"murder", he says | xiaoven x reader

chapter twenty nine

"the tavern? this early in the morning? why not a cute cafe for breakfast- or I don't know, hop scotch, or something?" you groan, rubbing your face after you've been woken up by venti at 9am. xiao sleeps soundly next to you and kazuha seems to have made his way out, blankets and pillows neatly stacked om the couch, and a note left ontop. you should find yourself reading that soon.

"you play hop scotch in the morning?" venti asks, sticking his tongue out as he ties the bow around his collar. after hes done, he smoothes down his shirt with his hands as if it still isn't creased terribly from wearing it the night before.

"no, but I'd rather do that than go to a pub" you say, finally sitting up and walking to the bathroom to get ready. you bend over the sink to wash your face, shooting up when you hear a giggle and feel a sharp sting on your behind. you toss a towel at venti and he runs back out the bathroom, throwing himself on the bed and waking up xiao.

"some god... a devil, I say!" you yell into the other room, finishing washing your face and walking back in to get changed, xiao is peering at you both with sharp eyes from his place in bed. he turns over and pulls the sheets closer to his face. he will not be joining you this morning, it seems.

there was no screen to change behind in this room, so you took caution not to bend over anymore as you got undressed and searched through your bag for clothes. you put a freshly cleaned pair of clothes on, arse unattacked by venti this time. Once you turn around and announce you're ready, venti is already running down the stairs to the door.

Once he swings it open, you note that it must have rained last night. you grumble, grabbing your bag, bidding xiao farewell and taking kazuhas note to read on the way. you walk down the steps to the door and lock it behind you.

kazuhas note essentially said thank you, that he borrowed a few things and that he hopes to see you again. he's still in mondstadt, but seems to want to explore the wilderness. you tuck the note away, planning to put it in your book of keepsakes later.

venti is skipping down steps infront of you, occasionally jumping in puddles that formed in dips in the ground.

"watch yourself. as grippy as your shoes are, you can still slip in water." you say, jogging to walk by his side. he dismisses the notion.

"no way! I would never fall o-"

okay, he fell over- down multiple steps and onto his face. flat. gasping, your hands fly to your mouth in shock- you mean- he went flying. futher than he usually does with wings! you run down the steps and kneel by his side as he slowly sits up, facing you.

"...ith it bath?" he asks- you don't know how to break it to them.

"I uh- well-"

"gith it tew me straigth..."

"youre missing two teeth." you say, cringing at the blood on the floor, grimacing further at the two front teeth that lay in them. you should NOT ask if you can keep them.

"I'm ruined! I can never sing again! or at least till I can fake them growing back!" he says, lisp still clear but like hell I'm writing that consistently! use your imagination! "oh it hurts so bad..." he holds a hand to his mouth.

"Yeah there's a lot of blood- your lip is busted too- look let's get you back and at least wipe your face-" you start, he jumps up on his feet suddenly.

"I'm fine! we can still go angels share!" he starts to walk off, foot skidding in his own blood. he ignores it, walking off in the wrong direction with a bloodied footprint trail.

"venti! just sit down for a second!" you insist, using your vision to clean up the blood (pocketing the teeth, shhh) and jogging over to sit him on the edge of the fountain. he sighs, sitting there as you run off to get some water to clean his face with.