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"Albedo! Albedo!! ALBEDO!" The young man turned around; a blank expression stared back at bright eyes.
"What is it, Venti?" The bard pouted, poking the other's cheek,
"Jeez, you're so slow... Anyway! I heard you were making a special drink. Can I have a taste?" NOY one to be willing to hear the man whine and beg, Albedo rolled his eyes and gave him a cup filled with mysterious liquid. The bard, in return, quickly thanked him and ran off, probably to Angel's Tavern.
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A gust of wind gently ruffled the yakasha's hair, causing the boy to glance over at the source. Venti had sat right next to him. He was holding a peculiar cup. Curiosity peaked, the adeptus asked,
"Venti, what drink is that?”
"Well, Xiao.” Venti looked at him with that know-it-all look that Xiao had throughly gotten tired of.
“Albedo recently made a new alcoholic drink out of nowhere! Our precious alchemist was so generous that he gave me a special cup to try!" Xiao gazed suspiciously at the rippling liquid inside,
"Are you sure it's safe?" Venti scoffed and waved his hand dismissively,
"Of course! I don't think Albedo would try to kill us! And if he wanted to, I'm an archon and you're an adeptus. A little poison wouldn't do much."
Xiao hesitated. 'I don't trust this alchemist that much. But since Venti does...' In one gulp, he drank beverage, as Venti excitedly watched him. "How does it taste?" The bard asked as Xiao put the cup down.
"It's sweet." Venti huffed, crossing his arms,
"Come on! Describe it a little for me! Please?" He, for some reason, quickly relented and somehow got off on a speech of how delicious it was. Venti looked at Xiao with wide eyes.
He never did this. Always keeping his responses short, Xiao never went on lengthy tangents like his father (Zhongli). Maybe it's alcohol talking. Damn, he should’ve taken a sip first. Xiao isn’t a heavy weight like himself. After awkwardly clearing his throat, Venti giggled, "W-Well, it seems like you really like it, Xiao!"
The other didn't respond. He just kept staring at Venti's eyes. Waving his hand in front of the other, Venti asked, "Xiao?" He gently grabbed and Venti's hand and pulled it closer to himself. The flustered bard stammered, unsure of what to do. "Um. Are you okay?" Xiao murmured, ignoring his question.
“Your hands are soft." Venti blushed, and he turned his head away to avoid Xiao's gaze.
"Thanks..." He wasn't having any of it as Xiao used his hand to tilt Venti's head towards his own.
"I mean it, bard." He was unprepared to experience any of this nonsense and now Xiao was complimenting his features for the very first time! Maybe he should’ve asked the alchemist about the ingredients. What the hell did Albedo put in this drink?!
Venti steeled his veins before looking back into Xiao's eyes again. Unblinking, golden, and serious but not mean. There were so many words Venti could write to describe Xiao's eyes at that moment. It made him melt at the touch, itching to grab a pen and write down all the words flowing through his head. Maybe he could write it into a song. One just for the special adepti next to him.
The yakasha rubbed Venti's cheek with his thumb, still taking in each and every detail engraved into the archon's face. "You should really appreciate at beautiful you are..."
"Hm?" Xiao calmly repeated,
"Bard, you never seem to realize how you look under the moonlight. It's mesmerizing." Venti blushed profusely, but this time, he didn't turn away. The bard stared back into Xiao's golden eyes as the two slowly leaned in closer and closer. The yakasha mumbled something about if Venti consents or not, but he ignores it, bringing both of the lips together. It was a short, sweet peck on the lips. Venti was too shy to push it further. He worried about pushing Xiao's boundaries. The adeptus gave a little smile, something he rarely ever did, which almost made Venti pass out from how cute it was.
Under the moonlight with their fingers intertwined, Xiao and Venti laid down in the grass together to watch the stars twinkle. Whatever Albedo had put into the drink, Venti was glad that is was there. One simple drink helped the two confess their feelings to one another.
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"It's not a love potion."
"It's not?!" Venti gasped. The revelation was befuddling. How could it not be one? There weren't that many other types of potions currently. Albedo crushed the val berries as he explained calmly,
"I made it for Sucrose. It's supposed to boost your confidence and self esteem. She's an incredible alchemist, and yet Sucrose doesn't try harder. She thinks that she's not good enough to become better. I created it as a prototype for a proper potion to give to Sucrose on her birthday." Venti shook his head.
"Then why did it change how Xiao acted entirely?! He was basically a shorter version of Zhongli!" Albedo mixed the ingredients together in a bowl, stick in hand,
"Well, they do say that the offspring of the parents act very similar to who had the most influence over the child's life. Maybe that's who Xiao really is, but doesn't want to act like a copy of his father, and so he hides his true personality under a cold front." Venti was exasperated. Running a hand through his bangs, he sighed,
"This is so confusing."
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Xiao tapped his fingers against the dirt. A nervous tic. He kept thinking about that night. That night when he summoned the courage to kiss his crush. Xiao didn't know what even went through his head at the time. Just that he saw that chance and took it. But now, he hasn't seen the famous bard in weeks. Maybe Xiao made a mistake. Was he too bold? Did he scare Venti off?
All these thoughts made him more anxious. Xiao loved Venti a lot, and he may have just made him so terrified that the bard secluded himself in Mondstat because of that kiss. Xiao groaned in frustration, lying down onto his back. 'I made a mistake. Now Venti probably doesn't want to see me ever again.’
A light gust of wind ruffled Xiao's hair slightly. Weird. It wasn't windy today, he checked. "Xiao! Xiao! I got something for you!" He turned around to see a stumbling bard with a bouquet of glaze lilies and cecelias, all arranged beautifully in his hands. Venti tripped on a tuft of grass, nearly falling on his face, but Xiao caught him just in time. A bundle of beautiful flowers separated them from accidentally hugging each other. Staring into the other's eyes, the two stood in silence for a few moments.
“Venti?" Xiao whispered. The bard stammered, shoving the floral decoration into the adeptus's hands before pulling out some almond tofu from a small bag,
"I-I'm sorry for being gone for so long! I was traveling all around Mondstat and Liyue to get all this! I even had to learn how to make almond tofu because I wanted to make some homemade food for you!" Xiao gently put the plate and flowers onto the ground and hugged Venti as tightly as he could. It's been so long since someone has ever given him so much affection. Of all the people who could've done the same thing, Xiao's crush had done it and more. Venti reciprocates his love. The bard sinked into the adeptus's warm arms. Venti didn't want to forget the moment he was able to get Xiao to open up to him. Of all his years of living, this was the moment he will never leave behind in the past.