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"Back then, during the Archon war, when you pointed your bow at me, I felt the wind pick up, get excited. I could almost hear it chant, and the light green of Anemo energy wrapping both around you and your weapon sent a shiver down my spine. I don't know if you noticed at the time." The abyssal energy flowing from the upside down statue in the middle of the big room was oddly calming in this moment.
"Ich bemerkte," Venti whispered back. He used his power to launch himself upward, grabbing onto some stray chains that weren't attached directly to the statue, and hung from them upside down, toying with them and testing his range of motion and just how much he could play around while suspended in the air.
"I watched as your outfit, your hair, your eyes, all lit up bright. As the power bestowed upon you by Celestia itself urged you to finish the job." Xiao looked up at his lover, sitting down on the ground and resigning himself to watching the show Venti was currently putting on, not that he was complaing. "Only a few words from the wind managed to reach my ears and actually register. The most prominent, loudest one being 'do it' over and over again."
Venti only hummed, the tugging on the chains as he shifted his weight around in them creating most of the noise. Xiao knew very well that Venti could hear him and was paying attention, so he didn't press him for answers. "I saw your resolve break," and that statement made Venti stop and look at Xiao, eyebrow raised.
"Wie?" Was all that Venti asked, uncharacteristically quiet. "I only aimed at your for a few seconds." And surely, Venti must have felt those few seconds strech into agonizing minutes, and maybe even an hour. Surely, Venti knew exactly how many thoughts, emotions and feelings he didn't understand or have time to comprehend flashed through his head. Did he think that for Xiao, that moment passed as just that? A moment?
"I saw the flicker in your eye." Xiao looked Venti deeply in the eyes. The calm ocean and serene field in them so much different from the storm and havoc warping around in them back then. "Saw how your own gnosis tried to force you forward, tried to make you let go of that string and just finish it while you had the chance. And when you put the bow down..." Xiao laughed, no particular joy behind it. "I almost collapsed from relief."
"Was versuchst du zu sagen?" Venti stopped his spinning and playing around, looking back down at Xiao as he tried to fully stabilize while only his left leg held him up. How he managed to wrap that chain so perfectly around his leg, Xiao will probably never manage to figure out.
"I felt relief, Venti. That's what I'm trying to say." Xiao layed down on the stone floor, but still kept Venti clearly in his sight. "Before then, I always thought I wanted to die. That death would be mercy upon my soul. But instead, when I was faced with death, when I looked it in the eyes, when I saw that glow... I realised that I so desperately wanted to live."
"Du wolltest nicht sterben," Venti said, returning to his little spins and making Xiao really wonder how he doesn't get dizzy. "You just wanted to experience life. Wanted to see what it was like outside of servitude and endless torture."
"That's right. But you made me realise that. Even if it wasn't your intention in the slightest, you made me want to live, to break free, fight for myself and get a life. And how could Celestia say we're not meant to be?" That last part was mumbled, barely audible. Venti heard nonetheless, a small frown appearing on his face.
"That's why we're rebelling, Liebling. If they won't give us our happy ending, we'll just make one." Xiao smiled at his boyfriend's words, knowing damn well that that's exactly why they were here in the first place. Celestia, as mighty as it may be, has its limits. It resents abyssal magic, can't stand it, so its eyes don't reach into the areas where it's most concentrated.
An Archon and an Adeptus. Celestia strictly prohibited such a relationship. Fate turned against them, forcing them into being on opposite sides of the battle field at almost all times. The world has its balance, you can not mess with the Heavenly Principles, the order of the universe. Only creatures of the same power level may be together, otherwise, even the world will turn the tide around just to crush those who try and reach for someone outside their league, a creature of different origin.
But you can't stop what you don't know about. You can't prevent two lovers from being together if you only turn a blind eye to them, regarding their relationship as nothing more than acquaintances, or at most friends with an interest.
If they could hide from fate itself, fight against the entire world on their own, fool Celestia and escape its watchful eyes; then don't they deserve their happy ending? Don't they deserve to be together without being in constant worry about what next thing will attempt to tear them apart and absolutely shatter them mentally, and perhaps even physically.
"Don't dwell, Liebling," Venti said, louder this time, his tone swiftly returning to the one of the regular bard he presents himself as in Mondstadt. "We know we're perfect for each other. And we have a way to interact like lovers without anything bothering us." But how long will that peace and security last?
Venti sighed, clearly noting his partner's sour mood. He thought for a moment, before his own words from a second ago came back to him. 'Interact like lovers without any bothers'. Venti smiled mischievously, confirming that Xiao was looking directly at him and still paying attention before he said: "You know, Liebling... I think it would be a lot more fun if you were the one in these chains, not me."
Xiao's face reddened immediately as Venti's laughter filled the room, satisfied with the reaction his boyfriend had. Xiao covered his mouth with his hand and muttered:
"You know what? Maybe Celestia is right."