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“I don’t want to go home,” mused Venti from his position lying on his back, head in Zhongli’s lap and braids splayed outwards. “At least, not yet. Isn’t that odd?” He chuckled, lifting a hand to block the light from his eyes, peering up at the taller and older man he was lying against.
“Mm,” came the acknowledgment from the ex-Archon of Geo, a fond smile playing on his lips as he looked away from the book he had been reading to look down at the other. “Decided to stick around for a while, hm? You know you’re always welcome within my borders, old friend. Just don’t neglect your city of freedom for too long, again.” Zhongli teased, simultaneously chastising and reassuring.
Venti laughed again, the sound bright and joyful, and squirmed his way into a sitting position, in the Geo user’s lap and facing him. “You know I’d go crazy if I stayed here for too long, so you don’t have to worry about me wearing out my welcome. Besides, Mond’s done great for herself without me so far, and Jean’s doing a great job fixing the fuck-ups they have made in the past, so I think everything will be okay if I stay on vacation for a while longer.” He tipped forwards, landing against Zhongli’s chest with a little pomf of air. He sneezed as Zongli’s hair tickled his nose, and then let out a content hum as his fingers lifted to play with the long ponytail.
Zhongli merely let out another sound of acknowledgment, his gaze going back to his book after a moment. “Far be it from me to criticize the way you run your city, or, rather. The way in which you do not run your city.” He said again, only a faint hint of that teasing tone showing he was still only fondly harassing the Anemo Archon. “I’m sure Grandmaster Jean has everything under control more than you would, anyways. She’s far more competent.”
Venti snorted, one small hand thumping a hit against the older man’s chest. “Careful, you’re starting to sound like Xiao-Xiao!” He giggled, squirming in place before deciding he was bored (again, already) with sitting placidly in Zhongli’s lap and flopping backward to instead lay half in his lap with his upper body hanging off into the grass. “Not that that’s a bad thing, but you both should sound more like me instead. Lighten up and laugh more, you know?” His teasing tone barely hid the layer of well-worn concern, but he knew that expressly stating he thought his two confidants were too serious and needed to rest would just get his concern brushed off, so instead, he tried to keep the topic lighthearted.
“The world would end if Xiao-er ever sounded like you,” Zhongli mused, flipping the page of his book, ignoring Venti’s squirming and shifting with the same endless patience he had for the past two thousand years. “But I do agree that he could do with some ‘lightening up’, as you put it. Maybe our dear traveler will be able to keep helping with that.”
Venti summoned a burst of anemo power to ruffle the pages of Zhongli’s book, a mischievous smile on his lips, before he responded. “I think they’ve done an impressive job so far, but I wish it would go faster. And yes, before you snark at me, I know that we’ve helped him a lot already. Something something it’s harder for him to listen to the two of us because of our position of power over him, something something he needs to have a friend who he can consider to be on his level.”
Zhongli let out a puff of air, fixing his book pages and holding them down more firmly to make sure that the other couldn’t mess with them again, a soft murmur of “menace” escaping him before he responded to Venti’s words. “You got the important parts, at least.” He said, eyes sparkling with amusement. “Here. If you want to help him so much, up you get.” The ex-Archon stood up abruptly, dropping the smaller man onto the ground without a chance to prepare. “Go bother him instead, and bring the traveler with you.”
“You’re so meeeeean, Zhongli,” whined the anemo user, now sprawled on the grass with a pout firmly affixed to his face. “I don’t want to hang out with you anymore anyways.” He grumped, sticking his tongue out at the other’s amused laughter and leaving in a swirl of anemo energy.