Earth and Wind

Venti plopped himself into a chair and rested his chin on his hands. He couldn't believe Jean had managed to convince him into following her all the way to Liyue for a 'diplomatic mission'. He didn't even know what that mission was. He vaguely recalled Jean explaining it to him before they left, something about imports and exports and blah blah blah. He'd tuned most of it out, but that was Jean's fault for not making it more interesting, right? 

Ah well, he thought. Eye on the prize. 

Jean had promised him a barrel of Diluc's finest dandelion wine in exchange for his cooperation, and, well, you really couldn't expect Venti to just walk away from an offer like that, right? 

"Boo!" someone whispered in his ear, and Venti jumped. 

"You scared me!" he hissed, leaping to his feet and holding his cap to his head as he pointed accusatorially at the girl. She had long brown hair in cute little twintails, and a most curious hat was sitting on her head. 

"I'm Hu Tao!" the girl said cheerfully. "Who're you?" 

"I'm... Venti," Venti said cautiously. "Why'd you scare me?" 

"Oh... it's just a little habit of mine," Hu Tao giggled. "Why dontcha come inside and have a drink? Your face turned the most glorious shade of red! Unfortunately, most people are used to my pranks. Xingqiu ignores me, Chongyun hides behind his scary aunt, and Xiangling has that weird bear. It's so rare I actually see someone get scared! For that, you deserve a drink!" 

"A.. drink??" Venti's eyes lit up and he happily followed Hu Tao across the bridge and inside her little funeral parlor. 

She poured him a drink while he waited at the table, then handed it to him. 

"Hope you enjoy~" she purred. 

Venti sniffed it, just in case, then downed half of it in one swallow. "Water?!" he yelped. "I thought you meant a drink, not a pathetic excuse for a liquid!" 

"You hardly look old enough to indulge," Hu Tao pointed out crossly. "You could say thank you." 

"I'm- I'm old enough to have wine!" 

Hu Tao stuck out her tongue at him and said "Ha! I'm sure that's just what you tell the people at your taverns, too!" 

Venti fumed in silence while Hu Tao leisurely sipped on a glass of red wine. 

"What's going on down here?" came a deep voice, and Hu Tao grinned wickedly. 

"Nothing, Gra- ah, Mister Zhongli! I'm just entertaining a guest! Although you may have to squint to see him, he's so short!" 

"Hey-" Venti was cut off by the stranger, Mr. Zhongli. 

"It's not that silly Mr. Xingqiu again, is it?" 

"Of course not! Come in and see for yourself!" she called back, and the man stepped into the room. Venti, who'd been in the middle of taking a deep sip of his water, nearly spit it out onto the floor. Zhongli's eyes widened when he saw the small bard. 

"Hu Tao?" Zhongli said quietly, and the girl inclined her head at him. 

"Yes, Mr. Zhongli?" 

"Why don't you go run around with your friends? I'd like to talk to Ba- this strange fellow. Alone." Zhongli's tone was firm. 

"Hey! I'm not a little kid anymo- oh, fine!" Hu Tao pouted, seeing it was pointless to argue any further. She strode to the door and left the room. 

"M-Morax," Venti said nervously. 

"Hello, Barbatos." Zhongli's voice betrayed no emotion, which Venti was a little upset about. "I'm sure you're aware of how worried I've been for you." 

Venti's eyes narrowed and he shot to his feet. "Hold on just a damn second! You're the one who died! And-" Venti cut himself off. 

"I had to. I made a choice for the people of Liyue," Zhongli said, still in the cold, dead tone. 

"Do you have any idea how upset I was?" Venti whispered, and for just a second, he saw Zhongli's hard outer shell crack a bit. "Do you have any idea what I felt when I heard the news? Did you even care?" 

"Barbatos-" 

"Venti." 

"Venti-" Zhongli's voice cracked.

"I ran into my hotel room and sobbed for hours. Even Rosaria was worried about me. I still haven't fully recovered, and for you to march back in here after days and years and tell me you're fine-"

"Venti." 

"Do you have any idea how much I cared?!" Venti screamed. "I loved you, I still do! And we made a promise at the end of the Archon War when we all had to go rule our own nations that we'd stay together, and tell each other things!" 

"Venti," Zhongli said softly. 

Venti was suddenly aware of how close Zhongli was. He must have been stepping toward him while Venti ranted. Zhongli's hand reached out and grabbed Venti's. Held it firmly. Gave it a squeeze. 

"I'm right here," he said kindly. "And I made a huge mistake, one that I'll never make again. No matter what, from here on out, we'll do things together." 

"To-together?" Venti whispered. 

"Yes," Zhongli smiled. 

And then Venti was being kissed. It had been hundreds of years since the last time, but Zhongli's lips were just as firm, just as strong, just as loving as they had been. Zhongli twined his fingers through Venti's hair, and they shared a breath. The need for air soon beckoned, and they broke apart. 

"I love you," Zhongli murmured into Venti's hair, and Venti simply hummed in response as he leaned into Zhongli, trusting those strong arms to shield him from the world once again. 

He suddenly heard laughter, and jumped away from Zhongli. Hu Tao and Xingqiu were standing in the doorway, mile-wide smiles on their faces. 

"Soooooo," Hu Tao said teasingly, grinning like a shark. "Mind telling us what you two were doing in here?"