Chapter Text
On most days, the melodious sound of the lyre playing would soothe your nerves and bring you a sense of peace. Today, however, it only serves as a constant reminder that Venti is absolutely not “too busy” to help you collect those crystal cores and is simply choosing to watch you struggle. Seated on a boulder not too far from where you’re standing, he makes an attempt at a melody, but finds that the strings of the lyre need tuning. You try to pay it no mind and begin slowly approaching a crystalfly buzzing around in the grass, but it slips out of your grasp the moment you jump for it. You let out a frustrated sigh, quickly turning to face your friend.
“Can’t you fly or something?” you ask, crossing your arms over your chest.
“Yep! Shame you don’t possess that ability though, or you would have caught that one for sure.” Venti smiles at you, while fiddling with the lyre’s tuning. Not a soul in all of Mondstadt would dare doubt the bond between the two of you, but people may have questions as to why you put up with each other from time to time. The bard absolutely could help you, and it would have been easy for him too, but he would much rather watch you do the work while writing a few poems about it.
“Not everything I do needs to be documented through song. There are other ways you could contribute to all of this.” You gesture around yourself to the field of crystalflies. Venti jumps off from the boulder, and adjusts his grip on the instrument.
“Y’know, there are already so many songs about legends and heroes. I’d personally like to expand my horizons and write about more relatable topics.”
You halfheartedly throw one of the few crystal cores you had collected at him, hitting him in the shoulder. Your throw didn’t pack much of a punch, but you did startle him a bit, which was a funny sight.
“Aw come on! I’ve been providing you with free entertainment all afternoon, and this is how you show your appreciation? How uncivil of you.” Venti pretends to be hurt by your action, but it’s clear from the way he conducts himself that he’s merely messing around to get a laugh out of you. He may not be the most helpful of allies, but he tries his best to keep you motivated and happy. Sadly, your commission to collect crystal cores remained unfinished, and your spirits remained low. You offered him the best smile you could muster, and went on to continue your work. For a moment the bard remained silent, before an idea struck him.
“Fine, I will help you… On one condition, of course.”
You turned to him again, raising an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”
“We make it a game, of course! Whoever catches the most crystalflies before sunset pays the tab at the Angel’s Share-”
“Not in a million years.”
You were quick to answer, and the insulted look on his face as he huffs at your fast reply lures a little laugh out of you.
“Well, alright… How about this,” Venti saunters over to you, picking the crystal core you threw earlier up from the grass.
“The winner simply gets a small favor from the other. Is that better?” He takes your hand and presses the core into your palm. You inspect the crystal core, the faint light still pulsing through the little trinket. The terms were more amicable this time around, but-
“You get to keep your head start, of course.”
“Deal.”
With the addition of the competitive element, your enthusiasm for the commission has been renewed. You know that you’d not only finally get the commission done now (and even have some crystal cores left over by the end of it,) but you also have the chance of winning a favor. What should you ask of Venti if you win? You could ask to borrow his cape, maybe. It looks comfortable. Or, you could ask him to help you with a daily commission tomorrow…
You spring out from your hiding place in the tall grass and snatch a crystalfly as it was about to take off. The wings dissipate, leaving only the little core behind in its wake. You add it to your bag, and start scouting for more in the area. You could spot one you had missed earlier when clearing the area around the Symbol of Mondstadt’s Hero, the grand tree in the middle of Windrise. As you climb over the twisting roots as quietly as you can muster, an especially strong gust of wind blows by. In the blink of an eye the crystalfly is gone, replaced by a very smug bard where the bug once fluttered.
“Hey, that one was mine!” You finally gather yourself at the base of the tree, crossing your arms over your chest. Your protests fell on deaf ears though.
“Catching crystalflies really wasn’t as hard as you made it out to be. Relaxing, even.”
“Well we can’t all be literal gods, you know.”
He chuckles a bit, before taking off to collect more bugs. As he leaps over the trunk of a fallen tree in his way, he turns back to you for a moment.
“Let’s meet at starsnatch cliff when we’re done!”
You give him a thumbs up, as you’re pretty sure he’s too far away to hear you even if you yell.
You’re strolling up the pathway to the very peak of the cliff, counting the number of crystal cores you’ve gathered over and over as you go. The air has gotten a bit cooler than it was earlier in the day, and the sky is glowing with all sorts of bright colors by now. You see the familiar bard already waiting for you up ahead, strumming a tune without a care in the world. As he hears your footsteps, he turns to you and gives you a smile, never once breaking from the melody he’s playing.
You settle down next to him and clutch your bag to your chest. The moment of truth has finally arrived. You watch as the lyre in Venti’s hands vanishes in a swarm of anemo energy, and he fully directs his attention to you.
“You’ve arrived, finally! I was getting bored here on my own.” Venti settles down in front of you.
“How should we do this? Do we go on turns or both at once?” You tilt your head to the side as you assess the cores in your bag. Venti puts his head in his hands and thinks for a second.
“Well, if we both say how many we collected at the same time we won’t have to double-check our piles to prove we’re honest.” You nod, and prepare yourself.
“On three, ok?”
“Alright. One.. Two… three!”
“21!”
“16!”
Ah. You lost, it seems.
Venti cheers and briefly celebrates his victory, as you close your bag of crystal cores shut again. You may have lost, but you can’t pretend that his enthusiasm isn’t contagious. With a little smile, you admit defeat.
“Congratulations, Venti. And thank you for helping me out today, too. I don’t think I’d have gotten this commission done without it, heh…”
“You’re very welcome, but don’t forget that you owe me a favor now!”
“Aw, I was hoping you’d be too distracted to notice.”
The two of you laugh a bit. Defeat aside, you had gotten the task done and all it cost you was whatever that bard decided to do with his favor. Speaking of…
“You’re not getting away that easily, now. I’ve already decided what to ask for.” Venti inches a bit closer to you, taking the crystal core bag from your lap and placing it to the side.
“Oh, what is it then?”
“Close your eyes.”
“Umh.. Is that it?”
“Yep!”
Hesitantly, you oblige. Deprived of vision, you notice how the last rays of sunlight desperately seek to warm your skin before the sun finally tips over the edge of the sea. The soft touch of the winds is much more noticeable now, and you wonder if the winds have always been this gentle at starsnatch cliff. As you sit in anticipation, you can hear Venti shift a bit in front of you, right before a gentle hand cups your cheek and soft lips press against yours.
The moment is over as soon as it started, but you’re left in a state of shock. What just happened?
“Hey, uh, you can open your eyes now if you want.”
You do, and your eyes meet his for what honestly feels like the first time in forever. On his face you can glimpse the hint of a blush, and a smile that most people rarely ever get to see from him. Venti doesn’t often get serious with people, after all.
“Y-you could have just asked, you know…” you stammer, averting your eyes from his surprisingly captivating gaze. “... Just wasted your favor there.” He took your hand in his own, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Nah, I think I spent it well. What a shame I only had one though, I suppose we should catch crystalflies together more often…”