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Zhongli didn't react to the feeling of a light weight suddenly leaning onto his shoulder. He could tell that it was Venti already, the other never really attempting to hide his presence from him and that meant that he could always tell when he was there. He was all but hanging off him and he let out a quiet sigh, leaning back onto him. Venti huffed, but didn't seem even a little upset as Zhongli continued to focus on his reading. He held back a smile and knew that the other was doing everything in his power not to bother him and cause him to be annoyed.
Zhongli paused as he finished reading the paragraph he was on and turned his head to meet the other's eyes.
"Is there a particular reason you're here or did you simply come to bother me?" Zhongli questioned.
"Nothing in particular," Venti admitted, "But I haven't seen you in a while, so I figured that I'd come and bother you for a while."
Zhongli sighed at that, having expected it. He didn't seem even slightly ashamed that he had admitted to being there just to bother him. Though Zhongli didn't expect him to be giving him a reason as to why he was there. He just sighed and closed his book and set it to the side. As soon as he did he wasn't surprised to find Venti flopped straight over his shoulder and onto his lap. He smiled down at him, seeing that the other was grinning at him widely.
Zhongli had missed him, even if he thought he was being annoying as well. He knew exactly what he was up to and he didn't want to give in so easily, but there was also no harm in it. Venti's playfulness was never something bad. It was always just... him being him. Somewhere between playful and not quite malicious. Zhongli found himself leaning in to give him a short kiss, which only had him grinning and Zhongli wondered if he should have at least tried to pretend to be annoyed with him. Except he wasn't annoyed at the moment.
Venti also seemed quite sober, which was rare enough that Zhongli was willing to put off his reading for a while to make conversation with him. Venti was quick to sit up after that and while he moved to sit next to him, easily finding space there to get comfortable and he found himself holding back a grin as he leaned into him and blinked up at him with the most absurdly fake innocent look that he could muster. He sighed, reaching down to cup his face for a moment and watched his eyes light up. He shook his head in amusement and then he tried to figure out what he was going to say.
"What did you do?" Zhongli settled on, giving him a look that he hoped was as unamused as he knew he'd need to look for that question.
The mock gasp nearly forced him to smile anyway, shaking his head at him and giving him a look in hopes that he would give up the pretense of having done absolutely nothing wrong. Though he supposed that he might have actually done nothing wrong, but it seemed unlikely. He hadn't known the other for literally thousands of years just to believe him when he said that. He was just as likely to have done nothing wrong as he was to have destroyed something.
"Oh, so if you've done nothing wrong then I won't hear a word about something having happened right before you appeared to throw yourself over my lap?" Zhongli said, watching as Venti blinked at him with wide eyes.
"Of course not! I just came here to see my husband. Is that a crime?" Venti said, placing a hand on his chest in mock offense, "I think that you're just too suspicious of me."
Zhongli raised a brow and shook his head, staring at him and he let out a slow breath. He knew that he was up to something, that much was clear but now he was having a couple of doubts that it was because he had done something that he shouldn't have done. It was completely possible that he was just overthinking it because he was so used to the other causing mischief when he was alone that he assumed that he was going to do something when he wasn't there to keep an eye on him.
"Alright then," Zhongli said, giving him another soft kiss, "I'm happy to see you. I of course missed you too."
Venti smiled brightly at that and he found himself chuckling and he let out a quiet murmur of happiness at the way he lit up immediately at the words. He sighed and found himself not even thinking that he should make him admit to whatever he was doing. If nothing else Venti was going to be good company for a while. He found himself pulling his book back to another mock offended noise, but he started to read out loud instead. Venti quieted at that, clearly realizing that it was just to fill the silence. Even though he was reading, Zhongli wasn't actually really focused on what was on the page. It was more about spending time with his husband while they weren't being bothered.
It was rare that he wasn't busy and he wanted to know that the other was aware that he wanted to give him attention. He hadn't had the chance in a while and Venti was humming quietly as he read. The familiar sound was sweet and he found that he had stopped reading after a while again. Just listening to him as he sang quietly, eyes closed and leaning against him. It was hard to think of anything else when he had all of his attention shifted onto Venti.
He was sure that there was probably someone looking for him to answer some question, but it wasn't like it couldn't wait. Zhongli was no longer in charge of everything that happened, so he doubted that anyone was going to come and bother him. Unless it was for something much more mundane, which meant that he could easily brush it off for a few hours so that he could focus on the other instead. He breathed out quietly, face tucked against his hair and he realized that Venti wasn't doing anything at all.
Zhongli wondered how long it had been since he'd just been able to hold Venti like that. It wasn't like he never got to see him, but it was rarely without something needing to be done. Whether Venti was actually having to deal with a crisis in Mondstadt or Liyue suddenly needing his attention on something again. Either way, he knew that he hadn't gotten just to sit quietly with his husband and hold him in probably hundreds of years. Venti was still an active archon by all accounts as well, so it wasn't like he could expect the other to always be there. Even if he didn't deal with all of their problems directly like Zhongli used to, he knew that the other was always watching and listening. Which made him smile a little as he knew how some people doubted his presence.
Except Venti cared deeply about others, even if he was capable of great violence, he was also one of the gentler gods. He rarely had reason to get truly violent with someone and if he did then he had his reasons and would usually do something that caused them to realize before things went truly bad.
He found himself thinking about the fact that he hadn't heard about anything in Mondstadt in a while either and softened a little as he realized that Venti had made sure not to let him worry about him either. Always trying to make life a little more fun and relaxing. Giving Zhongli freedom that he knew that he rarely had before.
"You know, you're actually quite ridiculous," Zhongli informed the younger.
"I didn't even do anything!" Venti said, stopping his humming immediately, "I was literally just laying on you humming, what could I have done to be called ridiculous?"
"You're trying not to make me worry about Mondstadt," Zhongli said, only mildly accusing.
Venti grumbled something for a few seconds before he sighed, "Well, to be fair there is the ever present situation of the Fatui, but they're not even doing anything. Just sticking around when they're not welcome. Otherwise, Mondstadt is doing fine. Nothing to even think about that's causing problems."
Zhongli hummed at that, smiling still as he realized that he hadn't denied that he was avoiding worrying him. Zhongli was proud that he didn't need help, he seldom did. When he did he wasn't too proud to ask for it, but that didn't mean that he wasn't doing things that he shouldn't. It just meant that he knew when he actually needed help. When Zhongli had to step in or he asked advice from someone who he thought would be able to help. It was nice to think that maybe Mondstadt wouldn't have problems anymore. Or at least ones that Zhongli didn't have to help him with.
"Good," He said, "The Fatui will lose interest eventually. Then they'll leave and Mondstadt will return to normal. Nothing there to bother you or your people."
Venti laughed quietly at that, reaching for his hand and lacing their fingers together. He found himself squeezing his hand and he let out a soft, pleased noise. Just sitting there and realizing that he hadn't felt that relaxed in a while. Not since one of the few times they'd managed to slip away without someone following them to ask Zhongli to do something. Which was why he hadn't thought about it in a while. Now there was no one to disturb them. Venti would know if Mondstadt needed him truly and usually his people were capable of doing things on their own.
Which meant that Zhongli got to steal his husband's attention to himself for a while. He grinned and turned down to kiss him again, grateful that he finally had time to himself. Not needing to think about what someone else might need or want from him. Just him and Venti and there was nothing else to be said about it.