WITH LOVE / XIAOVEN

twenty.

authors note: HEYYYYY double update time #swag um

also smthin that i apparently didn't note before but um venti, zhongli, and baal r not archons in this au! the archons r just like myths and theyre all jus ppl that happen to look like them LMAOO

um also in this chapter xiao talks abt his mom in a positive way but do not be a xiao mom stan!! this is not her redemption arc bc she has nothing redeeming her!! fuck her bro!! (not literally..xiaos mom is not a milf guys... everyone knows u cannot be a milf if u are a literal abuser!! thats not hot)

also kind of fluffy ig??? sorry for putting yall in sm pain recently T__T anyway enjoy!!

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xiao is confused- why did venti want to hear about his mother when she was sweet? would venti even believe him? venti was so used to hearing terrible, awful stories about her so why would he believe that such a sweet woman turned into a monster?

"you're sure?" xiao asks and venti nods as he intertwined his hand with the other.

"i'm sure. i believe that she was better than she is now." venti says, "plus i wanna know what you were like as a child! you must've been so cute!"

xiao shakes his head, laughing lightly, "not even, i was so attached to my mom, i think most would describe it as annoying rather than cute."

venti shakes his head, "i still think that's quite cute and i still want to hear about your mother, xiao."

"okay," xiao says, leaning his head on venti's shoulder, "i'll tell you my favorite memory then."

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xiao was four. even though he was so young, he still remembers everything so vividly. his father had gone out on a "business trip" that his mother knew really wasn't one but she didn't really have anything she could say about it.

the dinner table was busy with talk as plates with food were passed around. this wasn't usual for the family as their father typically hated when people talked at the dinner table. he was a strict man who only wanted silence during every moment so now that the rest of the family talked freely, it was nice.

"so what are we going to do while dad's out fucking another woman?" bonanus says as he shoves a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

their mother sighs, "i know what he's doing and listen it's wrong, i know, but what can i do? and to answer your question- no clue, go watch tv in the living room or something. your father hates that."

meongias gasps as she pushes her crimson red hair behind her ears, "you can fuck someone while he does that! or even better, fuck the same woman!"

his mother puts her face in her hands as she groans, "stop cursing around alatus and no, i'm not gonna do that. she's probably ugly anyway."

the rest of them nod in agreement while alatus gasps in his chair next to their mother with happiness on his face, "fuck!" he shouts- having no idea what the word means while the rest of them laugh while his mother just stares at him with exhaustion on her face.

"aiya, look what you did, bonanus," she says as she turns to alatus, "only say that word when you're extremely angry, okay? don't just say it 24/7 like these kids, they have no manners."

"hey!" indarias shouts, "yes, we do! i think i have better manners than alatus because at least i don't go randomly saying stuff in cantonese and then laughing whenever i can very obviously not understand what he's saying."