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In retrospect, maybe Lumine should have asked Venti a few more questions about this.
“Lumine, Paimon, thank you for coming here today,” Venti announced, the three of them huddled around a table in the quiet upstairs of Angel’s Share. A glass of wine dangled from Venti’s fingertips, while Lumine and Paimon opted for some sort of seasonal, fruit juice mocktail.
“I’m sure you guys know of, ah…Mr. Zhongli, is that right? Is that what he calls himself?” Venti mused, more to himself than anyone else. “Well, I haven’t seen Zhongli in a long time. A really long time. And I need your help with a bit of a…reunion,” he summed up, swirling his wine with a look in his eye that told Lumine they weren’t walking out of here without a laundry list of duties.
“A reunion? Paimon didn’t know you and Mr. Zhongli were that close,” Paimon said, taking another sip out of her miniscule straw. This was another one of those funny occasions where everyone at the table knew who everyone else was, but they wouldn’t dare say as much out loud.
“Ah, yeah, you could say we do. So, are you in?” Venti asked, expression hungry.
“I don’t think you’re going to give us much of a choice,” Lumine deadpanned.
Venti punched the air in celebration. “Perfect! I knew you’d help me out. Now, on to the details…”
Lumine and Paimon shared a long suffering look. Here they go again…
“So, first off, I need you to go tell Verr Goldet that a special friend of Mr. Zhongli’s wants to hold a special lantern release at Wangshu Inn for Lantern Rite. For Zhongli. Don’t worry, she’ll get it.”
“Wait, you know Verr Goldet…?” Paimon murmured.
Venti ignored her. “I’m tempted to try and pull this off in Liyue Harbor, but the city must be terribly busy these days. I can’t risk outing both myself and Zhongli as…you know…archons,” he whispered, covering his mouth with his hand just in case.
“So yes, start with Verr Goldet. And then, please, feel free to invite as many of your companions you’ve met along your travels as you please! Truly, it will be a fabulous celebration. There’ll be food, and wine, and fireworks and of course the lanterns, too,” Venti ranted and raved, leaning back in his chair and staring off into space as if he was already there.
“Wait!” Lumine exclaimed, maybe louder than she should have. Some patrons a few tables away glanced back at them and she sat back down. “Where are you getting all the mora for this? I had to slip you a bag of mora outside the tavern so you could buy that wine!”
Venti could only wink at them. “You leave that up to me. I have more than a few favors to call in. Don’t worry.”
Paimon collapsed into her chair, sipping the last bit of her juice out of the cup like she desperately needed it to be something stronger. “Well I guess that sums it up. What’s the point of all this anyway? Mr. Zhongli is always in Liyue Harbor somewhere. Who don’t you just go meet him at Third Round Knockout or something?”
“At a plain old restaurant!? After all this time? Pah,” Venti waved his hand, as if he was waving the idea away. “That’s nowhere near grand enough for our big reunion.”
Paimon shrugged. “If you say so.”
“What if Mr. Zhongli questions us? They don’t usually do lantern releases at Wangshu Inn, right?” Lumine asked.
“If you need an excuse, just say you’re organizing a special lantern release for Xiao, since he doesn’t really handle going into the city well for Lantern Rite. So you and Paimon and Verr Goldet are bringing the Lantern Rite to him!” Venti explained, but the two girls didn’t look so convinced. “Oh, don’t worry. Zhongli adores the boy. As soon as his name comes up in conversation he’ll be willing to do anything you say. Plus, all he has to do is show up. Easy peasy!”
Lumine raised her eyebrows and cocked her head. Well, there wasn’t any reason to argue with that logic…
“Just one more question,” Paimon said. “Why such a big celebration? You don’t think it’ll be too over the top? Mr. Zhongli is a very subdued kind of person…”
Venti’s brows creased with an emotion that Lumine couldn't place. Did he feel angry? Troubled? Misunderstood? She could only imagine.
“Because I haven't seen him in 500 years!” Venti exclaimed, throwing his arms up, his wine glass nearly going with them. The men from the other table turned to look at them again, eyes wide at such an outlandish claim. “Uuhhh, I mean it feels like 500 years!” Venti laughed it off, composing himself.
“Really though, I do appreciate you helping me. That this goes well… it's of great importance to me,” Venti was being…surprisingly serious about this. Neither Paimon nor Lumine could argue with a somber, serious Venti.
So it was settled. As expected, Lumine and Paimon did walk out of the Angel’s Share with a long list of tasks, pushed into their hands with a sneaky “eheh!”
(Perhaps the biggest mistake of all was that, despite using him as an excuse to fool Zhongli, no one remembered to tell Xiao about the plan. He doesn’t keep up with the Inn’s special events either.
Anyway.)
“H-hi there, Verr Goldet. We were sent by a, uh… ‘special friend’ of Mr. Zhongli’s. He says he wants to hold a special lantern release here at the Inn for Lantern Rite this year, because…this special friend hasn’t seen Mr. Zhongli in a really, really long time! So, he thought it would be a good way to celebrate their…reunion?” Paimon tried her best to sound convincing. Her best being the key phrase.
Verr got a look in her eye at the words ‘special friend of Mr. Zhongli’. She looked them up and down, and at the list of tasks this special friend gave the two girls, and…
She actually agreed?
“Do you know him?” Lumine asked later, while Paimon was still scratching her head at how all this was working out.
“I do,” Verr said. “Mainly because of Mr. Zhongli himself. Though I know more than Mr. Zhongli thinks I do. It is complicated,” she said, and these things often were. “But if it is a special occasion for Mr. Zhongli after all his hard work, I have no problem helping.”
They all nodded and agreed to leave it at that. Another one of those funny occasions…
The next two weeks saw Paimon and Lumine running here and there. Delivering invitations, helping hunt meat and forage herbs for Smiley Yanxiao, even introducing Yoimiya and Keqing. The fireworks had to be perfect, Venti instructed them. It only made sense to link the firework maker with the ultimate Liyue logistics planner, after all!
After ferrying Yoimiya to Liyue, Lumine ventured back across the sea to invite some friends from Inazuma. They could experience what a real Lantern Rite was like! In the past, Mr. Zhongli joined her on her adventures across the island nation, so many of their Inazuman friends remembered him fondly. If it was a celebration for Mr. Zhongli, they were happy to attend.
Somehow, it all started to come together.
Rather than the wary uncertainty that they started their planning with, Lumine and Paimon found themselves getting excited. With all their companions attending it would be quite the occasion! Plus, Venti and Mr. Zhongli meeting again had to be a good thing, right? Venti certainly made it sound like it was a joy to reunite with him.
(A week into the planning, Xiao took a rare break on the Inn’s roof. Far below, he could see people assembling what looked to be like dozens of lanterns, some of whom were most definitely foreigners. Was it already that time of year again? He didn’t remember so many foreigners being interested in Lantern Rite, nor did he remember Lantern Rite being a big celebration at the Inn any year before this one.
But, he never did keep up with modern customs. Best to just leave the humans to their own business.)
Lumine and Paimon traveled to Liyue Harbor to personally invite Mr. Zhongli to the event. Just as Venti instructed, they used the Xiao excuse. It went off without a hitch.
“Oh…yes, that’s a wonderful idea. Of course I’ll attend. Thank you for thinking of him, Lumine, Paimon,” he said, the deep timbre of his voice so genuine the girls almost felt bad fibbing.
Venti was right-- as soon as Xiao came up in the conversation, Mr. Zhongli agreed without another question.
Venti seemed to be right about a lot of things regarding Mr. Zhongli.
Hmm.
The day of the big event--reunion? what was this, really?-- arrived and…all the preparations came together very well. The lanterns were assembled. Yanxiao and his cooks were up at dawn to begin cooking an outright feast. Diluc, Kaeya and some attendants from the Dawn Winery arrived with barrels of wine. Keqing and Yoimiya put their heads together over the last few contingencies for the fireworks show. Even Jean arrived with a small entourage of Knights, as ‘a friend of Venti’s is a friend of mine,’ she said.
But even more than that, so many of Lumine and Paimon’s companions--friends, really--showed up. An elaborate party with free food and drink wasn’t hard to turn down, Lumine was sure, but it was still lovely to see so many friendly faces in one place.
Lumine didn’t see Mr. Zhongli arrive. For a moment she worried that he ran into trouble, but Verr Goldet reassured her.
“He’s been on the top floor with Xiao since midday, spending time with him,” she said. “He really cares for Xiao. I’m always relieved to see him visit.”
Lumine and Paimon heaved a sigh of relief. As long as Mr. Zhongli was here and the surprise not spoiled, everything else would go off without a hitch, right?
It certainly seemed that way.
Night fell, and Keqing and Yoimiya wowed everyone with a most stunning fireworks show. With full bellies and even fuller glasses, everyone was pleasantly huddled around their own groups of companions to relax and enjoy. Lumine glanced in Mr. Zhongli’s direction and found him watching the show with a very smiley Hu Tao.
Finally, they were down to just the highlight event of the night: releasing the lanterns.
At first one by one, then dozen by dozen, everyone released a lantern and watched them all float up into the sky. Their bright points in the sky like stars reflected a beautiful scene onto the water below. Amazed ‘ohh’s and ‘ahhh’s echoed across the shoreline.
Wait…that was everything, though, right? Lumine and Paimon suddenly looked at each other, frantic. Had they forgotten something? Was Venti okay? When was he going to make his appearance?
It was Klee--because of course it was one of the children--who noticed first. From Albedo’s side she let out a startled gasp and pointed to the horizon, where the sky met the water.
The silhouette of a person was walking towards them. On the water. He held two lanterns, one in each hand. The dozens of lanterns flitting off into the night sky made a beautiful backdrop. Even the clouds twisted to the wind’s will, forming whimsical shapes in the background--seriously Venti, even the clouds? Couldn’t he be a little subtle?
Apparently not.
Truly, though, it was a sight like no other.
Lumine finally ripped her gaze away from the approaching figure to see Mr. Zhongli’s reaction. He had a finger placed curiously below his lips, at first just as confused as everyone else, but then, ever so slowly, recognition began to click into place in his expression…
That slight figure-- one his hands knew all too well--and the pace of his gait that Morax could recognize from clear across the Guili Plains and-and-and
And he’s a little surprised that he didn’t feel Barbatos’ presence the moment he stepped foot into Liyue, but that’s what giving up Archonhood might do to a person, he supposed.
Again, in retrospect, maybe Lumine should have asked Venti a few more questions about how well he knew Mr. Zhongli. She and Paimon assumed that they would reunite and laugh and talk together like the old souls they were.
But as Venti moved closer, steps making dainty ripples on the water, there was only one word to describe Venti’s expression:
Love.
Mr. Zhongli stepped away from Hu Tao, her hand slipping unceremoniously from his shoulder.
He paused at the water’s edge for a moment, tiny waves lapping at his boots, entire form rigid in shock.
Lumine did not, in a million years, expect Mr. Zhongli
-- Mr. Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, to most people here; Mr. Zhongli who was an encyclopedia of culture and tradition and history; Mr. Zhongli who was a comforting shoulder that anyone could lean on for advice--
to walk straight into the waters of Dihua Marsh, fully clothed, towards Venti. Who, again, was walking on water towards them.
By the way Venti’s expression faltered for a moment, it seemed like Venti didn’t expect it, either.
Planned or not, now that she was looking back, somehow Venti’s wish for a grandiose reunion made a little more sense.
A second wave of shock washed over Lumine as she tried, again, to fully comprehend the scene before her. It was quite a sight--the usually elegant Mr. Zhongli wading through the waist deep waters. He was soaked to the bone, his elaborately embroidered, much too expensive, silk padded dragon coat dragging behind him, laden with water.
It was a good thing he was normally such a composed man. If he didn’t think twice about it, he’d probably be summoning stones to make a path clear across the water’s surface. Lumine thanked the gods he was very dedicated to not revealing his former archon status.
As if the last 60 seconds hadn’t been astounding enough--seriously, everyone standing on the shore had their mouths agape-- when they finally met, Mr. Zhongli took Venti in an embrace.
Venti quickly released the lanterns he’d been holding before returning the embrace. Mr. Zhongli pressed his face into Venti’s chest and wrapped his arms tight around the other man’s slim form. It was certainly not a casual, friendly hug, in Lumine’s opinion. She felt like she was intruding on a very personal moment. He was holding Venti like…like he was afraid that Venti might float away with the wind at any moment.
Venti, only slightly more composed, softly ran a hand over Mr. Zhongli’s mussed hair, looking down at him with the utmost affection. His hands floated down to Mr. Zhongli’s face, and Mr. Zhongli moved his hand to cover Venti's, too.
Yeah, definitely not something that one would do with just a friend.
They exchanged some words out there, out in the shallows of Dihua Marsh, and it slapped Lumine across the face that this may be the first time they’d spoken in centuries.
Perhaps she should have encouraged Venti to do something a little more subtle? Far too late, now.
She felt a pair of eyes watching them all. She whipped around--briefly finding Verr Goldet, Hu Tao, everyone still in shock--and her eyes darted up to the roof of Wangshu Inn. He was barely visible but, sure enough, a pair of golden eyes watched everything carefully from the roof.
Xiao.
She wondered where he fell in all of this.
After a few more moments, Mr. Zhongli and Venti made their way back to shore, arms around each other’s waists. Lumine looked to Mr. Zhongli to find him…crying?
Mr. Zhongli--crying!? Maybe Venti’s plan was a bit over the top. Mr. Zhongli seemed to realize how exposed he was around all these people who only knew him as the picture of composure, but the second he turned back to Venti, all the worry melted out of his face.
Lumine did not expect tears. She knew Mr. Zhongli had been through many a terrible loss in his lifetime. But she’d never seen him cry over a single one--not over Azhdaha or even Guizhong the few times he’d mentioned her. This was certainly unusual.
"I-I’m so sorry," he stuttered when he and Venti finally reached her. His arm stayed anchored around Venti’s waist, gently cupping his hip. "I suppose I realize now that this whole celebration wasn't for Xiao, but a surprise for myself. Thank you for helping to organize it, Lumine, Paimon. You don't know how much it means, truly."
Gracious words as always from Mr. Zhongli, but tonight they were a little less…composed? Less carefully planned? He looked like he’d just been given the shock of his life, so Lumine couldn’t blame him, tonight.
“Oh, it was nothing, don’t even mention it,” Paimon bashfully dismissed, waving her little hands in front of her. Silently, Lumine prayed that Paimon picked her words carefully here…
“Paimon and Lumine are so glad everything worked out. Mr. Zhongli you seem…really happy. If our work can make such a dear friend happy, we’d do it again, a dozen times over,” she finished off proud, hands on her hips with a big smile.
Lumine’s shoulders slumped in relief. Thank goodness Paimon had the sense to be tactful. Yes, she was truly happy for both of them that this all worked out, and they had no business prying deeper into the archon’s affairs until they were ready to tell them themselves.
As requested by Venti, he and Zhongli had a lavish private room to themselves for the night. Honestly, Lumine was glad they had a private place to talk after that whole debacle.
Slowly, everyone else in the crowd turned back to their groups, occasionally stealing glances at the happy couple.
The two shared a few more words with some of their other companions as they drifted through the crowd. Ningguang, Ei and Yae Miko, perhaps the only ones not flabbergasted by the whole scene, quietly congratulated them.
Surely they knew, Lumine thought. Well, Ei and Yae Miko of course knew, given their age. As for Ningguang…
It was Ningguang. She always knew before anyone else.
Finally, Zhongli and Venti began ascending the main stairs of the inn to retire to their room, Zhongli’s still soaked coat dripping water all the while. The smile in his eyes said that his ruined clothes were the last thing on his mind. Lumine hadn’t seen him smile so much…ever, perhaps.
Venti certainly looks pleased with himself too. That was a relief-- all the preparations must have come out well in that case. Lumine didn't know Venti enjoyed being such a showoff, but perhaps it only applied to certain, very specific situations having to do with the geo archon, she thought, unable to hold back a knowing smile.
It seemed that no one suspected them of being archons or any other sort of celestial being. If they did, well… the free flowing drink courtesy of Venti himself would be enough to help them forget. Surely tomorrow morning the story would be that a bard crossed the marsh on a narrow bridge. If any of the children remembered, it would be brushed off as children's fantasies, although Venti himself would very much encourage their imaginations.
As they ascended the stairs, the air in front of them suddenly crackled to life. With a snap, someone appeared to stop their ascent.
Again, Xiao.
Lumine acknowledged long ago that she would never understand the emotions behind looking at someone with as much reverence as Xiao gazed at Zhongli--at Morax, at Rex Lapis.
He looked to Zhongli first, almost as if for comfort, for affirmation that this was real. Then, his gaze jolted to Venti. His hands fidgeted his sides, unlike him. They looked like they longed to touch, but he held himself back.
The three exchanged a few words, but Lumine was too far away to hear.
“Long time no see, little bird,” Venti greeted. Xiao did not respond, his eyes boring holes into Venti’s. Nevertheless, Venti ran a gentle hand through his short hair, ever so fond, but a bit of a different fondness than he showed Zhongli.
“I’m so happy to see you doing well, Xiao. Can I play you a tune tomorrow morning?”