Rewind | Genshin Impact

Chapter 39

As predicted, they ordered takeout.

Delicious noodles from the local store which they all enjoyed, however if Xingqiu was a cartoon character, smoke would be coming out of his ears.

They all sat around and chatted, Venti laughed here and there too, as he allowed himself to relax just a bit. 

As the night progressed, Venti made sure to regularly sneak off and watch his laptop in the study for a few minutes before coming back, however he tried his best to not come across too suspicious. Eventually, though, everyone started to get tired and began excusing themselves from the party.

Lumine left first, then Amber, then Scaramouche and Kazuha. Venti watched the room slowly clear out when before he knew it Bennett and Chongyun were hovering over him.

"Hey, we're going to head home now. Want to come?" Chongyun questioned, Venti quirked an eyebrow up at him.

"Don't you want to stay with Xingqiu?"

"No, I'm tired." He shrugged, fair enough.

He was about to agree, before he thought better and turned to face Kaeya, who was in a deep conversation with Diluc. "Hey, uh, Kaeya. Would you like me to give you a lift home?" He asked, feeling Xiao's gaze burning in the side of his head but choosing to ignore it. Kaeya turned to face him with surprise.

"Wow, thanks for offering Venti and on any other day I would take you up on that but, actually, well, Diluc's going to take me home. We've got some things to talk about." He smiled softly. Despite being pretty sure Diluc didn't hurt Kaeya, and that this would probably be a great chance for brotherly bonding, he still felt hesitant and a bit panicked at the idea.

"Are you sure? I would be more than happy to-"

Diluc held up his hand. "I assure you I am able to take my brother home in one piece, Venti. Or are you suggesting otherwise?"

"No, no, that's not it!" Venti rushed to say, berating himself for coming across as suspicious.

Besides, leaving Kaeya with Diluc isn't a bad idea, right? Diluc is strong and trustworthy, besides Venti does have the laptop.

"Actually, ehe, ignore me. You guys should go together." He nodded his head, and Diluc looked him up and down suspiciously before nodding too. 

"Let's go, Kaeya." He then said as he looked at his brother, and the two of them got up swiftly and left.

"Ready to go then, Venti?" Bennett asked, which he nodded his head at before he remembered something. "Oh! Wait! I need to go to the bathroom first!" He exclaimed, as he quickly left the room and went down Xingqiu's long hallway, grabbing his bag from the study before meeting the others at the front door again.

Xiao raised his eyebrows, as a look of disbelief came across his face. Venti ignored him.

"Bennett, Chongyun, lets go." 

***

The ride home was silent, as exhaustion took over everyone in the car. The second they entered their apartment, Chongyun and Bennett excused themselves to their rooms, with Venti doing the same.

As soon as the bard entered his bedroom, he opened his laptop and turned on the mic to hear what was currently happening, holding his breath as he waited for it to connect.

"Thanks again, Diluc, I really appreciate it."  Kaeya's voice flowed through, making relief swell up in Venti's chest.

"Mmm, I've actually been wanting to speak to you. I know we haven't always got on the best growing up, and a lot of that's on my part-"

"As much as I love someone admitting their wrongdoings to me.. You really don't have to-"

"No just listen, Kaeya."

"I'm sorry, and this trip away-"

Venti quickly shut his laptop closed, he couldn't listen to this. This would be an extreme invasion of privacy. Besides, it didn't particularly sound like Kaeya was being murdered. He took a deep breath and threw his laptop to the side as he rolled up into a ball on his bed.

Kaeya would be fine, he would live. He was with Diluc, Diluc will keep him safe. He repeated to himself. He would be safe.

Venti snuggled into bed at those comforting thoughts and closed his eyes.

***

16th April 2020:

Venti woke up as crying filled his ears.

Shit, fuck, shit.

He fucking fell asleep.

He grabbed his pillow and pulled it over his head, screaming into it with all his might. How could he fail again?! How many times was he going to fail?! How many chances was he going to get?! He was with Diluc shouldn't Kaeya have been safe?!

Venti groaned as he threw the pillow aside and picked up his phone, switching it on to check the time and seeing a message as well.

0438479372: It's Xiao.

We need to talk.

OKAY I KNOW! IT'S REPETITIVE! BUT I PROMISE, PROMISE, PROMISE WE ARE REALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE. OKAY?! I PROMISE!!! TRUST ME ON THIS, THINGS ARE REALLY GOING TO GET REVEALED NOW OKAY XDDDD