Work Text:
Venti was royally screwed. Things were going suspiciously well in his life lately that he knew something was bound to happen eventually. Just not this.
He landed a promotion at his job causing him to pack up his life in Mondstadt and move to Liyue. He found the nicest place to rent that had everything he was looking for. Only when he arrived to pick up the keys and sign the homeowner contract, he was informed that somehow his offer didn’t go through and someone else took the place. Because of that Venti was currently homeless.
He wandered the bustling marketplace aimlessly looking for flyers about places to rent. Liyue was the business capital of Teyvat making it extremely hard to find lodging that was reasonably priced. Venti had a secure job as a music producer, but it didn’t make him enough to live in a fancy penthouse, which seemed to be the only type of room available. Not that he wouldn’t mind living like that.
Hearing an argument break out in front of him Venti looked up, noticing a tall man carrying a brilliant green rock. The vendor tapped their foot in annoyance. “How many times has this been? I can only accept the excuse that you forgot your mora so many times!”
“Ah forgive me. I was so busy in thought that I forgot to grab my wallet when I left,” the man explained.
There was an elegant aura coming from the strange man. Venti couldn’t understand why, but he felt compelled to help. “Excuse me!” he waved at the vendor. “How much is that? If it’s not exceedingly expensive I’ll pay for it.”
“It’s 1000 mora,” the vendor supplied.
That wasn’t too bad. Venti pulled out his wallet and shelled out the mora. The shopkeeper accepted happily, shooting one last dirty look at the other man. “You better thank the kid.” with that they turned to help another customer.
Venti puffed out his cheeks in annoyance at being called a kid. He was in his twenties, but his chubby cheeks and short height did nothing to help his case.
“They are certainly right. I graciously thank you for helping me out.” the man gave a short bow. He looked at Venti taking him in. “Ah, a traveler? From the looks of your clothes, you hail from Mondstadt?”
Venti nodded in confirmation.
“Welcome to Liyue! Will you be here long? I would like to pay you back.”
Venti thought for a moment. “Do you happen to know of any places that are open for rent? Nothing too extravagant. If so, I’ll take that as payment.”
The man raised a brow. “Oh? A place to stay... hmm I wonder…” he pondered for a moment before giving a small smile. “Let me treat you to dinner. I might know of a place, but I have to check something first.”
Venti’s heart sped up. Was it going to be this simple? Was fate repaying him for his kind deed?
“Meet me at Liuli Pavilion tonight. 7 pm. There will be a reservation under the name Zhongli,” the man said. “If you will excuse me, I will look into that housing request.”
“Thank you!” Venti yelled after the man as he walked into the crowd, effectively disappearing.
It only took Venti a few minutes later to realize that maybe he shouldn’t be accepting a dinner offer from a stranger. Hmm, what could go wrong?
Venti arrived at Liuli Pavilion right on time. He spent his time in between looking for places but still found nothing. Before entering he sent a quick prayer that this stranger he met could help him find a place to stay.
A hostess led Venti to a private room where the man, Zhongli he presumed, sat. Zhongli looked up hearing the doors open and gave a smile towards Venti. “Excellent! You were able to make it. Please have a seat. Also, if you do not mind, I already ordered for us.”
Venti sat down across from Zhongli. “Thank you for having me!”
“May I ask your name?” Zhongli asked.
“It’s Venti.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Venti. I currently go by the name Zhongli.”
So, Venti was right in his assumption. The way Zhongli introduced himself caught his attention though. He willed himself to hold back his questions. Venti didn’t want to offend the man. Not if he had a place for Venti to stay. Venti wasn’t going to screw this up. It was a matter of life and death.
Zhongli picked up the teacup in front of him, taking a casual sip. “May I ask how long you are staying in Liyue?”
“It’s a permanent stay. The music industry here is the biggest in all of Teyvat.”
Another sip of tea. Gold eyes peered over the cup. “I have a place where you can reside. You can live out your days until you grow old and grey. The biggest benefit is that it’s free of charge.”
Venti must have misheard. “Free? Is there a catch?”
“It is a house, so please look after the garden. Some stray animals seemed to also take up residency on the lot. Be nice to them. Especially the one named Xiao, he’s special.”
Venti nodded. He’d never had any luck with pets. Growing up his parents got him a lizard to look after. Needless to say, Dvalin was only in their lives for a short time before Venti forgot to close the cage allowing him to venture out into the world. But hey, Dvalin was free now, hopefully living his best lizard life.
Zhongli slid an envelope across the table. “This here is the key. The address is on the front.”
Venti took it not believing his luck. “Thank you so much Zhongli!” his hands gripped the envelope.
Zhongli’s eyes softened. “You are a very unique person. I believe you will fit in nicely there.”
Venti didn’t understand, but he also didn’t care. He had a place! And it was a house. His parents would be proud to hear he was already a homeowner in his twenties.
Their food consisted of the finest cuisine. Venti enjoyed himself immensely taking in all the different flavours. He and Zhongli exchanged small talk about Mondstadt while they ate. When it came time to pay Zhongli reached into his pocket only to come up empty handed. He scratched his head sheepishly. “Forgive me again… I seem to have forgotten my wallet.”
Venti’s eyes bugged out when he saw the bill. Silently crying to himself he pulled out his card saying farewell to his recent bonus that he was going to use on a sick new guitar. A small price to pay for a roof over his head.
After bidding farewell to Zhongli, Venti began walking out of the restaurant. An arm grabbed his elbow making him turn. “There was one last thing I almost forgot to give you,” Zhongli said, pushing back Venti’s bangs.
Warm lips pressed against Venti's forehead. His body tingled at the touch. Venti’s hand reached up to touch his forehead when Zhongli pulled back. He was going to ask Zhongli what that was for, but the man in front of him seemed to have disappeared.
Weird.
“I thought it would be different,” Venti said aloud to himself. It was the day after his dinner with Zhongli. Venti had decided to wait until daylight to check out his new place.
In front of him stood an abandoned shrine. Venti checked the address on his phone. It was the one Zhongli had written down for him. Venti didn’t even have the man’s number to call and ask if he wrote the address down wrong.
Gripping the key in one hand Venti walked towards the house. The key slid easily into the lock. Venti heard a soft click as he successfully unlocked it. He hesitated not having the faintest idea what lay beyond this door. Pushing the door open slowly he peered inside. Adrenaline rushed through him. He took a step in.
The house was ordinary. It was a traditional Liyue home filled with furniture covered in dust. It looked like no one had been living here for a long time. Venti wandered around checking things out. It seemed like everything was in working order. He drifted into the open living area and looked out the window. Was this place really his now? It seemed too good to be true.
“You’re not Rex Lapis,” a voice behind him growled.
Venti yelped, turning around to face a man his height standing in the doorway. He wasn’t about to be murdered, was he?
The stranger wore a fitted sleeveless white shirt that was tucked into purple pants. A mask hung around his waist. On his right arm, an intricate green tattoo trailed down from his shoulder to his wrist. It looked like a mythical creature. Besides the odd clothing, the man was breathtakingly beautiful. His gold eyes pierced straight through Venti’s heart.
“Do you have a name? Or can I call you mine?” Venti cursed himself for blabbering out a pick-up line when he very much could be murdered.
“Xiao.” the man gave nothing else. He didn’t even flinch at the pathetic line.
Wait… Xiao? The man in front of him was not a stray animal. What was Zhongli talking about?
“Well Xiao, I’m the new owner of this place. You can call me Venti.” Venti wiggled the keys. “Zhongli offered this place to me.”
“Zhongli…” Xiao went quiet as he looked at the keys. His eyes shot up to Venti’s forehead. Moving at lightning speed Xiao crossed the room to stand in front of Venti. Venti squirmed under his intense gaze.
Up close he could see Xiao’s face better. Aside from his mean demeanour, Xiao had a certain softness to him. Resisting the urge to reach out and caress Xiao’s face Venti tucked his arms behind him.
Xiao leaned in so their faces were inches apart pushing Venti’s bangs back. “No… it can’t be.”
A warm tingle ran through Venti’s body again. It was the same as when Zhongli kissed his forehead. “You’re not going to hurt me, right?” Venti asked.
Xiao flung Venti’s bangs down and took a step back. Ignoring Venti’s question, he muttered to himself, “He must be crazy if he expects me to follow you.”
“Excuse me?” confusion swarmed Venti.
Xiao gave him one last glare before he vanished leaving teal butterflies in his wake. Venti blinked trying to make sense of what he just witnessed.
“Don’t worry about Xiao!” a voice rang out. “He’s just grumpy because Zhongli left!”
Venti turned in a circle trying to locate the owner of the voice.
“Over here!” the cheerful voice called out.
Venti turned around again to see two girls standing where the teal butterflies had once appeared. The older one wore a large black hat with a red flower on it. Her long brown hair was tied into two ponytails that poked out underneath the hat. She wore a simple brown coat and shorts. The other girl was still just a child. Her legs were bandaged up to her thighs and she wore a little blue dress with white shorts peeking out underneath.
The taller girl gave him a huge grin. “You can call me Hu Tao! This is Qiqi.” she motioned to the little girl whose hand she held.
“Mind telling me what’s going on?” Venti asked. He was dreaming, right? His friends back in Mondstadt always made fun of him for falling asleep all the time. This must be an instance where he took a nap in this new place and his mind started playing tricks on him.
“You are… the new land god…” Qiqi drawled.
For a moment Venti thought his ears stopped working. “Could you repeat that?”
“I have… already forgot…” Qiqi said.
“A man gave you that mark on your forehead, yes?” Hu Tao pointed at Venti’s forehead.
Venti looked around the room, seeing a mirror in the corner. He ran over and pushed his bangs out of the way. There on his forehead was a glowing gold symbol. His mouth opened in shock.
“That’s the mark of a land god!” Hu Tao explained. “Our master Rex Lapis, or as you would know him Zhongli, was the land god of this region. Xiao, who you met earlier, was his familiar. For simplicity, you can say Qiqi and I are just some spirits who help out around the shrine! Rex Lapis has been absent for a while now. It seems like he has passed his godly duties onto you!”
“You’re saying I’m a god?” Venti asked incredulously.
Qiqi nodded. “Congratula-” she paused, seeming to forget what she was saying.
Venti took a deep breath. His hand dropped and he turned to face the girls. “Ok! I’ll be your god. I need a place to stay and if that requires me to be a god, I’ll do it.” Besides, being a god sounded kind of fun.
Hu Tao clapped her hands together in excitement. “Excellent! We’ll have to call Xiao back right away!”
“Why? He didn’t seem very happy to see me.” Although Venti wouldn’t mind seeing Xiao again. The man was absolutely gorgeous, but Venti liked being alive a little too much to want to see Xiao again when he was still upset.
“He was very close with Rex Lapis. I’m sure your arrival was seen as a sort of betrayal. He should have known something like this would happen eventually,” Hu Tao huffed. “You’ll have to bond with him so he becomes your familiar.”
Venti tilted his head confused. “Bond? You want us to be friends?”
Hu Tao laughed, “No silly! You have to form a familiar bond! You can ask Xiao about it. There’s a pond out back where he likes to sit and be all brooding.”
Before he could reply, Venti blinked and the pair were gone.
Venti heaved a sigh and went looking for Xiao. It was best to get everything out of the way. He found the pond Hu Tao had mentioned quite easily. Xiao was sitting along the edge watching the water. Venti’s breath caught. It was unfair how beautiful Xiao was.
“I’m sorry I took over. Zhongli didn’t explain any of this to me. I was just looking for a place to live and he offered me this home. I promise I’ll try my hardest to be a good god.” Venti walked up behind Xiao. He crouched down next to the man hugging his legs.
“Your words mean nothing to me,” Xiao spat.
“I’m not planning on leaving, so it’ll be nice if we can get along.”
“You’re the last person I want to get along with,” Xiao grumbled.
Venti smiled. Xiao tried to put on a mean front, but Venti could see past it. “Zhongli obviously didn’t want you guys to be left alone. I don’t know why he picked me, but I won’t abandon you.”
Xiao’s head turned to look at Venti. His gold eyes narrowed as he worked through Venti’s words seeing if they contained any lies. “Do you promise?” he mumbled, turning his head away.
Venti felt his heart throb. “Yes.” he lifted his pinky finger. “Pinky promise!”
Xiao looked at Venti’s finger in disbelief. Reluctantly, he raised his hand. Venti linked their pinkies together and shook. “See? Now I can never break my promise.”
Xiao stared at their entwined fingers. A hint of pink dusted his cheeks. Venti wondered if that was the bond Hu Tao mentioned. Before he could ask Xiao about the bond a loud crack echoed through the area. Xiao’s eyes widened in shock. “Get back!”
Venti felt the ground beneath him open. He looked at Xiao and fear spread across his face before he started to fall. His hand reached out frantically grabbing Xiao’s arm. “You fool! Don’t drag me in with you!” Xiao tried to pull his arm back only for the ground to open up beneath him. Venti screamed as they tumbled into darkness.
Strong arms wrapped around Venti. One around his waist and one on the back of his head pulling him close to Xiao’s body. Venti braced himself for impact. They landed with a hard thud. “Where are we?” Venti managed to ask his body aching from the fall.
“It seems that we have fallen into the abyss,” Xiao replied grunting. He must have taken the brunt of their landing.
“The abyss?” Venti had to keep his voice from rising.
The abyss was a famous legend around Teyvat. A mysterious underground civilization that harboured monsters that could kill you in an instant. It was a common tale told to children; a warning if they wandered too far the abyss would open up swallowing them whole. Now that he was a god Venti guessed anything could be true.
He wiggled himself out of Xiao’s embrace to look around their new environment. They had fallen into an open walkway with spiralling stairs on either side. The sky was dark; only to be illuminated by countless stars. Blue writing from an unfamiliar language glowed on pillars that surrounded them. The abyss was… dare he say it? Hauntingly beautiful.
“We have to find a way out quickly before we are noticed. News of your ascension to godhood must already be spreading. A frail human like yourself has no protection against the other gods and monsters of this land.” Xiao stood up surveying the environment. A jade spear appeared in his hand.
A purple portal materialised in front of them. A tall creature wearing blue armour stepped out from it. “I think we’re too late,” Venti whispered to Xiao slowly raising his finger to point at their newest guest. “What’s our plan? I skipped gym class in school to take naps, so I don’t think I can be much help in a fight.”
Xiao grabbed Venti’s hand. “Run.”
He turned steadily, bolting in the opposite direction from the monster. Due to their conjoined hands, Venti was dragged along with him. “You aren’t going to fight that thing?”
“Do you wish death upon me? We’re in their home territory. I don’t stand a chance!”
Venti looked back to see another portal opening with a group of abyss mages flying out. “There’s more of them! What are we going to do?”
“Will you shut up and focus on running? I’m trying to come up with a plan!”
“Can you try faster?”
“I can if you decide to stop talking!” Xiao jerked them to the side, narrowly missing a blast of fire.
Another portal opened in front of them. Xiao halted, causing Venti to crash into his back. Stumbling back, Venti looked around, noticing that they were surrounded. “Xiao…”
Xiao’s grip on Venti’s hand tightened as he started to run again. Straight towards the mages. He thrust his spear out sending the mages flying creating a small path for them to squeeze through. “Are you trying to get us killed?” Venti chastised ducking as ice flew towards them.
“I’m trying to keep us alive!” Xiao shot back.
More mages appeared in front of them. “We need a plan!”
“Kiss me!” Xiao yelled at Venti.
“I'm honoured you think of me that way, but now isn't the time for a love confession!"
“You idiot! It’ll create a bond between us and strengthen my power! I can get us out of here if you tie me to you!” Xiao briefly explained.
That was how the bond formed? Venti felt his face heating up over the realization. It seemed this bond was more than he expected it to be. He didn’t even know Xiao! Pretty or not Venti had some common sense to him. “I don’t want a bond with you!” Venti screamed.
“Do you want to die?” Xiao struck out his spear trying to puncture a bubble coming their way.
“No!”
“Then kiss me!” Xiao cried out.
This whole situation was insane. Venti stopped running to look at Xiao. The other man’s chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath.
Venti tried to calm his racing heart. What he was about to do was crazy, but at least the guy he was forming a bond with was hot. Venti reached out his free hand cupping Xiao’s face. He shut his eyes and closed the distance between them. Xiao’s lips were surprisingly soft. Venti swore he felt something burn within him as they kissed. He settled on it being the formation of their new bond.
Pulling away Venti saw Xiao had a golden glow to him now. He also noticed the hordes of mages almost on them. “Xiao!” he cried, closing his eyes.
Xiao wrapped an arm around Venti tugging him close. A strong wind current blew around them making Venti's braids whip fiercely. Then everything was calm and quiet. When Venti opened his eyes they were back at the shrine.
“Venti! Xiao!” Hu Tao cried running over to them. “We saw you fall in! Thank god you’re both ok!”
Venti breathed heavily. Xiao’s arm was still wrapped around his waist. Venti was in no rush to move. Instead, he leaned his head against Xiao’s shoulder.
“Oh! Were you able to form your bond?” Hu Tao sniggered.
“Shut it,” Xiao replied. “It was that or be killed by abyss mages and an abyss herald.”
Hu Tao just laughed. “Sure. It doesn't have anything to do with how cute our new god is, does it?”
Xiao’s face flushed. “Of course not.” he pushed Venti away.
Venti looked between the two and burst out laughing. He had no idea when accepting a random stranger’s house that he would end up as a god with a grumpy familiar and two estranged spirits. But he didn’t think he would change it for the world.