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”Welcome to my humble abode!” Lumine announced as she spread her arms wide. ”I know it still doesn’t look like much, but trust me, there’s plenty of room in here.” She gestured for Xiao to follow her as she started towards the mansion located in the middle of the teapot realm. Not wanting to disappoint her, he strode along and fell in step with her.
”You do realize the adepti don’t require accommodations like mortals. We have no need for sleep or—”
”Oh nonsense! Everyone needs a place to rest, adeptus or not,” she huffs lightheartedly. ”Besides, I’ve offered many of my friends a place here from all over Teyvat.”
”Yeah! Especially the ones who don’t have a proper house or the mora for one!” Paimon added while floating next to Lumine. Xiao didn’t need to see the glare she sent towards her flying companion because she hastily added ”N-not to say that you don’t. Have a house. Or mora. O-or anything like that. Paimon was talking about some other people somewhere else. Yeah.”
Xiao shook his head. ”No need to ramble, I understand. And I accept your offer, Lumine. Even if it’s redundant for a being like me, I see that this is a friendly gesture. So, thank you for allowing me to stay here.”
The traveler’s smile lit up her whole face. ”I’m glad to hear that! I have plenty of extra space here so I’m happy to utilize it in a way that benefits a lot more people than just me and Paimon. Come on, let me show you around and I’ll take you to your room.”
~~~~~
The house was clean and nicely decorated on the inside. Artifacts and souvenirs were scattered around every available surface area, presumably collected from their adventures all over Teyvat. Lumine led Xiao towards a door at the end of a corridor. They had passed a couple of others and Lumine had pointed out whom those rooms belonged to. As they reached the end of the hallway, Lumine turned to Xiao.
”So um, you know how I said there was plenty of space”, she started with an air of sheepishness. ”Well, I had to make some arrangements to actually fit everyone into the house.”
”Arrangements?” Xiao didn’t like where this was going.
”Yeah… And I know you’re not a big people person, but trust me, I think this will be very good for you.”
Xiao sighed. ”Just get to the point, Lumine.”
”Well, you have a roommate! But don’t worry, don’t worry, it’s someone you know quite well. So yup, there’s that and enjoy your stay!” she opened the door to the room — to Xiao’s supposed room — and practically pushed him inside. Xiao didn’t even have the time to react when the door was already shut in his face and he could hear Lumine’s singsong ”Have fun!~” through the door.
Struggling to catch up with what just happened Xiao startled as he heard a familiar voice coming from the other side of the room.
”Xiao?”
~~~~~
”But why would you lock Xiao in there with him of all people? Paimon is 99% certain that they won’t get along, let alone be okay sharing a room,” the little pixie questioned Lumine as she strode along the corridors towards the kitchen.
”Oh, trust me. They get along really well. They just need an extra push to the right direction is all.”
~~~~~
”Xiao? Is that you?”
Xiao slowly turned to face the other person standing on the opposite side of the relatively small bedroom. The one person Xiao would’ve recognized anywhere, anytime. The one person Xiao wished to spend all his time with but also wanted to stay as far away from as possible, due to some… unacknowledged feelings he may or may not have harbored. The one person — Xiao belatedly realized — whom he was going to share a room with.
”L-Lord Barbatos?”
Sparkling blue green eyes blinked back at him. A hint of amazement danced across his features. (That couldn’t be because it was Xiao who walked in through the door, right?) The amazement quickly gave way to fond exasperation as the bard sighed. ”How many times do I have to tell you? It’s Venti. Ve-n-ti. ”
Bar- Venti strode across the room in a few bouncy steps and came to a stop before Xiao. A warm smile grazing his lips. ”I’m glad to see you. Lumine did mention that I would have some company for a while, but I never would’ve guessed it would be you! How did she even manage to convince you to come stay here? And what about your room at Wangshu Inn?”
The bard clearly had a bunch of questions, as did Xiao, but he decided to tackle the easiest one first. ”Wangshu has been experiencing a surge in customers recently due to the upcoming Lantern Rite, so I offered up my room for Verr Goldet to rent out. She tried to decline but even she couldn’t argue that they really needed the extra space. Lumine overheard this conversation and was very adamant about offering me temporary housing until the quantity of guests dies down again. I tried to turn her down but you know what she’s like…”
Venti chuckled at that. ”Let me guess. She wouldn’t hear a word about your whole ’adepti don’t need rest’ spiel?” He emphasized his point by giving his ”best” no-nonsense adeptus voice impression. He didn’t do a very good job. But before Xiao could point that out he continued ”Because she’s right. Everyone needs a place to rest. Yes, even the adepti. And I know you of all people deserve a safe and comfortable place to lay down your weapon, even for just a moment.”
Xiao looked to the ground, not quite sure how to respond to such words. He decided to steer the focus off of him and instead asked, ”What brings you here then? I would’ve assumed you’d want to stay in Mondstadt?”
”Oh, you see, our dear Traveler so generously offered a place to stay for little ol’ me when she heard I usually spend my nights either at the tavern or in Windrise. And for free, no less! I couldn’t bear the thought of refusing such an enticing offer! Besides, the accommodations here are pretty sweet. Even better than sleeping under the thousand stars, I’d say,” he said with a wink.
That gave Xiao the incentive to actually look around the room properly for the first time. It did in fact look ”pretty sweet” as Venti had put it. An ornate dresser topped with more memorabilia was standing against one of the walls while the opposite wall was lined with a large bookshelf filled to the brim with all different kinds of books. A beautiful vase with a flower arrangement was sitting in the corner. Most of the floor was taken over by a luscious fuzzy carpet that no doubt had cost quite a fortune. And in the middle, right under the large window was the bed.
A bed. One singular bed.
The thing was, the queen sized bed did look very inviting indeed, with its plush emerald duvet and fluffy throw pillows scattered haphazardly on top. The problem however, was that there were two people sharing this room now. And Xiao did not have the mental fortitude to even consider an option where he and Venti would be sharing the bed. Not because he would be opposed or would not enjoy it, no. He feared he would enjoy it way too much.
”Um…” Xiao started elegantly, his eyes still locked onto the piece of furniture causing him this inner turmoil. ”Venti… What are we going to do about that?”
The other tilted his head in confusion and turned around to see what had captured Xiao’s attention. He then let out an understanding ’ohh’ as he nodded. ”Yeah, Lumine said she couldn’t fit another bed in here. She mentioned something about a ’load limit’ or something like that, I didn’t really get it. But, that’s what we have to work with for now,” Venti shrugged as if the situation didn’t bother him in the least. ”Don’t worry, I’m not a very rowdy sleeper. I haven’t fallen off of the tree in Windrise in quite some time so you don’t have to worry about getting accidentally elbowed in the face. And it’s a relatively large bed; There’s plenty of room for the both of us,” he said cheerfully. Then with a quieter voice he added, ”Of course, if you are uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a bed with me, we can always figure out something else.”
Xiao didn’t like the way Venti seemed to curl in on himself, even if it was a barely noticeable switch in his demeanor. Xiao needed to assure Venti (and himself) that this would be fine and that he would be fine sharing a bed with the Archon and everything would be totally fine. Xiao just needed to fool himself first and Venti would be none the wiser to Xiao’s inner conflict about the situation.
”No, no. It’s fine. I was just surprised, that’s all. I’m sure we’ll fit and I’ll do my best to not disturb you in any way, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
This seemed to placate the bard as his usual smile was back. ”I’m sure you wouldn’t be able to disturb me even if you tried.”
Xiao didn’t have the time to decipher what he meant by that when with a small giggle Venti had already bounded past him and opened the door. ”Come on. I’m sure Lumine has finished cooking dinner and it would be quite rude to make her wait.” And with that he was out the door.
Heaving a sigh, Xiao collected himself and turned around to follow Venti. Sharing a room with him wasn’t optimal but he’ll manage. Xiao had centuries of experience in suppressing his karmic debt, how different could this be?
This couldn’t be too bad, right?
~~~~~
This was, indeed, very bad.
Dinner had gone smoothly. A few others had also joined the table, people that Xiao did not recognize. Venti had chatted away with everyone while Xiao had focused on his plate of almond tofu Lumine had generously cooked for him.
The problem wasn’t with the dinner, not at all. It was the fact that now Xiao had to face the inevitability of actually sharing a bed with the Anemo Archon.
And at the moment, the aforementioned Anemo Archon was stripping himself and carelessly tossing his outer layers on a chair in the corner. The green cape and shorts were teetering on the edge, threatening to spill onto the floor. Xiao tried his hardest to focus on the discarded articles of clothing instead of Venti, who was standing in front of him with his back turned, fiddling with his corset strings and wearing nothing else but his frilly shirt and white tights. Tights that hugged his figure just right, really accentuating his plush—
Xiao shook his head and felt the heat on his cheeks get even worse. It seemed Venti took notice of this because he looked over his shoulder and asked, ”Are you okay, Xiao? You look a little red in the face.” His expression was innocent enough but he couldn’t hide the mischievous sparkle in his eyes. That little minx knew exactly what he was doing.
Xiao felt like he had swallowed the entire Sumeru desert since his mouth was so dry. He croaked, ”I… I’m fine…” when it was clear that he was, in fact, not fine.
Venti only gave a non committal hum and tossed his corset aside. After gaining freedom from his corset, Venti glanced back at Xiao and did a very obvious sweep over his figure with his eyes. ”Come now, you can’t sleep with all of those accessories on. And you’ll get too hot if you’re wearing that much.”
He then turned around and with a few steps crowded into Xiao’s personal space. He reached for his necklace and slipped it from his neck, carefully placing it on the dresser next to him. ”Trust me, it gets quite warm in here so it’s better to wear as little as possible to bed. I sometimes sleep completely nude, but I figured I’d spare you. For now.” Venti had the gall to poke his tongue out and give a small giggle.
Xiao’s brain was still trying to catch up with everything that was happening. Venti’s hands were back on him, this time sliding up his abdomen and chest. ”At least you should really lose the shirt. And not even just because of the warmth,” he mumbled with half-lidded eyes, clearly enjoying torturing the poor adeptus who was completely frozen in place. Xiao tried to say something but only managed to uselessly open and close his mouth.
”Can you help me with mine? All these ruffles are inconvenient when you’re trying to sleep so better take the shirt completely off,” Venti blinked up at Xiao, trying his best to act innocent, and failing fabulously, because they both knew Venti was doing this on purpose to Xiao. Venti trailed his hands down the other’s arms and guided Xiao’s hands to his slim waist, right at the hem of his shirt. ”Come on. Don’t be shy now, Alatus.”
That got Xiao to finally break from his trance and he carefully dipped his hands under Venti’s shirt and started to hike it up. Venti raised his arms and with an air of reverence Xiao peeled the shirt fully off of him. As the garment unceremoniously dropped to the floor Venti’s eyes were back on Xiao, filled with an emotion Xiao couldn’t quite place. He took a step closer and breathed out, ”Now it’s my turn. Can I?”
Xiao could only nod, entranced by the god who was now running his fingers up Xiao’s sides, determined to discard the offending piece of clothing. As Venti succeeded in his mission, he let his eyes shamelessly trail all over the yaksha’s bare chest. Xiao now realized what that emotion was he had noticed before. Hunger. Venti was burning with hunger, and if Xiao was honest with himself, he was clearly in the same boat.
”Xiao…”
Xiao locked eyes with Venti, a clear question burning in his eyes. Xiao could only blink, waiting for the other to continue.
Venti leaned in closer and whispered in his ear.
”Can I kiss you?”
Xiao let out an involuntary shiver at that. Not only did the puff of air tickle the side of his neck, but Venti’s simple question was like it was ripped out straight from Xiao’s own dreams. He had never even dared to hope that those dreams could one day become a reality. That set a fire ablaze in his core that he couldn’t ignore any longer.
”Yes. Please.”
~~~~~
Xiao woke up to the sunrays filtering through the window, playing on his face. He felt… good. Contented. A rather rare occurrence for him. There was a comfortable warm weight against his chest. Xiao slowly opened his eyes and saw the mop of dark hair and teal strands splayed against his bare chest. Venti had his arms wrapped around Xiao’s middle and he had hooked his ankle around the other’s. He was still snoozing away, his breath coming out in slow, relaxed puffs.
Xiao still had a hard time believing what had occurred last night. He would’ve never imagined in his wildest dreams that by accepting Lumine’s offer to stay at the teapot, he would also get to have Venti like this. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to Celestia, because he just felt so lucky. He could get used to mornings like these. Just laying in bed with Venti without any rush or obligations. A moment to breathe freely. He glanced back down at the sleeping bard and with a quiet smile, placed a soft kiss on the crown of his head.
It was at that moment Venti stirred in Xiao’s hold. He let out a yawn that scrunched up his nose (which Xiao thought it was illegally adorable) and slowly blinked his eyes open. As he gathered his bearings, Venti turned his head and rested his chin on Xiao’s chest, eyes locking with his.
With a beautiful smile he greeted, ”Good morning, dearest.”
Xiao couldn’t help the heat rising to his cheeks at the pet name, which in turn elicited a chuckle from Venti. Deciding to ignore any embarrassment, Xiao slid his hand under Venti’s chin and pulled him into a slow kiss. This earned him a surprised gasp from the bard, which Xiao took as a win. It took no time at all for Venti to relax and melt into the kiss. When air was becoming scarce, Xiao broke the kiss but didn’t back away from Venti’s lips. ”Good morning, beautiful,” he mumbled against those soft lips, which he felt curling into a smile. Venti gave him a small peck before backing away and just looking into Xiao’s eyes. His gaze was filled with so many emotions. Xiao wanted to eventually learn to recognize them all.
Their quiet moment got interrupted, when the door to their room suddenly opened. Lumine poked her head in with a smug grin on her face. Even if their position wasn’t so… incriminating, she seemed like she knew what was going on anyway. To be fair, there aren’t many conclusions one can come to when two people are practically laying on top of each other half naked in bed. Xiao wished a void would open up underneath him and swallow him whole so he wouldn’t have to face Lumine and her all too knowing gaze right now.
”I hope you had a… pleasant night,” she said with a raised eyebrow and a way too satisfied smirk.
Venti didn’t care how obvious they were being. He lifted himself on his elbows and with a matching grin answered, ”Oh, very much so. This arrangement worked incredibly well, so thank you~.”
”Always happy to help!” She gave Venti a wink and as she started to turn away, she said, ”Breakfast is almost ready, but no rush. Take your time and come eat whenever you two are ready.”
”Will do!”
Xiao covered his face with his free arm. He felt like he had been played by the two. Venti noticed this and giggled. A soft kiss was pressed against his hand and when Xiao peeked his other eye from under his arm he was faced with the god’s sparkling eyes. ”Should we go eat or do you wanna cuddle some more? Or maybe something else~?”
”Let’s stay in here for a moment longer.” Xiao wrapped his arms tightly around Venti and pulled him as close as possible. Venti only chuckled and left lingering kisses on his collarbone trailing upwards.
Even if he had been fooled, considering the night Xiao had had and the fact that Venti was warm and pliable in his arms, he couldn’t be too mad. He was in fact quite glad he had taken up Lumine’s offer, because now he could just spend the morning with Venti, and hopefully many more in the future.