lyre • venti

xi

"what a day." y/n sighed, tired as heck. "you better've had fun."

"why do you use such sour wording? of course, i had a great time!"

"yeah, but my feet didn't, especially my ankle."

"ehe~"

y/n took a breather. as of now, the two sat on a small hill near a playground. it was getting late, so the crowds started to die down.

"i still have extra cotton candy!" venti shared, trying to make a peace offering. "you can have some if you want!"

y/n took a large piece out of spite, to which the bard mumbled a small "hey..." they laughed in response, proceeding to recap the day's events with him.

"i'm sorry we weren't able to see marjorie," y/n suddenly apologized. "she had been on vacation for the last few weeks, and out of the blue her shop space suddenly goes vacant."

that had been their original plan, to trace the origins of the lyre ending up in y/n's world. but, as if she'd knew y/n would come, marjorie had suddenly disappeared without a trace.

the bard waved a floppy hand. "it's fineee. you had no idea she would leave. and the carnival was more fun anyways!"

"venti, you're slurring a little. are you drunk?"

"whaaaat? no, i'm just finee- hic! oops."

y/n frowned. "i didn't give you my credit card just for you to buy alcohol. and how they let you have it in the first place?!"

with a goofy expression, the bard raised a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. "ehe~"

"what is it with you and your eHE," y/n mocked.

"eHE~!" he repeated.

y/n sighed, letting out a small laugh. suddenly, out of nowhere, the bard slumped his head on his friend's shoulder. "venti!? what's wrong?"

the bard experienced a big mood shift, suddenly going from excited and bubbly to sad and wistful. "y/nnn, am i a bad person?"

they were shocked. "no, not at all. you're very fun to be around."

the boy let out a grumble of disbelief. "but up until now, i've been sleeping in your house, taking your food, and spending your money... you even bought me these nice expensive clothes!"

y/n looked down at the sad boy and ruffled his hair reassuringly. "don't worry about it. sure, it's kind of eating up my bank account, but that's what jobs are for! and besides, it's your company and companionship that i'm most thankful for."

they cleared their throat, realizing what they just admitted. "of course, you still owe me! i still need pictures for my photography assignment, and you said you would compensate me once you got your abilities back."

venti, a little more calm, simply looked down with a sad smile. "yeah... to be honest, y/n, this whole time, i've been really worried."

they let out an understanding sigh. "i wish i could do more for you."

the boy shook his head. "i hope mondstadt's doing okay. the fatui-- they know i'm here. remember, we saw that harbinger the other day."

y/n could only nod silently. he paused, and tears pricked the corner of his eyes. "y/n, what if something bad happened to them? i can't be there if there's trouble."

they stayed silent for a moment. "venti, during your time here, you've told me plenty of stories. it sounds like you have many very, very caring and reliable friends who will take care of things for you, who will be there for you! it sounds cheesy as heck, but i'm sure they're holding up just fine."

"besides, i'm sure they're, like, a thousand times stronger than you," they joked.

venti let out a laugh, despite the waterworks going on. he said nothing more, and simply let his worries out while taking in the comfort of his friend, who continued to care for him as they have been.

with y/n's reminder, he knew that he should have more faith in the knights, as well as the four winds who were there for his city. there was one other he was worried about, though, one who didn't have many others to protect them, and it was the person sat right next to him.

...

"thank you, zhongli..." paimon muttered, sadly munching on a small burger. "i'm sorry we wasted your money..."

the others said similar apologies. zhongli only smiled at the small child, though, and pat her on the head. "you're forgiven. it seems like you had a lot of fun, anyway."

aether studied the geo archon carefully. as forgiving as he appeared, he knew that deep down, he was still disappointed. as of right now, the group was having their dinner in a nearby park. a gloomy mood was in the air, since they all had anything but a productive day (with the exception of chongyun and xingqiu).

"i'm going to take a walk," the traveller informed, deciding he needed some alone time.

with a nod from zhongli, he excused himself and wandered the emptying streets of the foreign city. he and his sister had been to a similar universe before, but it was a faded memory now.

he kept walking, kicking a small pebble on the ground. he already lost his sister, there's no way he could lose one of his friends, too.

and it's my fault, he scolded, kicking another rock.

the traveler continued to wander, alone with his thoughts. he came across a small play area, amusing himself with the childish slides and rides. how he wished he could go back to being an innocent, naive kid. those days were easier.

he sat on the swings, hands in his pockets. he gently rocked forward and back, looking up at the sky.

are these stars real, at least?

are you looking at them too, venti?

aether smiled bitterly. i'm overthinking too much. he decided to regroup with the others, as they probably finished eating already.

the traveler wandered around for a while, forgetting which direction he came in. was he lost?

he looked around, a bit frantic, for somewhere he could scope the area from. he approached a small hill, where he spotted two people sat under the moonlight.

upon closer inspection, he noticed one of the two had his hair in braids dipped in a faded turquoise. the other person, however, he did not know.

aether ran. it's gotta be him! "i've finally found you, ven--"

his movements came to a halt. the person sat next to him looked up in question, "who are you?"

but the traveler was too stunned to answer. for the first time ever, right in front of him, he witnessed the anemo archon crying.