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Venti has been living at the winery for a few months now, and all in all, it hasn't been as much of a disaster as Diluc feared.
Their arrangement began on a night like many, with Venti once again drinking not enough to be drunk, but late enough for his eyes to droop.
Usually it was up to Kaeya and Rosaria to dump him into the upstairs bed, but tonight Diluc was his only company. Thus he was the one to gather Venti in his arms after closing up.
"Wooooooooow Master Diluc, taking me to his bed before we've had a single date? A didn't know the most wanted man in Mondstadt was so forward," he giggled.
"It amazes me you have the energy to tease when you can't even keep your eyes open. And I would be bringing you to your bed, if I knew where you lived."
"Hmm? Isn't this basically my bed at this point? Either that or up in a tree ehehe."
Diluc stopped where he stood. "You're homeless."
It wasn't a question.
Venti slowly cracked open his eyes to look at Diluc in confusion.
"I guess you could call it that. I think of it more like the world is my home! But it doesn't really matter, does it? I'm an elemental being, despite this vessel I have no problem sleeping out in the wild."
'No,' Diluc thought to himself. 'If you're wearing the guise of a human, surely you can be hurt like one too. After losing your gnosis too... What an idiot.'
Abruptly Diluc turned and started going back down the stairs.
"Diluc? Hey! Hey Master Diluc where are we going?!"
"Calm down, your shift’s already over, no need to keep singing."
"Diluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc!"
Despite his dramatics, Venti was out like a light by the time they arrived at the winery. Adelinde greets him quietly with raised eyebrows.
"He will be staying in one of the guest rooms for the time being. Expect him to come and go regularly."
"I'll inform the rest of the staff. Is there anything else I can do for you, Master Diluc?"
"That will be all, thanks."
She excuses herself with a curtsey, and the rest was history.
Sort of.
Venti was good company, and their lives meshed together pretty well. He could sneak in and out of the house without waking him, and without questioning his nightly activities. He was liked by the staff and surprisingly neat, even helping Moco and Hillie sweep leaves on occasion. He'd been perfectly self sufficient so far, which is why Diluc was so thrown for a loop when he came knocking on his door all bundled in a blanket.
"Venti? What's wrong? Did you go hanging around the Cat's Tail again?"
He shuffled in while sniffling, passing Diluc to flop down on his bed. It was only when Diluc walked over to look down at him that he answered.
"Diluc... I dink I'm sigg."
"Has this... ever happened before?"
"Nod dhat I can remeber."
"...Please blow your nose, I don't think I can continue this conversation like this."
Venti groans. "I driiiied! Id didn't do anyding!"
"Right... You've probably never dealt with this before. C'mon, up you go."
Venti wriggles himself free of his blanket and immediately shivers, before quickly latching himself onto Diluc. He pays it no mind, reminded of the way Kaeya used to try to leech his warmth when they were kids... aaand that's enough of that. Back to the not so glamorous present of heating a bowl of water under his nation's god's face to clear his sinuses.
When Venti finally blows his nose, the force paired with his anemo almost lifts him from the floor. Diluc absently thinks this would probably be really really funny. If he weren't so concerned with how they got here in the first place.
"Better?"
"I can breatheee!"
Diluc sighed as Venti made no move to get up off the bathroom floor. Taking matters into his own hands, he scooped him up under one arm and carried him back into the bedroom. When he dropped him on the bed he answered with a muffled "thanks" while shamelessly burrowing under his covers.
"Alright, spill. How'd you end up like this?"
"Okay, so I have a theory. Yesterday two of those Adventurer kids and their friend came looking for you. Said they had a commission to collect some Hoarfrost Cores and needed a fourth person to help out.”
"I have a feeling I know where this is going..."
"You were out cold from being up all night before so I offered to tag along. Anyway- did you know those things can explode? The second I picked one up- BOOM! Cryo energy all over my face."
Venti told the story with his usual vigor, but one look at his face exposed how miserable he was. His nose was red, the bags under his eyes dark and bruised, and still he shivered slightly.
Diluc reached out to touch his forehead and Venti leaned into the touch, eyes fluttering closed. Diluc grimaced at the absurdly warm temperature of his skin.
“Okay, I know about the coldness and the stuffy nose. Any other symptoms? Confusion? Drowsiness? Tingling, pain, or numbness in any of your limbs?”
“I feel kinda tired and generally really crappy, but no none of that other stuff. Headache too.”
Diluc took back his hand, ignoring Venti’s whine at the loss of warmth and began gathering clothes to change into.
“Well, good news, I don’t think you have hypothermia. Bad news, you may be the first archon to ever fall victim to the common cold. Sit tight, I’ll go see what I can do.”
“What? Diluc, are you leaving?” Venti whined as he disappeared into the bathroom. “Noooo don’t leave me here to die! Diluc!”
“You’re not going to die. I’m going to get us breakfast.”
“And a glass of wine?”
“Most definitely not!”
While Diluc took breakfast into his own hands, he sent Adelinde to patrol the halls and listen for Venti calling for help… Or trying to escape bed.
He kept breakfast simple, hasty to get back upstairs before Venti becomes restless. He gathers toast, a few eggs, and a honeydew, but just as his knife pierces through the melon a knock sounds at the door. He sets down the knife with a huff.
“Now who would be here this early in the morning…”
With all the staff busy, Diluc was the one to answer the door. On the other side were two faces all too familiar, Fischl and Bennett, looking their own special brands of sheepish.
Bennett looked at him head on, albeit with his hand not occupied holding a gift basket rubbing the back of his neck as he smiled nervously. The Prinzessin, on the other hand, has her arms crossed and her gaze stubbornly pointed toward the grapevines.
Bennett is the one to break the ice with a cheery “good morning Master Diluc! Is Mister Venti home? We wanted to apologize for the trouble we caused yesterday…”
“The Ever-Persistent One carries appeasements on behalf of the ones before you, as well as the Young Lord of Lupine that could not be present for this assembly.”
Before Diluc can express his confusion, Fischl’s raven companion is quick to translate.
“Mein Fräulein put together a gift basket with the help of Bennett and Razor.”
“I see, thank you,” he said, taking the strange offering from Bennett’s hands.
The handle was decorated with black and purple ribbon tying a card to the side. Piled into its basin appeared to be a few homemade dishes, and oddly enough, some wolfhooks. The work of Razor on the last one, Diluc assumed.
“I’m sure Venti will appreciate this,” he said earnestly.
Hands now empty, Bennett wronged them nervously. “Is he not home? He didn’t seem to be hurt or anything when he left yesterday but uh, I know from experience a Cryo blast to the face is unpleasant…”
Fischl nodded gravely. “Fate casts a rare smile upon him to recognize the flames of his passionate heart. But for the Wind Worn Poet, if he still roams the wilds…”
“Don’t worry, Venti did indeed come home and he is resting in bed with a minor cold. The head maid is currently watching over him.”
“The Bard will likely need Pyro assistance to keep him warm until the cold passes,” Oz chimes in, casting a pointed look at Diluc’s vision.
Diluc’s straight face twitches near imperceptibly into a frown. “In that case I should return to him quickly. You have my assurance I’ll take good care of him.”
This seems to put the kids’ hearts at ease, and even the bird gives him a look of approval.
“Of course Master Diluc, we know we can count on you! Sorry again for the trouble!”
“Until our paths cross again, King of Night’s End,” Fischl said with a curtsy.
Once the kids took their leave, Diluc returned to the kitchen and took a closer look at the contents of the basket. He took out all the food, putting away anything that needed to be stored in the icebox, but deciding to keep the poor knight’s toast to give to Venti now once he returned the food he had already taken out save for the melon.
He decided to bring the card up too, a thank you note and well wishes signed by all three kids that just so happened to have an IOU for a drink slipped in by Kaeya.
Of course he was the commissioner.
Diluc tucked away the promise of alcohol for a later date when Venti wasn’t already at risk for a lowered body temperature.
“You’re back!”
Diluc sighed. “I was only a moment. Though I did get a little held up by your adventuring buddies dropping by.”
Despite his own sorry state, Venti immediately dropped any self pity. “Were they alright? None of them were hurt, were they?”
Diluc rolled his eyes fondly. “They were fine, only worried about you.”
He lifted the tray in emphasis before setting it down on the bed.
“They brought gifts and everything. Judging by the bits of ash this toast is the work of Bennett.”
“Those kids… anyway, are you going to feed me or what?”
“If you weren’t sick I would push you right off this bed.”
Diluc does not end up pushing Venti off the bed. In fact he ends up sitting at his bedside doing his paperwork for hours while Venti slept. He continuously glances toward the bed to make sure nothing is amiss as lunch comes and passes. He had warned him he always sleeps after an injury, but still Diluc worried.
Venti doesn’t stir until the sun is high, waking at the rustle of Diluc closing the curtains.
“Wheew, it feels like Dragonspine in here.”
Diluc was quickly at his side to check his temperature, recoiling at his icy skin.
“You’re freezing. Update me on your symptoms.”
“I’m f-fine you worrywart. Gosh, have you been sitting here all day? D-don’t you have w-work?” he deflected as his shivering worsened.
Diluc pinched his reddened nose ignoring Venti’s startled cry.
“It’s warm. This is at least frostbite, give me your hands. You said the Hoarfrost exploded while you were holding it, right?”
Venti reluctantly complied, shuddering as the leather of Diluc’s gloves took hold of numb hands.
“Hu-urts,” he whined, trying to shrink back into the blankets.
“Bennett warned me about this,” Dilic said, stepping back to take off his overclothes. “I don’t get why it took so long to take effect but…”
Venti watched with confusion as he stripped down to his black pants and button up shirt, keeping his vision in hand.
“Is it okay if I warm you up?”
“Oho? Just what are you implying?”
Diluc’s ears burned as he slipped under the covers, still sitting up as he settled on the bed.
“I’m trying to keep you from freezing to death.”
“Feisty feisty,” he muttered, scooting closer in surrender. “Fine, I am in your care.”
“Give me your hands,” Diluc demanded, encroaching further into Venti’s personal space.
Even though he was the one to request this arrangement, for a moment he tensed as slender hands touched the flesh of his own, cold as clumsy with the beginnings of frostnip. The blankets weren’t useless, then.
Venti couldn’t help but fidget, rubbing a calloused fingertip over the edge of one of Diluc’s nails. He soothed himself with the repetitive motion until Diluc huffed and interlaced their fingers.
“You’re not going to warm them like that. How does this feel?” he asked, slowly warming up his hands.
“Ack- that stings! It’s like a million little needles poking into my skin ow ow ow.”
“Sorry,” Diluc said with a grimace. “This is probably going to feel even worse but there’ll be deeper damage if we don’t warm up your face soon…”
That was all the warning Venti got as Diluc placed his hands on his shoulders and tucked Venti into his chest.
“This is nice. I should do this more often heh.”
“What, get frostbite?”
“Eh- now who’s the one twisting words?!”
Diluc chuckled and Venti settled and let the Pyro energy wash over him, humming a little tube as he warmed up.
“Are you falling asleep again?”
“Mmmm no,” he whispered, breath tickling through the gaps between buttons.
“Uh huh, sure.”
Venti’s breath evened out and Diluc’s body felt pleasantly slow as sleep started to take hold.
When Venti awoke he found himself trapped by Diluc’s strong arms, clutching him protectively against his chest. The first thing he noticed was his hands no longer ached, and he felt like his normal self. Well, minus the dizzying coziness from the heat..
“Diluc,” he whispered. “Diluuuuuuc. You’re crushing me!”
He started to wriggle until Diluc grunted and tightened his arms around him.
“Are you comfortable using me as a weighted blanket?”
Diluc cracked open an eye with a scowl.
“Yes, until you decided to do your best impression of a fish.”
Venti sighed and shimmied his arms free to reach up by Diluc’s head. He accepted his fate as a captive until the other awoke, but not without a little petty revenge.
He combed his fingers through wavy red tresses, sectioning off strands that weren’t pressed into the pillow. His nimble fingers worked quickly and deftly, weaving a collection of assorted plaits. He lost track of time as he experimented, and before he knew it there was nothing left to braid.
When he brought his hand to Diluc’s scalp to brush out the braids, he leaned into the touch with a small smile. Venti scratched gently behind his ears until Diluc’s eyes opened with languid blinks. This time he quickly took stock of their position and loosened his arms.
“Good morning!”
Diluc cast a glance toward the dark curtains but didn’t correct him. He took hold of his hands once more and rubbed his thumbs against the backs.
“You’re warm,” he murmured. “How are you feeling?”
“A lot better, I promise you.”
For the first time today, Venti saw Diluc smile, small and gentle, but still enough to make his eyes crinkle.