Falling for You

Chapter 15 - His smile is enough

 It took Venti a few minutes to calm down completely. Till then he just tossed around groaning on the grass, his face buried in his hands.

 "You really didn't know?"

 "I really didn't."

 "We have met before, though. When I was in my archon form, I mean." He said sitting up.

 "We have?"

 "Yeah. Once during the archon war, more than once during the cataclysm, and there was also the flute incident." Venti counted on his fingers.

 "The flute incident?" I could imagine the other two happening, but what was the flute incident?

 "There was one time a few years back when a certain someone almost fell prey to his own karma but was saved by the sound of a flute."

 "Ah! That was you?"

 "Who else? That was also the time I started following you around when you went out on missions."

 Oh, that explains it. I was kind of curious why he started following me around in the first place, but this would indeed be a good reason.

 "So you started following me on missions to be sure that I don't fall to my karma?"

 "I started following you to make sure you don't do something stupid." He grumbled.

 "Something stupid...?"

 "Yeah, something stupid! You have absolutely no care for your own health and safety! Do you know how many times I had the urge to just grab you and bring you back to the inn or to see a doctor?! But every time I stopped myself because I knew you wouldn't like me doing that, so instead, I went to Morax." He glared at me angrily.

 "So the reason why he always knew when I was severely hurt was because you told him every time it happened?" That explains the timely breaks and bottles of intent.

 "Well, that too I guess." He mumbled.

 "That too?"

 "The reason I went to Morax was to vent my frustration. He is the only person I can beat till I'm satisfied without hurting him." He muttered under his breath, but I still caught it.

 "So, every time I got hurt, you went to fight with Morax?"

 "It wasn't much of a fight. He would just put up a shield and stand there while I shot him till I calmed down. Although I never actually infused my arrows with anemo energy, I have to admit, his shield is pretty sturdy."

 "That it is."

 I had to agree with that one. Breaking Morax's shield is indeed difficult, especially if you just shoot it using normal arrows. 

 "I did break it once though." I heard Venti say as I was deep in my thoughts.

 "Huh? You broke it? With just normal arrows?" This was... truly shocking.

 "That time you needed to stay in bed for a week. I broke two of his shields that day."

 Two of them... Wow. That's... kind of frightening.

 "So even if only for Morax's safety, take more care of yourself." He looked at me seriously.

 "Fine, I'll try. But Venti, if I may ask, how much weaker are you than Morax?"

 "Hmm. I don't know. We can't exactly fight it out and see. But I am much stronger than I was a year ago, thank's to the fact that I've been doing my job as an archon."

 "Doesn't the power of an archon mainly come from ruling their respective nation? As I can see it, Mondstadt is still as free as ever."

 "One does not have to lead publicly to rule. I have a sort of private agreement with some people in Mondstadt." He explained.

 "It also works like that?" That's surprising.

 In other nations, the archons' rule was clearly visible to the public as that way they would gain the most power. To see an archon rule in secret is rather surprising. But thinking about it, this kind of rule does fit Venti more.

 "Apparently it does to some extent. Though after losing my gnosis, I can never return to my peak even if decide to take Mondstadt's rule completely into my hands once again. Not that it matters. I have no reason to fight at that level anymore. I can just leave the fighting to the others if it ever comes to that." 

 Venti was smiling, but under his smile, I could see something hidden. A ting of some emotion he tried very hard to hide. I saw it, but before I could guess what I was seeing, it was already gone.

 "So, Xiao, will you help me out when you have time?" He asked smiling brightly.

 "Fine. But only if I'm not busy."

 "Yey!" He leaped over, pulling me into a hug.

 "Venti..."

 "Hehe!" He snickered and let go of me before standing up.

 "Allow me to show you around Mondstadt then!"

 "It would be my pleasure." That much would be okay.

 "I assure you, there is no one who knows Mondstadt better than me!" He sounded extremely confident.

 "I'm sure you're right."

 And so, the two embarked on a long walk all around Mondstadt. During this walk, strangely enough, Xiao was completely unbothered by the crowds or the lively greetings and glances that came their way as they walked around the city. Without his knowledge, a rare smile slowly spread across his face, not disappearing even as he went to bed in the evening, listening to a tune played by a flute he had heard many years before.

 For Venti, this smile was the best gift he had gotten over the years. Better than the free wine Diluc would give him sometimes, or the small gifts the people of Mondstadt gave him after his performance, even better than the bow Dvalin had made for him all those years ago. Even if the one he loved didn't love him back, even if he would never be able to fight like he once fought.

 For him, that one smile was enough.