Work Text:
“Okay!”
You and Lumine were clad in cutesy, ruffled aprons that had striped patterns in pastel colors that matched both of your personal aesthetics. Paimon was floating beside the blonde’s head, in a similar apron and even with the touch of a chef’s hat that was too large for her head.
The adventurer had just returned from her commissions in Liyue, and to wind down you wanted to try and cook some dishes together for dinner. Perhaps it would even lure that ever nocturnal bard home, instead of hanging out at Angel’s Share. He could probably smell the aroma of food in the air, his hungry stomach dragging him to an open window that wafted the scent of spice and sugar.
You were going to make Bamboo Shoot Soup, wanting to test out more of the recipes that Lumine had given you from her travels. It required some basic items: raw meat, ham, bamboo shoots. It was a basic dish, but apparently tasted delicious if it was cooked properly, and you were determined to drag that mousy little musician home.
The both of you got into a rhythm, listening with slight annoyance at the incessant humming of Paimon in the background as she explored your kitchen for snacks to appease her growing appetite, despite the fact that dinner was being cooked right in front of her.
That’s Paimon for you.
You started to chop up the ham, finding it too big for the size of the pot, humming a much more pleasant song than Paimon had previously. It was one that Venti had sung to you in your adventures around the vast fields surrounding Mondstadt, his lyre being the perfect accompaniment to his song-bird like voice.
CHOP!
You squeaked, feeling that harsh slip of a blade against fresh skin as the knife slipped from your formerly controlled grasp. Your teeth gritted into a grimace as you glanced at the wound, blood already starting to bubble up to the surface as it stained the palm of your hand red.
It seemed to startle both of your companions, causing Lumine to voice out her concern. “Archons (Name). Are you okay?”
“Y-Yeah. It’s just,” you stuttered, going to lightly press against the skin around the wound, before flinching back as if you had been burned, “Gah! Shit!”
The pair walk towards you, Lumine taking your hand into her own as she observed it with a large frown. Paimon groaned in disgust, turning away as she pinched her nose shut.
“Ewie...that’s nasty,” she complained.
You rolled your eyes, the edge of the pain starting to wear off as you had stopped moving your hand - the dull sensation was still there, but it was bearable as Lumine held your wrist in a firm grip.
“Thank you, Paimon. I feel so loved.”
Paimon gasped in offense, which only caused Lumine to chuckle as she let go of your hand, taking the moment to move away from the kitchen and look around for any kind of medical kit she could find in the unfamiliar house. She was unsuccessful in the living room, heading towards the bathroom in the hall around the corner.
“Do you have any bandages in here?” she yelled, her voice echoing in the silence.
You turned around to call back to her. “There should be some in the third shelf of the cabinet!”
Your eyes quirked as the floating figure behind you gasped, her little figure moving swiftly to bump into your back as she trembled. She pointed towards something outside, her hand hesitating as if she was afraid to speak.
“Umm...(Name)…”
You hummed, fully turning to make a witty response, only to choke on your own breath.
“They aren’t here! Are they possibly somewhere else?” Lumine called again, unaware of the growing situation in the other room.
There was a towering form standing at the edge of the balcony, shades overcast of their face as the sun shone on their back. This was an imposing form, but it was one you were quite familiar with, though you had only seen it on rare occasions.
Those identifiable raven locks that ended in teal tips floated around his head like the wind didn’t even exist, and to him, it truly didn’t. He was the master of the winds, the cold winds that started to come through the cracks underneath the door. His imposing wings were held high, on the alert as he walked closer to the door.
Paimon shrieked as he neared, flying away into the bathroom with a cry. “Lumine!”
You were too stunned to react as the loud smack of skin was heard, along with a chorus of groans that would have to be treated with some ice packs later, but it didn’t matter to you now. You rushed forward, grabbing the handle of the door with your uninjured hand and flinging it open, throwing the archon inside.
“What the hell are you doing in your archon form at this time of day! Do you seriously want to be spotted by the townspeople?” you chastised as if you were talking to a young child as he continued to sit there, staring with glowing, almost unblinking eyes.
“You’re hurt.”
You paused in your rambling, staring at him in bewilderment.
“Huh?”
He frowned. “I heard you yelp.”
You looked at him in utter awe. “You… really weren’t lying when you said you can hear everything through the wind.”
He rushed towards you with a swiftness that could only be held by the wind god, scanning over every inch of your body swiftly, as if he were a spring that had released every bit of energy that it had. His hands moved to your cheeks, searching for any signs of gashes or scratches.
“Where are you hurt? Who hurt you? Where are they?”
You placed your uninjured hand on his shoulder, making him pause. “Calm down, love. I’m fine.”
You showed him the hand that you had cut, which had now stopped bleeding but the wound was still completely open to the cold air. “I just slipped up while cooking, that’s all.”
He stared at it for a moment, contrasting expressions of both relief and worry evident on his face as he gently wrapped his fingers around your wrist, inspecting the cut. He cringed at the sheer size of it, the metallic smell floating in the air around you.
“This needs to be cleaned and bandaged.”
You glanced at a part of the wall near the corner. “Lumine should be-”
“I’m back!”
Lumine paused with Paimon trailing cautiously behind her, glancing at your forms for a moment as she took in the situation - especially since she had never actually seen Venti in his archon form. You both continued to stand there idly, an awkward look growing on her face.
“Am I...interrupting?”
You smiled, starting to walk over to her but were held back by a stubborn grip on your waist, finding that Venti had wrapped his arms around you, his wings blocking your view of the blonde adventurer and her emergency-food companion.
“Yes, you are.”
“Venti!” you scolded, pinching his cheeks harshly. He gritted his teeth at the sudden spike of pain, rubbing his cheek as you pushed through his wings, giving an apologetic look to Lumine as you mouthed a quick “sorry”.
“She was getting the bandages for me.”
Lumine smiled slightly, handing the bandages over to you, along with a healing mixture that she had also found while pursuing through your cabinets. You returned to the irritated archon, Lumine and Paimon taking this chance as a good time to leave.
You’d just have to continue cooking another day.
You gave him a pointed look as you neared, causing him to shrink into himself a bit. You sighed, not liking to keep up the angry act, going to clean the wound underneath some warm water. You sucked in a quick breath at the sting, causing him to fly over and loom from above.
“Let me do it.”
“Wha,” before you even got to finish, he had your hand once more, before walking over to the couch with a damp washcloth in hand. He was surprisingly gentle with his movements, brushing against the opened area before taking the healing ointment from your grip, rubbing it around the cut with care. He took the bandages, wrapping them almost too loosely to be effective as if he didn’t want to cause you any more pain.
It warmed your heart - how had you gotten so lucky?
“Aww,” you cupped his face in-between your fingers teasingly, “were you worried about me?”
He pouted, averting his gaze as he stared at the fabric of the couch that had become oh so interesting in this sudden moment. You giggled, giving his forehead a wet kiss that left the stain of your lip gloss on his pale skin.
“You’re so sweet, honey.”
He started to melt, a gushy smile appearing on his lips as his face flushed. “Only for you, love. Only for you.”
You couldn’t help but smile at his sweetness, pausing for a moment before smothering his face in quick pecks, not allowing him out of your firm grip as he shook and laughed, the sense of them ticking his skin.
You calmed down for a moment, looking deep into his eyes. “And what a strong bard I have.”
“I would fight every war if it means you were safe.”
You paused at the utter sincerity and vulnerability in his eyes, knowing his background enough to know his current opinion on using violence and the shifting scales of war. The story of his former friend was quite familiar to you, one that he had cried into the night about as he laid heartbroken against your shoulder. You started to frown at the memory but shook it off.
“And I’d be right there beside you...” His eyes widened as you whispered, nuzzling slowly into his cheek, before looking up with a playful smile gracing your lips.
“And you wouldn’t get to tell me no!”
He started to smile, and it wasn’t teasing or worried one, but one of pure adoration. It was one he couldn’t control growing on his lips, and something just felt so right about it. It took all of five seconds before he was fully embracing you, tackling you down as he snuggled into your neck.
You wanted to continue cooking that evening, but the stubborn bard refused to even let you go near the kitchen, eyeing the knives as if they were his greatest enemy. He actually didn’t let you cook for quite a few weeks, forcing you to eat at Good Hunter or even the small junk food from Angel’s Share.
Usually, you were at Angel’s Share.
Diluc gave you a lot of sympathetic stares those next few weeks.