Work Text:
“You guys have soulmates in this world? Aether asked, confused.
"Hmm." He paused, "I guess you could call them that.” Venti sighed, stretching his arms out to the sky. “Up there, certain residents of this world have constellations, reflecting their fate and fortune in life. Sometimes, constellations are hung together, intertwined, representing a twist of their fates together— a soulmate connection, as one would say. These moments in which two fates meet, or a fated connection, as some would say, open the bond, allowing thoughts and feelings to be shared between the two.”
Aether furrowed his brow—Paimon also looked quite confused. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that type of connection in any of the other worlds I’ve visited.” He paused. “Are they common?”
Venti shrugged.”Not really, more common are the ballads written about them, most likely. I can play one for you if you’d like— in exchange for an apple or some cider, of course.” He winked. “They’re really quite romantic, believe me. Love songs for the ages.”
“I would assume then, given your age, that you know of some of these connections, then?” Aether ignored his offer.
“Perhaps.” A hidden smiled dusted his face.
—-
“What are you doing here?” A voice behind him asked, breaking the silence between the border of Liyue and Mondstadt.
“Xiao.” Venti sighed. “I thought you’d be here.” He turned around to greet the other. He looked rougher than when Venti had last seen him, all battered and bruised, with the fresh licks of battle on his wounds. He flicked his eyes across the other’s form, trying not to stare for so long as to make the other uncomfortable. “You look hurt.” He remarked.
Xiao looked away, refusing to meet Venti’s eye. “I’m fine.” He stated, spinning his spear in his hands before knocking it against the ground. Venti could see streaks of blood drying along its tip. “Just another day.” He looked back at Venti now, apprehensively. “Why are you out here?”
“Oh, you know.” He waved behind him. “Mondstadt’s right over there. Just wanted to check and make sure everything is okay along the border and everything.”
Xiao raised his brow. “I thought checking in on Mondstadt wasn’t your… preferred way of executing your archon duties, Barbatos.”
Venti shrugged him off. “It’s Venti now, didn’t I tell you?
Xiao nodded. “Venti, my apologies.”
“Anyway, I wasn’t— well—“ Veni sighed. “I thought I felt a disturbance.”
Xiao’s face twisted into confusion, to something that might have resembled embarrassment. He averted his eyes again— wiping down his spear handle suddenly looked to be much more urgent. “You weren’t… feeling me, were you?”
Venti scratched his neck anxiously. “Haha… well— at first I didn’t think so, but now that I’m here, and I see you…” He glanced again at Xiao’s wounds, they seemed worse than they had first looked, healing slowed by the karma that filled them. “I guess that’s what it was…”
Xiao kneeled down and bowed, crossing his fist over his chest. “My apologies, B-Venti, I didn’t mean to cause you any concern. I’ll be on my way now.” He stood up, vanquishing his spear. Venti could tell by his staggering movements he was in pain, even if Xiao knew how to hide it— Venti could feel it, in the back of his head if he just tapped in a little more, opened their connection— it would all come pouring through to him, everything. Instead, he got whispers, small pangs, and an understanding. He could still feel it.
“No!” Venti reached out.
“Hm?” Xiao whipped his head around, perplexed.
“If you ever want, I can play for you again, you know.” Venti leaned against the tree, feeling the aged wood beneath his fingers. These trees were native to Liyue, yet they grew even on top of the cliffs that bordered the two nations, instead of just the marshy wetlands they were born from. Venti wondered if they felt free up here, escaping the destiny fate laid out for them— or, was this their fate?
Xiao stopped, refusing to turn around. “No, it’s fine.” He declared, looking past the hair that dusted his shoulder and back at Venti, before looking away once more. Venti felt another pang. “I’m sorry— I’ve caused you a lot of inconvenience, haven’t I?”
Again he thought about chipping open the connection, for once, just to feel it. What it was like to truly be in tune with someone. Maybe then he could understand. He traced the patterns of the wood with his finger, feeling the rough grooves on his skin. Unfortunately, some things were undoable “No, I’m sorry.” He started. “It was my fault, wrong place and the wrong time— I didn’t know that that would happen. I should’ve been more careful.”
Xiao turned him back around, looking him straight in the eye. “It’s my fault completely. You— if the events had happened differently at all, I wouldn’t be alive here today. Or maybe— maybe if I had been stronger, hadn’t thought about giving in, then maybe things would be fine.”
“Xiao no— at the least, I’m glad you’re still alive. I don’t regret that. I— I should’ve known something was amiss that night, the energy, there was divinity at foot, I should’ve realized that something like this—” He gestured between the two of them. “Was about to happen.” He paused. “Our fated moment.”
Xiao doesn’t meet his eyes. “The god of freedom, bound by fate and soul to another. It doesn’t make sense, does it?”
Venti shook his head. “It’s not about that.” He looked at the moon, it was almost as bright as that night years ago in his memory. “I— worry about hurting you— I have my own problems, and I don’t want them to make your karma worse. I don’t wish to bound anyone, ever, either.”
Xiao looked at him quizzically. “But you always make me—“ he coughed loudly, interrupting himself. “That’s not a problem, don’t worry about it.”
“Hmm. I’m glad to hear that, at least.” They were closer now, and Venti could see the gashes on his wrists, wide and weeping— and still not healed, suspiciously so considering Xiao’s possession of numerous Adepti arts. “I know you already refused my music to soothe, but” Venti brushed against his fingers, pulling Xiao’s hand into his. “And I’m no healer either, but let me patch you up at least?”
Xiao scowled, and Venti could swear he saw his face light up, for just a moment. “I guess that would be adequate.” He frowned. “I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time already.”
“Perfect.” Venti smiled. “I stole some holy water from the church. And— really, interrupting my extremely important nighttime bar crawl now, are we?”
“I—“
“That was a joke.” Venti shook his head as he summoned some bandages from his pocket. “Too soon, my bad.” He laughed as he carefully dabbed at Xiao’s wounds with the stolen holy water— he knew it had healing properties, courtesy of Barbara— before delicately wrapping them in some bandages he infused with Anemo energy, with the hope that they would resonate with Xiao’s vision and speed up the process through the divine elemental energy or whatever it was. Xiao stayed quiet throughout the entire process, carefully watching Venti’s handiwork as he let the wind ruffle through his hair (which just might have been Venti’s doing, as he found that it really could enhance the atmosphere.) “So… how have you been doing?”
Xiao stayed silent, staring into the distance.
Venti wondered if he also felt the soothing energy that he felt flowing through himself right now, he wasn’t exactly sure where it was coming from, maybe it was the holy water for all he knew. But something told him it was whatever they had between them, their supposed bond, their souls finding peace within close contact. It felt a little silly to even think, the two of them, both divine beings, both with souls that were hung together in the stars. It was definitely there though now, the channel in the back of his mind. Xiao’s pain was fading, replaced by this warm fuzzy feeling. The bond must be happy at their interaction, Venti thought. I guess it rewards me if I’m nice to him. This was a new feeling. After the incident, they had never gotten closer than this, ever, preferring to avoid each other in a knowing, almost shameful silence. Maybe… they should try to see each other more, if even by just being near Xiao he could soothe him like this.
“Anything new? Any new demons to slay?” He knew he was being obnoxious, but Xiao was determined to ignore him, so he had to bring out alternative options.
“No.” He replied curtly this time. “It’s always the same. My days of demon subjugation never end.”
“I don’t mean to pry but… have you been getting hurt more recently at all?” He focused on tying the last bandage around his arm. He looked cute almost, all wrapped up like this. More like a kid in the hospital after breaking his leg and less like an ever-tortured warrior.
“The monsters are getting worse to fight. I think it’s my karma.”
Venti nodded. “I see. I’ve… been feeling it more recently.” He paused, unsure if he should even attempt it. “The bond. I know you hate to talk about it but— I think it’s getting stronger recently, even if we’re not opening it.”
Xiao sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I admit I’ve noticed it too, although I had hoped it was only on my end. I thought it might be a side effect of my Karma but, you’ve noticed it too, it seems.”
“I… know we have an unspoken agreement, but I’ve been thinking lately.” Venti paused. “I think we should acknowledge it more.” He paused. “I know it’s something that was never wanted, and— but, it’s written there, in the stars, us together. My divinity can’t even triumph it.” The stars smiled down at them, their constellations were out there somewhere, tonight, but he couldn’t be bothered to find them. It would make everything more real than it needed to be. “We don’t have to do anything real— like what human soulmates do, but I think at least, we should know more about each other— or at least, talk. I don’t think I can pretend to barely know you when I have a version of you that lives inside of me already.”
He could feel Xiao’s gaze flitting over him. He felt their connection open a little wider, warmer and brighter now, like the sun. Venti could understand how mortals could so easily become enraptured by this feeling, why so many poems were written about it, so many songs sung, ballads played. Xiao looked beautiful, bathed in the moonlight. He looked nothing like the night they had met. He looked full of life again now, and while injured still, he was a far cry from the beaten corpse under a different full moon. Even if that night had burdened them forever, he was thankful to give the Yashka another chance at freedom, even if the price was being bound himself. Did he even mind it anymore?
“I can see how that might be beneficial.” Xiao nodded, unsure of himself. “I’m perplexed by many— well, human customs surrounding soulmates,” His face grew pink under the moonlight, Venti thought it was endearing. “But in my research and travels, I have found many accounts of the benefits contact with a soulmate can bring. But,” he took a deep breath in. “I am willing to try if you believe that it will be better for both of us, but there are also risks— it will be harder to be apart. I don’t wish to chain the archon of freedom like that, any more than I already have.”
Resisting the urge to ruffle his fingers though Xiao’s hair, he let his winds do it for him. “You read up on human customs?” he asked. “I didn’t think you liked humans much at all.”
Xiao frowned, Venti could swear the pink rose higher in his cheeks. “I don’t dislike them, but they confuse me. Considering the nature of my profession, I consider it better to keep my distance.” He paused. “That doesn’t mean I can’t try to understand, though.”
“I see.” Venti nodded in amusement. “Anyway, again, I’m the archon of freedom, I wouldn’t let anything bind me to that extent. Even if we are all governed by fate, we all have our own free will. And I want to do this with mine.”
Xiao still looked nervous, but Venti didn’t feel it at all through the connection. The warm, fuzzy feeling heightened, making its way down to Venti’s heart. This was nice, it was what a couple of drinks felt like without the cost. He could get used to this.
“Still, we’ll be able to feel each other much more strongly than we do now, the… emotions and everything that comes with it” He said with a twinge of distaste as the words left his mouth.
Venti nodded. “It’ll be different for sure, but I think, in the end, it’ll help us in some way. And.. maybe this is me giving it what it wants, but I think we’ll be better for it.”
Xiao looked away, then up again at the stars, before meeting Venti’s eyes for one of the first times that night. The rich amber nestled into his chest. “Are you really prepared, for whatever will happen?”
What an odd question to ask. “Of course,” Venti smiled. “As long as it doesn’t give you a greater burden to carry.”
“Fine, let’s do it.” Xiao crossed his arms, the amber disappeared. “Do we just… open it?” He asked apprehensively.
Venti nodded apprehensively. “I think so…” He laughed. “But I’ve never opened a soul connection before, and I never thought I would have to.”
“Here.” Xiao grabs Venti’s hands, holding them in his own. They’re warm through the gloves. Xiao blushes again, to Venti’s amusement, if he didn’t know any better he would assume that Xiao was acting like a schoolgirl with a cr—
He felt it as it rose up like the tide, bubbling more furiously than before. It rumbled and spilled over, into Venti’s sense of self and time. For a moment, it was like sharing his entire self with another, a complete fusion with the other. It was bright and overflowing and divine, like themselves. As quickly as it had come, the surge faltered, leaving Venti back in his own head. The connection was no longer just a connection, however, it felt so distinctly Xiao. Like Venti could just tap him whenever he wanted to, whenever he needed to, whenever Xiao needed him to. It felt… freeing, in a way he had never expected it to. Whatever they had had before, that was nothing compared to whatever this feeling was. It was Xiao, breathing life inside his lungs, warm and wonderful, like a dance of a sea of flowers. This feeling, full of rich layers of beauty and kindness and hope, what was it?
He met Xiao’s eyes in his shock. He looked frazzled, just as overwhelmed as the other. Realizing that Venti was staring, his eyes darted away. The feeling flitted out of Venti’s chest. He felt startlingly empty.
“Xiao, look at me.” He pleaded. “Do you feel it?” Amber eyes met him again, and again his chest was filled with abundance and melody. “Xiao…” It came out breathy, less firm than he had intended. “Is… this how you feel when you look at me?”
Xiao lifted up their hands, still clasped together. “Yes,” He gasped. “From the moment I first laid eyes on you, ever since— I— don’t why but, it’s you.”
“It’s… me?” Venti stared at their hands clasped together yet still. Why did this make so much sense? Why wasn’t he shocked? “I thought you… didn’t want much to do with me at all?” He asked, timidly, afraid that asking for too much would take those amber eyes away, take this feeling away.
They didn’t leave him. “You’re a god I don’t serve. How could I ever ask for anything?” He reached down, breaking their hands to settle his over Venti’s heart. “I felt it though— everything.”
Xiao was so close. Venti felt breathless. “This whole time?” Xiao didn’t respond, but Venti knew his answer. Something he hadn’t even considered before, an unknown possibility that flowed with potential.
“Your music is beautiful.” Xiao whispered. “And I’ve grown to know your soul through my own for hundreds of years now, I couldn’t help but to see the beauty in that as well.” He turned away once again, Venti longed for him to turn back, and let him gaze into his eyes some more. “I thought I was immune to human emotions, to human experiences like this one.” He sighed, staring at the moonlight that reflected off the metal adornments on his gloves. “Time— may have proven me weaker than I thought. I’m sorry again, for letting my own short comings drag you down as well.”
Venti reached out hesitantly, dragging a finger along Xiao’s wrists. Now everything between them was open, he could feel the other’s apprehension and regret, underpinning the soft joy from earlier. Venti didn’t like it, and hoped he could comfort the other in whatever way he was able. “I too, thought I was exempt from human experiences, once, until I realized that the grief and regret I felt everyday wasn’t a divine punishment for my own shortcomings, but a side effect of human experience.” He frowned, before chuckling a little, “it’s one I guess we aren’t immune to.” Xiao still didn’t meet his eye, Venti took his other hand into his, running his fingers over the fresh bandages. They lit up as the anemo energy inside them resonated with his touch. It was almost kind of pretty. Everything about Xiao was pretty, Venti was starting to realize.
He was realizing a lot of things actually, and as the high of the newly opened bond started to settle, his heart didn’t. This, the kindness and tenderness that Xiao held for him inside his heart, wasn’t something he had considered at all, but it did make sense. He had thought their connection was a fluke, a misstep of fate— their meeting that day, but ever since, he had held Xiao in high regard through their fleeting meetings throughout the ages. Xiao was important, Xiao was special, Xiao suffered, and Venti had known that from the moment he laid eyes on him that night; he had felt it through the fledgling connection. “I sent blessings through the winds for you.” That got Xiao’s attention again, bringing him back into Venti’s light. “Did you get them?”
“I did, but I couldn’t let myself believe that they were from you.”
“Good.” Venti felt full, his heart overflowing once again. These feelings were so strong and new and even with the original high gone they flowed with the power of the universe itself. Venti couldn’t think straight, it was like he was seeing for the very first time. Things started to make sense. “I like you.” He blurted, moving in closer to the other.
Xiao’s face grew red. “You… what?”
“I like you.”
“Oh, okay.” Xiao stood in silence.
“Xiao.”
“What?”
“I like you.” He paused. “Romantically, I think.”
“Oh.” Xiao averted his gaze. “I see.”
“And… did you just not confess to me?” Venti traced Xiao’s jawline with the tip of his finger, bringing their gazes back together. He felt the other’s confusion again, he strived to project reassurance and confidence, he needed Xiao to understand.
“I… did.” He acknowledged.
Venti shut his eyes in frustration, another human emotion he was occasionally familiar with. “What I’m trying to say is… that what you told me, about those human emotions you can’t help but feel, the way I felt what you said you felt when you look at me. I feel it too.”
Xiao’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
“We don’t have to do anything about it though, of course.” He started to ramble, unsure how to remedy the strange sense of silence that fell upon the other. “We just opened the bond and everything, we don’t have to do anything more. I’m happy just to spend more time with you now, if anything, like I was saying, it’ll be good for us, I think—“
Xiao cut him off mid sentence, “No.” He stated firmly. “I also want to be closer with you, if you haven’t figured that out from— all of this.” He gestured between the two of them, referencing the bond they shared.
“Oh,” Venti laughed lightly, he felt drunk, even if he knew the little alcohol he had had tonight had long left his system. Feeling what Xiao was feeling towards him was intoxicating in itself, and only served to amplify his own feelings in a delightful positive feedback loop. He wasn’t used to being adored in this way, unlike the will of his church, this felt more free, as Xiao expected nothing in return. “Me too.” He smiled, blowing another breeze through Xiao’s already unruly hair.
“I think I would like to try some of the… rituals that human soulmates do.” He paused. “To understand my feelings better.”
Venti looked at him in surprise. “Rituals? Like… marriage? Wouldn’t that be a little redundant for us, since, well, you know?”
“No, not marriage.” Xiao blushed again; Venti could feel his embarrassment. “Don’t human soulmates… kiss?”
Venti felt giddy, even lighter than air than normal. “You want to kiss me?”
“Only to understand our soul connection better.” Xiao stated, but Venti felt the desire hidden within his words.
Venti giggled. “Do you even know how to kiss?”
Xiao glared at him, but Venti knew it wan’t threatening. “I’ve read about it. Do you?”
Venti shook his head. “Maybe a little.” He moved even closer to Xiao now, leaning into the other. Reaching out his hand, he caressed Xiao’s jaw, tilting it upward. “Here,” he whispered. “I can start, if you’re ready.” Of course.
Venti closed the gap, bringing their lips together. Their connection overflowed again, short-circuiting as it flowed with the energy of their souls, finally connecting in the mortal realm. Xiao’s lips were rough, weathered by the elements, but the manner in which he moved them against Venti’s was soft, kind almost. He felt an arm around his waist as Xiao deepened the kiss, biting Venti’s lip gently, before running his tongue along the inner edge.
They stayed like that for a while, before falling against the tree, entangled together.
Venti broke away for air. “You’re good at this.”
Xiao broke into a soft smile, dripping with tenderness. “Thank you.”
“Hmm. Funny how we have all this time ahead of us, but you don’t really need it to practice. Interesting how that works.” He tucked some of Xiao’s loose hair behind his ear. “I can’t wait to learn even more about you.”
Xiao sat up, taking Venti, currently draped around his shoulder, with him. “Can you… play for me again?”
“Of course.” Venti laughed. “But I thought you didn’t want me to?”
Xiao scrunched his nose. “I didn’t want to burden you anymore, but now—” He pointed to Venti, who was quite literally in his lap. “It seems like you’re the one burdening me, so…”
“Hmph, I see, I see.” Venti sighed. “Whatever the Yashka wants in exchange, I’ll oblige. What song?”
Xiao stayed in thought for a moment. “The one you played for me that night. But first… another kiss?”
Venti leaned in.