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“Xiao! Look!” Venti almost pitches off the balcony of the lighthouse, leaning over with glee. “There’s a rainbow!” Below him, waves bump into the crumbling rocks, calm after hours of torrential downpour yesterday. Even though the two of them were shielded by the sturdy walls of the lighthouse and had tea candles for light, the storm had put Xiao on edge.
“Enemies tend to abuse the natural cover,” Xiao said, lightning reflecting against his spyglass as he scanned the ocean. He had also been on work, guiding a few local fishermen back to port and catamaran crews.
The storm had felt like Celestia’s rage, whipped the ocean into a frenzy and rocked the ground under the lighthouse’s framework. Venti had been a little thrilled at the adventure, and Xiao disgruntled.
Now, it’s delightfully clear. Venti takes a deep breath of the salty air, basking in the warm sun shining down. It’s mornings like these he’s alright with waking up a little earlier than noon. On the Crux Fleet, storms walk the edge of life and death, whereas here in the lighthouse, it was a matter of trying to convince Xiao to cuddle instead of stress over the beacon and if every single boat was safe.
Next to Venti, Xiao surveys the ocean as well. He’s got his arms crossed, but looks content with how peaceful it is. Somewhere off on the island, crows and other birds call out, singing spring tunes because it’s a nice day, and Venti can understand. It’s a good day to make music.
“Where?” Xiao tries to match Venti’s line of sight, peering around the clouds for the rainbow.
“There.” Pointing to the faint band in the sky, Venti grins.
“I can’t see it.”
“I’ll take you there,” Venti proposes, lifting himself up with air currents. He floats for a few seconds before his socks hit the deck again, and then holds out a hand towards Xiao.
The idea of flying a few hundred meters over the ocean for fun (understandably) makes Xiao hesitate.
“To the rainbow?”
“Mhmm!” Venti bounces on his heels. “Well, as close as we can.” It’s common knowledge rainbows can’t be reached, they can only be seen from particular angles and move as the moon does, but still. They’re fun to chase.
“Uh,” Xiao says, glancing towards the depth of the ocean. “Are you sure?”
A funny thought descends on Venti. “Are you afraid of heights?” A lighthouse keeper scared of heights. Although Beidou used to be scared of the ocean and storms, and Kazuha would cower at the mention of violence; now the irony only makes them stronger.
“No,” Xiao says levelly. “But falling from there would be poor for our health.”
“We would die.”
“Yes.”
Venti flicks his wrist, whipping Xiao’s hair and ruffling his clothes. With utmost precision, Venti reaches out with his wind currents and tucks a strand of Xiao’s hair behind his ear. He’s so pretty, and Venti’s heart falls; it does a little sigh at that.
“You won’t fall,” Venti says. “I’ll catch you if you do.”
Xiao glances up towards the rainbow again. It spans only a fraction of the sky, fading off at the edges into the natural blue.
“Alright,” he agrees, holding out his hand.
“Really?” Venti’s wonderfully surprised.
Xiao nods. There’s a zip of happiness that shoots up Venti’s spine as he takes Xiao’s hand readily, folding their fingers together. Even with Xiao’s gloves, Venti can tell the lighthouse keeper’s hands are cold.
Years ago, the first time Venti had tried flying had been awful, he fell off-kilter and went home with bruises covering most of his skin. Getting a sense of gravity is very different in the sky—where there are persistent winds and he’s combatting gravity—compared to the solid ground. After a week, he found out it’s easy to do somersaults in the clouds and pretend to jump from patches of them to others, but it’s also easy to lose sight of where you’re going.
Now, Venti’s internal compass is a little better. He’s certain Xiao will know where they are in proximity to the lighthouse anywhere on the island. And the rainbow’s so pretty. The Crux Fleet judges and jostles him whenever he tries to get Kazuha to fly after it with him, so he stopped going. But now Xiao will accompany him, and that’s more than enough reason to go.
“Alright, here we go!” Venti casts huge currents to support them, swirling them with dandelions from the island and colourful flowers so Xiao can see the wind under his feet.
Xiao breathes in sharply as he’s scooped off the wooden balcony. Nothing too shabby, Venti observes as he carefully lifts up Xiao, focussing most of his energy into keeping them at a steady pace against other marine currents. There’s always a lot of wind around shores, and Raven’s Cliff is no different.
“Look.” Venti turns them around in the air, a few hundred meters up from the balcony, so Xiao can see his lighthouse. The brilliant red roof stands out against the cliffs, the white walls their own beacon. It looks small, inconsequential from where the two of them are.
“There’s the market,” Xiao says, his hand gripping Venti’s stronger when there’s slight turbulence. Across the island, pedestrians are tiny specks, wandering in between the fruit stands and flower shops. The sparse population on Raven’s Cliff is limited to coastal fisher families and seasonal workers. Venti bets it’s a tight-knit community, even though the only time he’s seen Xiao interact with the locals is for food and to notify them of certain precautions.
“And there’s the bridge.” Venti squints through the sun to see the stone bridge leading into the market, the water running under it. He remembers walking on the railing there, using the excuse he might fall to get Xiao to hold his hand, and grins at the boy who willingly reached out this time.
“Yeah?” Xiao’s looking at him expectantly.
Venti shrugs with a smile, and tugs him towards the rainbow again. He has to readjust their course to keep the rainbow in view—the closer they get, the fainter the tones seem.
“Venti,” Xiao starts.
“I know it’s going to disappear.” Still, Venti boosts them towards the rainbow, passing through low riding clouds that leave trails of mist on their skin.
When he stops again, Venti can feel a tremor go through Xiao’s hand. He turns around instantly to check on him, swaddling Xiao with more currents and leaves from the island. In the past, he’s learned people will rely on what they can see, and feel, much more than pure faith. Perhaps that’s why he tends to disappear. So that the expectations will too, quickly after that.
“Xiao?” Venti stills them, high above the ocean. The waves are folding into one another from up here when Venti looks down, and they’re above a flock of birds a dozen or so meters away.
“Xiao?”
When he’s quiet, Venti panics, ever-so-slightly, and scoops up Xiao in his arms. The gusts of winds wrap them up together, in a giant air current burrito.
“Hey,” Xiao says, a little bite to his words. He’s not the most tactile person.
“Sorry.” Venti cherishes having Xiao in his arms. “Why are you shaking?”
When he doesn’t say anything, still, Venti has to take the arms tightly wrapped around him as an answer. “Are you afraid we’ll fall?”
“We’ll die at this height,” Xiao reminds him. The air is chillier at this height, and Venti notices Xiao has goosebumps on his arms, even though the sailor tried to summon warmer winds.
“I won’t let go,” Venti says, although he thought that was obvious. “And I’d still be able to send my currents after you if anything happens.”
“I know,” Xiao says. “I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?” Because Venti trusts Xiao more than he trusts himself, he releases Xiao from his death-hug, taking only his hands instead.
Xiao nods, in the little way that makes Venti have faith in him. He’s sure.
“Alright.” Perhaps he’s a sap, but Venti squeezes both of his hands.
“Let’s go see your rainbow,” Xiao says with a little reproach. He knows it’s hopeless, and still entertains Venti’s shenanigans.
Quickly, Venti leans over, and kisses him on the cheek. It’s such a schoolboy kiss, some that’s shy and almost a peck, nothing to write home about but he’ll still think about when he’s sitting on the mizzenmast of the Crux Fleet. When he’s alone, or looking at Tide, he thinks of Xiao’s small laughs, and his funky humour, and his gentle kisses. It makes him feel foolish and naive and quite in love, but then there are days Venti won’t think about anything except really good Gallihard apples, so who knows. Certainly not him.
“Don’t do that.” Xiao’s not meeting his gaze.
“Huh?”
“Don’t kiss me up here,” Xiao says. “That’s dangerous.”
“I won’t let you go,” Venti repeats.
Begrudgingly, he only repeats, “it’s dangerous.” Venti catches he’s a little embarrassed, and oh, he understands. Kissing up here does do something dangerous to his heart, too.
When he giggles, Xiao sighs and flicks his shoulder. “Let’s go.”
“Okay!” Venti urges the wind currents to keep moving. “Let’s go!”
This time, Venti keeps himself tuned into every little thing. Xiao’s breath, the clouds that weave around them, even the gulls across the island.
When they’re about a hundred meters away from the rainbow, it shifts a little further away. Venti hesitates, and then speeds after it. They get a hundred meters away from it again, through a thick mass of clouds, and then it shifts the same way as before.
“Awww.” They still above a platform of clouds, the white fluff dense enough to give the illusion of a floor. Venti sighs at the far off rainbow. “Maybe next time.”
“Maybe.” Xiao humours him.
From the height they’re at, it’s hard to make out the ocean, and Venti can almost see to the other side of the island.
“Xiao,” Venti says, wondering if this will go over well.
“Yeah?”
“Can we try something?” The wind picks up around them.
“As in?” The hand on his gets noticeably tighter. Venti squeezes back.
“I’ll be right here.” Venti grins, and perhaps Xiao will be mad at him for this later, but it’ll be fun. He knows it will be. “Don’t worry, I won’t let go.”
“Wait, Venti, Venti—”
The sailor lets go of his currents. Immediately Venti’s stomach flies up, and Xiao’s hands seize both of his with an iron grip. The lighthouse keeper has both of his eyes closed, hair ruffling and clothes scrambling against the pull of gravity. As they’re freefalling, accelerating straight towards the tides, Venti spots the pile of clouds coming up.
“Xiao, Xiao, open your eyes!”
There’s anger in his eyes, a sense of danger and franticness that Venti’s only ever seen when Xiao’s worried about his duty.
“The clouds!” Venti has to yell to be heard above the rush of the wind.
Xiao glances down, at the sea of clouds under them, a second before they plunge in. Commanding the winds, Venti slows them to a stop.
“Oh,” Xiao breathes, the wild energy a little calmer around him. The two of them are engulfed in clouds, white fog cocooned around them.
It isn’t an uncommon sight—Venti can zoom up to the clouds whenever he desires, but it’s prettier here with Xiao.
“Give me some warning next time you’re going to do that,” Xiao says, an edge to his voice regarding the freefalling.
There’s pink on his cheeks as if he’s got faint windburn, and Venti can’t help it.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he says, and because Xiao said it was dangerous last time, Venti wraps arms around him, pulling him in like a long-lost lover, like a missing piece of himself, like something utterly wonderful.
Another schoolboy kiss, on the lips, this time. Just one, as if he’s too shy to risk another.
Xiao sighs, closing his eyes in exasperation although he kisses back.
“I’m going to kiss you again.”
Another.
“I’m going—”
Xiao kisses him first, tilting them backwards, and the clouds curl around their movements. The world shifts to accommodate them and their backwards love for each other.
“Alright,” Xiao says, his lips puffy. “Don’t drop us again.”
“What, you didn’t like it?” Venti’s tempted to extinguish all control again, let gravity claim them, but he understands if that’s not Xiao’s cup of tea. Instead, he guides them down, out of the cloud fog and towards the lighthouse roof.
“No,” Xiao says shortly.
“You are afraid of heights!”
“I’m not.”
Venti laughs.
They descend leisurely, Venti calling on warm winds and more leaves to swirl under their feet. The island’s town reminds him of Mondstadt, the land of freedom and dandelion wine. It’s just as personable and full of characters, a choir of adventurers and funny ambitions.
“Don’t drop us today,” Xiao says, “But maybe the next time there’s a rainbow.”
Venti files that away for later. Perhaps he can convince Xiao to compete against gravity, to accelerate on the way down and stop only a foot above the ocean, the spray flying up to tickle his legs. It’s wonderful, rivalled only by racing the Alcor streamline with the waves and dolphins.
“Even though it’s poor for our health?”
Xiao sighs. “Yeah.”
“Alright!” Venti flashes a grin, doing a little victory jump. Hopeless shenanigans with Xiao are the best.
He turns in midair towards Xiao, pulling him in close. “I’m going—”
Xiao beats him to the punch.