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Xiao isn't sure when these feelings for his roommate came to be, or when they had gotten so intense that he got scared that Venti would hear his rapid heartbeat if he stood close enough to him. Was it love at first sight? Xiao didn't believe in such a thing, and he was almost definitely sure that it didn't start at the beginning of their friendship.
Xiao is an arts major. He loved to draw and paint, often spending a lot of time in nature and scribbling down something in his sketchbook, or burning an image in his memory until he got home so he could try and recreate it on a canvas. He's been like that since he was a teenager, and perhaps even before that, although he couldn't remember too clearly.
He was ecstatic when he got a scholarship for his dream university, ecstatic about finally getting the chance to turn his passion and talent into a career. He moved into the dorms as soon as possible, as the college itself was a couple of cities away from where he lived. He didn't mind, he actually preferred the independence.
What he forgot about all in all of his rushing and excitement was that he wouldn't he alone in his dorm room, he would have at least one roommate and they'd be together until they graduated. Xiao was a little nervous about the whole ordeal, climbing the stairs to his room with his brand new key in hand. What if they didn't get along? What if this other student liked to party and prevented Xiao from studying or doing his assignments? What if he judged Xiao for his choice of major? He could have been from any other part of the campus, and if Xiao got stuck with a pretentious science student... well, he would just have to endure. What else could he do?
"Oh, hallo!" Were the words Xiao heard upon entering the small room. "Du musst neu sein! I'm Venti, what's your name?" The anxiety within Xiao sparked even more. Venti seemed very... eccentric. He also seemed to be a foreign student. Would they get along at all? He shouldn't judge immediately.
"My name is Xiao. Nice to meet you."
And that's how their friendship started. Venti helped Xiao get settled in, having arrived earlier and already unpacked himself. Xiao gladly accepted his help, and they made some small talk along the way, much to Xiao's dismay. Although he did find out that Venti is a music major, so that eliminated some of Xiao's fear. They were both artists at least, even if they picked different branches.
Venti liked to talk a lot, and at the beginning, that used to annoy Xiao quite a bit. He couldn't focus on his studies, and couldn't concentrate enough to get that one paint brush stroke just the right way, and definitely couldn't fall asleep on time with Venti playing the flute in the bed only a couple of meters away from Xiao's. He frequented the library during that first semester.
However, somewhere in the middle of the second one, Xiao learned to appreciate Venti's talent and like to play instruments at midnight. Nightmares, panic attacks, severe stress, they all plagued Xiao as the subjects got harder and professors more demanding. Hearing that melody from the flute, and what Xiao learned is called a 'lyre' while he was struggling to keep his breathing quiet as to not alert his roommate that something is wrong, was always enough to anchor him. Give him something to hold onto and lull him back into peaceful slumber.
"I heard you play at 3 in the fucking morning. How we didn't get a noise complaint by now, I will never understand," Xiao said as he flipped in the pancake. He was currently making breakfast for both of them. Archons know that Venti would just skip eating two of the three meals just because cooking is a hassle for him.
"Hm, maybe because they don't have anything to complain about, Liebling. Are you saying my playing is bad?" Venti teased as Xiao put his plate in front of him, sitting down at the table. "Habe ich dich geweckt?" He asked with a tinge of guilt behind it.
"No," Xiao had learned some Mondstadtian in the time he's spent with Venti. Impossible not to when the musician spoke half of his sentences in his native language. "I was awake still. Don't worry... I liked your music." Venti giggled at Xiao's confession, take a bite of the pancakes.
"Hehe, then maybe I can compose a song just for you?" And if Xiao went red in the face at that sentence, then he would deny it until the day he is in his grave.
Maybe that's when it started. He certainly didn't go to the library as much, and his grades took a mild hit as he became increasingly distracted with images of his roommate. He began drawing him, painting his portrait in class from pure memory, even went out drinking now and then with Venti. He was mostly the (mostly) sober babysitter, but he wasn't complaining, not when he got to spend more time with Venti.
He began to feel comfortable, and the sound of Venti's voice just rambling about any and every topic was pleasant and something Xiao looked forward to. It was a very unfamiliar feeling to be fully comfortable in someone's presence, and Xiao had a hard time accepting those feeling until the start of their 3rd year.
"You've been acting a little weird, Liebling. Ist alles in Ordnung?" Venti was close, way too close. Sitting on Xiao's bad, their thighs pressed together as Venti leaned in a little closer.
"Yeah," Xiao lied through his teeth, his heartbeat through the roof as (gay) panic filled him. "Don't worry."
"Hm," Venti mused as he grabbed Xiao by the shoulder and gently pushed him down on his bed, moving so that he was on top of him. "Bist du sicher?" Xiao gasped, trying to process the situation he was currently in. He didn't push back against Venti, actually quite enjoying this.
"What are you-?"
"I like you too, Liebchen," Venti whispered in his ear as he pressed a soft kiss to his lips. It took Xiao only a second to get rid of the shock and kiss him back, enjoying the sweetness and the mild taste of alcohol. Ah, so he was dealing with a tipsy Venti, that made much more sense.
"How did you know?" Xiao asked when they pulled away for air, savoring the leftover feeling on his own lips.
"It became obvious when most of your assignments turned into me. I must say, Liebling, I'm flattered." Venti giggled, pressing his lips against Xiao's a couple more times. "And don't worry, it's not the alcohol. I'm sober enough to know exactly what I'm doing."
Xiao was late to his evening class that day.