Chapter Text
There was a deep breath, then—
Light, nimble fingers graced across piano keys, and a familiar tune gently swept through the room. It was an ethereal piece, and it was the only chance that either of the two figures in the room could ever experience a song with such grandeur, though it wasn’t as if either of them had minded. The afternoon haze did little to sully the mood, and only enhanced the comfortable laziness that they had settled into.
If beauty was a sound, this was it, thought Xiao idly. It did little to block out the sounds of the city outside, but it was home. The memory of the music was home. Venti was his home. Everything about him was beautiful. His gentle singing made Xiao smile when he thought of it in his sleep. When he sat at the piano, effortlessly putting out music for only him to enjoy. It was safe, and it only brought about peace for him, a state of mind that Xiao found more and more difficult to achieve with each passing day of stress, work and people.
For now, he’d sit, and he’d listen, and he’d fall in love with Venti all over again.
Venti finished with a soft chord, and the room fell into silence once more, save for the traffic on the highway outside, and Xiao’s soft clapping.
“Did you like it?” asked Venti, closing the piano lid and walking over to sit next to Xiao on the couch.
“I loved it,” replied Xiao earnestly, resting his head on Venti’s shoulder. “You’re a wonderful musician. Don’t stop.”
“If you really think so, then I won’t,” he grinned. “I’ll play it for you for ever and ever and ever until you get sick of it, and then I’ll play it some more so that you fall in love with it again.”
“Hm…” Xiao murmured, content to be by his partner’s side. “I don’t think that’s how love works.”
“Well that's how I said it works, and I'm right, aren't I?" he replied, settling into the couch.
"… wait, are you falling asleep?” asked Venti, realising the lack of a reply. He poked Xiao’s cheek with a finger, who’s eyes were slowly closing. “Hey, we still got groceries to get, remember? And we need to clean the place because Zhongli’s visiting tomorrow and you’re gonna get annoyed at me for not cleaning but I’m not physically capable of cleaning this place up and-”
Xiao stirred for a bit, then sighed and sat up straight again, his moment of peace broken. “Right, right, you got it, I’ll get up. What are you thinking for dinner?”
“Mm…” Venti mulled over it for a moment. “Anything works!”
“Then we can try that Good Hunter place that opened up down the road—” Xiao scrolled through his phone absent-mindedly “—I hear that it’s got pretty good reviews.”
“Sure, sounds good, let’s pick something up after the groceries. And um-” Venti suddenly jumped up from the couch and made his way to the kitchen, opening the pantry door. “I wanna pick up some osmanthus wine, for old times' sake. Do need anything else?”
“Oh, he asked me if he could bring a plus one the other day, it might that guy he’s been hanging around with a lot lately…" Xiao put his phone done and let his head drop to look at the ceiling, scrunched face as a futile attempt to recall his memory. "I think he mentioned his name was Tartaglia…?”
“Huh? I thought it was Ajax?” Venti walked back to the couch, leaning on one of the arms of it.
“... whatever his name is, let’s prepare for one extra just in case.” Xiao opened his eyes to get a better look at the upside-down Venti staring down at him.
“Okay! This is gonna be so fun! I haven’t seen that old blockhead in a while, and we can party~” giggled Venti, drawing out the ‘y’.
Xiao massaged his forehead. “And leave me to take care of you when you’re drunk out of your mind? How considerate of you.”
Venti leaned forward and poked him on the nose in response.
Xiao swatted Venti’s hand away with a frown, his attempt to hide his embarrassment not unseen by Venti. “Whatever.”
“Okay, silly,” smiled Venti, gently running his fingers through Xiao’s hair before leaning back again to make his way to the door, picking up a tote bag as he did. “I’m ready to leave when you are.”
“Wait.” Xiao leaped over the back of the couch and went cupped Venti’s face with his hands, staring into the green eyes that enchanted him so with the most serious face he could muster.
"Hm?"
“I love you.”
"I love you too, Xiao."
The two shared a soft peck on the lips before leaving the apartment.