Chapter Text
Another late and overly chaotic night at Angel's Share, and yet just a normal night for Diluc.
You'd think that by the fourth hour of filling in for his sick employees, he'd be sighing loud enough for the guests to finish up their drinks faster, but it'd been six hours already and he didn't complain once.
It'd definitely be harder to hang around drunkards had it not been for a wonderful distraction that was currently downing a beer at the table closest to Diluc. Venti, being rambunctious as ever, didn't seem to notice the looks he'd been getting from Diluc. Or, maybe he did. Despite being a drunkard, he's still an archon, so don't hold him to anything.
Whatever the truth was, the point is that Diluc was finally getting comfortable with the bard, despite the alcoholic tendencies which he would much rather avoid than be exposed to. Then again, it's his job, so between you and me, I don't know what he was expecting out of it.
"Do you always water down these drinks so much? I drank, like, ten and I'm not even tipsy!" A familiar voice yelled out, Diluc sighed for the first time tonight. He turned to face Venti.
"I'm almost certain that is because you have a high alcohol tolerance and not because of my lackluster drinks," Diluc responded, crossing his arms in defense.
"Are you sure?" Venti teased, waving the glass around.
"Yes. When have I not been?" Diluc reached out and Venti handed him the empty glass. Truth be told, he was not planning on refilling it.
"Fair enough, I suppose!" Venti shrugged. "Still, I think you need to take some drink-making lessons. I could be your mentor!" He offered.
"No, thank you. I'd rather keep my brain cells intact." Diluc placed the glass inside the sink. "And my head screwed on."
"Boring..."
Even with the constant eyes on him, Diluc managed to wait out the leave of the other customers who were still drinking away whatever sorrows they had built up in the bar. As the few remaining patrons waved goodbye, Diluc turned to face the remaining customer, Venti.
"I assume you aren't planning on leaving any time soon?" Diluc let down his wine red hair which was tied neatly in a high ponytail. "It's your usual go-to. Annoying me beyond comprehension, I mean."
Venti scoffed at his statement, but it came out with no pent up anger attached to it. "You make it sound like I'm your biggest worry."
"If by 'biggest worry' you mean 'biggest nuisance ', then yes, it was supposed to sound like that." Diluc grabbed the already wet towel he used to clean the counter and began scrubbing down the tables that were once occupied by customers. Venti didn't bother helping, of course.
"I'm hurt." He feigned a look of sorrow, but couldn't help the giggle that dared to leave his lips.
"So," Diluc blew a strand of his loose hair out of his face, "Why do you always stay after hours at Angel's Share anyway? I don't doubt it would be better if you went home." Diluc reasoned, painfully unaware of the fact that Venti doesn't have a home.
Venti winced, not in pain but in an awkward squeal. "Ooh. About that."
Diluc stopped cleaning, practically freezing in place before looking up to meet Venti's gaze. "Don't tell me..."
When Diluc was met by an awkward silence, his suspicions were confirmed. "How?" He straightened his back. "How do you, an archon that's lived for centuries, have the time and patience to go to a bar every night but not the time and patience to make some mora and buy a home?"
His judgemental tone seemed to rub Venti the wrong way because he got a bit defensive. "Easy there! It's not as simple as you think it is. Besides, I just.. never had the skills for that. Being a bard is taxing, you know!"
Diluc sighed, dropping the towel onto the poorly wiped table before walking towards the seat next to Venti. He sat down and tried to reason. "You could've said something. I'm not the richest man in Teyvat, but I could've helped you. The silence doesn't exactly help your cause."
"I know that." Venti looked away in shame. "Can you imagine how I feel?"
Pretty bad, Diluc would guess.
Diluc had never been great with comforting, but he tried his best for the bard. "If you ever need a helping hand, just tell me. It's better to deal with things with company rather than dealing with them by yourself."
Venti chuckled sadly, almost dismissing his gesture. "Bold coming from you."
"I'm serious. I want to help you." Diluc reaffirmed.
"So you'd give me more wine?" Venti raised his eyebrows.
"Don't push it." Diluc's eyes narrowed.
"Aw man!"
Even though the common person would assume Venti had made up his sob story just to have a reason to get more freebies, Diluc thought otherwise. Venti had always been secretive in a way. Sure, his thoughts were out and about and never truly hidden, but something about him seemed like he was always hiding his true emotions.
Though a smile can hide even the darkest of things, Diluc isn't the easiest man to fool with facades.
"Venti, you do know you can always be honest with me, correct?" He asked after a moment of silence between the two. "I'm not as judgemental as you may think."
It must've sounded like a joke to Venti. "Did you hit your head?"
"No."
"Oh, wow. Assertive. Okay, I believe you." Venti ducked his head, partly due to the vulnerability making him feel shy and partly due to the atmosphere being quiet and unlike the usual busy tavern he had gotten used to.
"Good. I'm not one for making jokes like that." Diluc stated, as if it wasn't already obvious.
"I could've guessed..." Venti mumbled, but it was quiet enough in the tavern that Diluc was able to hear it. Venti noticed his observation. "No offense."
"None taken." Diluc rubbed the back of his neck, the awkward silence filling the air once more. Whatever living situation Venti was in had to be bad if this is what he thinks is a better scenario to live out.
After a moment of deafening silence, Diluc decided to place an offer on the table. "Well, if you're up to it, I wouldn't mind having a drink with you."
If Venti was sipping on water, he probably would've spat it out his mouth. "Did you just offer me a drink? I don't know you anymore."
"Is it that surprising that I want to share a drink with my friend?" Diluc asked, pretending as if it doesn't go against everything he stands for.
"Don't you hate alcohol?" Venti threw a question back at him, avoiding giving a straight answer.
"I never said it would be an alcoholic beverage." Diluc retorts, actively skirting around the fact that he definitely did imply that it would be an alcoholic beverage.
Venti groaned. "Ugh. You're giving me a brain aneurysm."
"And you need to stop drinking so much alcohol. I'm surprised your body is still functioning after all the poison you've consumed." Diluc said, scolding him like he was a child, which he most certainly wasn't, and that only made it more humiliating for Venti.
"You- I'm an Archon, dummy. I'm ninety-nine procent sure that it doesn't work like that for me." Venti crossed his arms in defense.
"I seriously doubt that. And, either way, you shouldn't be risking the off chance that it is how that works." Diluc had a point and Venti knew it, it was obvious by the way he was starting to slowly run out of arguments.
"Fine. What do you suggest I drink then?" Venti caved, finally letting Diluc's brain have a rest from the constant back and forth.
"Pick whichever one you want. It's on the house." Diluc grabbed a menu from the neighboring table, the one that still had drinks spilled over it. He handed the menu to Venti, who skimmed through it like he hadn't read it a hundred times over to prepare for this moment if it ever came.
"Hm. Whichever one you like, I'll go with." Venti handed the menu back to Diluc, but he wasn't having it.
"No, Venti. I said pick whichever YOU want. I think it's time you started making decisions for yourself." Diluc scolded, but in a gentle way, not letting his voice raise one bit.
"Oh, then..." Venti's eyes scanned the rows of non-alcoholic beverages before landing on one particular drink. "Raspberry juice sounds nice."
Diluc nodded before returning behind the counter. "One raspberry juice coming right up."
Venti had tried almost every non alcoholic beverage there was to offer, he had been around for centuries already and it wasn't much of a problem for him, but something about being offered one just struck him differently. He was used to people buying drinks for him, of course. As lonely as he may have been his whole life, people don't usually let him dehydrate, but Diluc's insistence was different from what Venti was used to.
He wasn't pushing Venti to drink more, in fact, he was doing the exact opposite of that.
That's a refreshing feeling, though Venti could never admit it.
The silence suddenly started becoming less awkward and much more comfortable than was necessary at the time. Venti would take sips of his juice and Diluc would chug on water like a loser. Even with the constant reminder that he'll have to leave and be faced with reality once more, Venti felt safe in the tavern, safe with Diluc, even when nobody else was around to pressure him into feeling so.
A refreshing feeling indeed, maybe he should hold Diluc to his offers more often.