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In the dead of night, the full moon shone over Liyue. It was a rare, peaceful night for Xiao. He sat at the edge of the Wangshu Inn’s small port, gently swinging his legs as his shoes skimmed the water.
Xiao watched as the dim light from the inn reflected on the shimmering waters. He felt the breeze on his back pick up, and a glow of light behind him brought forth a certain bard. Without even turning his head, Xiao called out to him.
“Lord Barbatos?”
Venti huffed at the formality as he unceremoniously plopped beside the adeptus.
“A little birdie told me you were relaxing today! Has the sky fallen down yet?” Venti asked as he took out some wine. Without giving the adeptus time to answer, he took a swig of wine from the bottle and then pushed it into Xiao’s hands.
“I’m not drinking,” he replied, setting the bottle to the side. “What do you want?”
Venti playfully gave him a nudge with his elbow, giggling.
“To spend time with you, silly!” He downed another gulp of wine, swinging his legs in sync with Xiao.
The two fell into a comfortable silence, only disturbed by the thump of the wine bottle hitting the wood as a tipsy Venti drank more and more. The adeptus wondered if the bottle was secretly endless, given how much alcohol the bard was downing.
As Venti finally finished his bottle, he turned to Xiao. His glassy emerald eyes meet the striking amber of the adeptus.
“D’ya ever think about… leaving?”
The question caught Xiao off guard, but he answered it anyway. “Leaving Liyue? I cannot. You know this.”
Venti giggled in his drunken stupor. “I said think, not can! Don’t you dream of leaving it all behind and being free?”
“I am free,” Xiao cut in promptly, “and I have no use for dreaming.”
Xiao has dreamed. He dreamed of endless fields with flowers and the heavenly sound of a flute all around him. When his karmic debt was on the verge of consuming him, the adeptus needed only to recall the melody heard at Dihua Marsh to survive. He dreamed of dancing, flitting through the endless flower fields in his eternal dream. Occasionally, he dreamed of dancing with someone. Someone who happened to be completely intoxicated right now, leaning against him.
When did Venti get so close to me?
“Well, I think you should… hic… let yourself dream. It won’t hurt,” Venti drawled. He traces the calm waters with the tip of his shoe, watching the ripple distort the stars above him.
Xiao wanted to say something. He wanted to tell Venti of his guilty indulgence in dreams, and he wanted Venti’s eyes to shine, knowing he was right. Yet the adeptus sat in silence, absorbing every sensation of the moment. The breeze he felt on the back of his neck, the gentle pressure of Venti leaning against him, and the way the archon’s hair tickled his neck.
Venti snored, snapping Xiao out of his trance. He mentally notes that Venti can sleep anywhere when he’s drunk enough and scoops him into his arms without a second thought.
He could quickly teleport to the room in Wangshu Inn reserved for him, but he wanted to hold him a little longer didn’t want to risk disturbing Venti’s sleep. He trudged up the stairs to the inn, while Venti slept soundly in his arms. When he entered, Verr Goldet suddenly made herself busy, letting Xiao pass without fear of interruption.
Xiao pushed the door open with his shoulder and carried Venti to his unused bed. Placing Venti down, he gently drapes a blanket over him.
In the back of his mind, Xiao wondered what the bard dreamt of. Were his thoughts full of vivid scenes bursting with happiness, or were they more relaxed? Did he dream of endless music, was that his eternal dream? Who could be in his dreams? Mortal friends, or lovers long lost to time?
The room was silent. He could only hear gentle breathing.
Xiao resisted the temptation of fulfilling his curiosity.
He wouldn’t stay. He refused to risk his karma tainting the dreams of someone precious to him.