cheek with a sly expression, knowing exactly how his lover will react. It goes as follows: Venti freezes for a whole five seconds, as if trying to process an enormous amount of information. Then, his face turns red, his entire neck heating up till the tip of his ears. By the time Xiao’s out of the bathroom, his eyes widen and his heart beats like crazy.
“You’re so mean!” Venti squeaks in a high-pitched voice, earning an amused laugh from Xiao as he dexterously navigates through the kitchen, pulling out messily-arranged pans that are kept in places where Xiao will easily find them when he searches for them with half a mind in the morning. What should I make ? He ponders for a while, realising he’s only made variations of almond tofu for the past week.
“Pancakes or eggs?” Xiao asks.
“Hashbrowns!” He receives in response, and he deadpans. He digs through the fridge, frowning at the selection. There’s several containers of leftover dinner from past nights that they’ve never had the time to heat up and a thermos filled with Childe’s signature tomato-seafood soup dramatically labelled “A Prize Catch” that Venti has slowly been making his way through (because Xiao would fasterdie than consume anything made by Childe).
What goes with hashbrowns?
Xiao’s mind drifts once again and so he asks.
“Burgers!”
“But that’s a lunch thing!” Xiao moans, praying his boyfriend will give him a logical answer for once .
“How do you know if something is a lunch thing or not? You can have eggs for both breakfast and lunch,” Venti remarks smartly, poking his head out of the bedroom, shirtless. When he’s met with a deadpan expression from Xiao, who’s far too tired to engage in this debate at nine in the morning, he hides behind the wall again and re-emerges with a baggy white shirt draped lazily over his head. “That’s food for thought.”
“That was the worst joke ever,” Xiao grimaces.
“I know you’re smiling,” Venti giggles. He doesn’t have to look at Xiao to know he’s right, because if Xiao didn’t like the joke, he wouldn’t be biting down on his lower lip to keep himself from laughing. Eventually giving in and allowing a tiny smile, Xiao decides to retrieve the scrap ingredients they have lying around the kitchen to make a burger, maybe something vegan. Though they don’t have a preference in theory, they find themselves eating vegan most of the time anyway, Venti being lactose intolerant and Xiao having an unshakeable love for any form of beancurd.
Setting out a selection of vegetables in front of him alongside a bottle of the spicy vegetable mayo that Venti loves, Xiao gets to work, putting on his apron reading ‘Dad’s cooking again’. It’s a gift that Venti bought for him out of a whim, and though he spent weeks arguing he would never wear it, he eventually relented once Venti gave him puppy eyes. The loud chopping of vegetables echo around the quiet house, followed by a muffled thud on the couch where Venti tosses his legs on its handles.
“Do you want to do anything special?” Venti stretches his back, switching through channels on the television, actors being cut off mid-line as Venti skips past them lazily. He makes sure to watch Xiao from the corner of his eyes, trying to pick up on any obvious change in behaviour. Xiao hums in response, shrugging, “Not really.”
Xiao tosses the patties onto the frying pan, now buttering the bread and preparing them to be toasted before he puts them all together.
“Really?” Venti hops off the couch, leaving a cartoon playing in the background. He approaches Xiao from behind, Xiao’s breath hitching when his arms snake around his hips and pulling them in against his own.
“Venti, I’m cooking ,” Xiao whines, trying to nudge him off but there’s no shaking Venti when he’s in the mood for cuddles. Venti slides a hand up Xiao’s shirt, tickling his abdomen with the tips of his fingers. Xiao flinches at the sudden contact, biting his lip while he tries to keep his gaze on the hashbrowns. He flips them, the sound of sizzling almost masking Venti’s soft whispers of breath against his lover’s ear.
Xiao mentally blames it on the stuffiness of the kitchen when he realises that he’s red in the face and weak in the knees, pointedly ignoring the fact that their air-conditioner is on full-blast and their kitchen is open to the living room, leaving too much room for it to be humid.
“Isn’t there anything you want to see?” Venti nuzzles his chin in the crook of Xiao’s neck comfortably, his hand going higher and higher up Xiao’s shirt. Xiao stops him before he can get any funny ideas, pulling his hand away before he gets any more distracted. Analysing the hashbrowns for a sign that they’re good to go, he thankfully finds that the edges are crisp and they’ve just turned a perfect golden brown. He quickly moves them to a plate for the excess oil to get soaked into a tissue, then turns to place a quick kiss on Venti’s neck.
“You never behave,” Xiao chides light-heartedly, flicking Venti’s forehead with a smile. He chortles, knowing there’s no bite in Xiao’s words. Sitting on the countertop of the central kitchenette, he swings his legs, rocking side to side, hoping to get a better answer. Xiao huffs, nudging Venti’s knee out of the way before turning back around again.
“You know, I don’t really care where we are as long as I’m with you.”
Xiao turns the stove off, spreading the mayo calmly on the bread before he feels Venti’s foot on his lower back. He groans, rubbing his back before turning with a glare, “What was that for?!”
“You’re always saying all these stupid things that make my heart race,” Venti mumbles, trying to cover his flushed cheeks with his arm. After finally assembling the burgers, Xiao sticks a decorative toothpick through the burger bun to hold it all together, then instructs Venti to follow behind him.
“Gah, you’re the best husband ever,” Venti squeals, crashing down on the couch with a look of unbridled excitement. Xiao’s heart skips a beat, not yet used to the giddy feeling of being called Venti’s husband. Fond memories of the proposal linger at the back of his mind, sending his heart for a run. Not knowing how to react, he chews on his burger looking like he’s about to set the world on fire when really, he’s flustered as hell.
“You’re so cute when you munch like that!” Venti cackles, doubling over in laughter. Xiao shakes his head but his mouth is too full for him to make any sound of protest. If anyone can see them through the slits of their curtains in their living room verdana, there’s no doubt they look like two idiots in love.