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Sen sat under the tree, absentmindedly running his fingers through Venti's hair as he laid in his lap, listening to his latest tall tale. He had finally found time away from everything. The guild, its endless list of commissions, and countless other people who always wanted him to help them with one thing or another. The rush of everyday life made it difficult to truly appreciate what he had in life.
"And that's how I got banned from The Angel's Share for a month! But, of course, Diluc didn't even have anything to do with it, isn't that wild?" the bard concluded.
Sometimes, he could hardly believe this was his reality. It seemed like it was only yesterday he had been thrust upon this world, knighted as a hero before he knew it, and now, the head patron god of the city he saved lay in his lap. Soft blue locks spilled against his clothes, teal eyes dancing as his delicate hands moved to illustrate his tale.
He glanced back down to face his lover, who gave him a playfully annoyed look.
"Were you even listening?"
There was a pause. Sen was not listening at all. He quickly thought of a way to soften the blow of his confession before Sen leaned forward to place a kiss against Venti's forehead and answered. "I was actually thinking something else entirely."
Venti's eyes widened in surprise, but then they narrowed mischievously.
"oh really? What was it?"
Sen was about to answer, but he stopped. No. Actually, this was a bad idea.
Venti sat up, a hand going to cup his lover's cheek. "Come on~ tell me! please?"
"I don't know, it feels kind of silly now that I'm thinking about saying it out loud-" he answered honestly, hoping it would get him off the hook. No such luck.
"you can't ignore my stories and tease me about what you were distracted by to end up not telling me about it! That's not fair~ come on. It can't be too bad."
"It's really sappy-"
Unfortunately, that made Venti seem even more interested.
"come on! I'm a bard, and I specialize in sappy. How bad could it be?"
By this point, Sen's face was flushed entirely pink. That was it. There was no getting out of this. He released a soft sigh and prepared to submit himself to his fate.
"I just…think you're beautiful. I was listening at first, then I glanced down at you, and…I got distracted."
Venti's eyes widened before narrowing once again.
"oh, you~."
Sen's face went redder.
"Stop you're making it worse-"
"And? what else? what else were you thinking about?" His round eyes sparkled with interest. It was genuinely unfair how adorable he looked while begging to pry into his daydreams.
"That's all, really. Then I just started thinking about how much I love you…."
He trailed off, realizing what he had said. He was pretty sure Venti hadn't ever heard him say those words. Sure. They had been together a while. Venti himself told him that he loved him countless times. But Sen? was never the best at vocalizing how he felt. Sen felt himself start to blush even more when Venti began giggling. He didn't know why he was blushing in the first place. He loved Venti.
"Say it again."
"What?"
That was met with more giggling.
"Tell me you love me again."
"What? Why?"
"C'mon. You just said it. Can't you see how happy this makes me?"
He could. Sure, Venti was always cheerful, grinning ear to ear or giggling mischievously about one thing or another. But this certainly felt different.
"Fine." He glanced up to meet those eyes he could get lost in, doing his best not to do that at this very moment.
"I love you, Venti."
There was a brief moment of silence before-
"Again!"
"Venti-"
There was more giggling.
"Fine, fine, I'll stop"
Sen breathed a soft sigh of relief as he leaned back against the tree, Venti joining him and nestling himself comfortably at his side. He looked content. Sen couldn't help but smile softly at him.
"…I appreciated that you know?" the bard spoke again.
"I always knew you loved me this entire time, and you do a great job of making me feel loved; you really do. But…I don't know. I liked hearing you say it."
Sean paused for a second before speaking. "It's kind of embarrassing to admit, but I think I like saying it…even though, right now, it makes me want to crawl into a hole and never be seen again."
Sean chuckled, and Venti smiled at him lovingly.
"you're so cute, Sen." The bard reached over to brush some stray hairs behind Sen's ear.
He was relieved that the conversation seemed to be moving forward now.
"Here. a reward for indulging me." Venti propped himself up a little before kissing his lips gently.
It lasted for a while, Sen savoring every moment, protesting a bit when the bard pulled away.
"if that's the reward. Then maybe I'll say it more often."
Venti giggled
"I like this arrangement! You'll get all the kisses in the world!"
"Good. Because I love you."
That was met with yet another kiss.
This went on for a while until, finally, Venti pulled away, resting his head against Sen's chest.
"I love you too."
The two of them lay there under the shade, listening to the chirping birds and watching as clouds moved across the sky.
This was real.
This was good.