modernity - xiaoven

21.

is 23 short?

yes. 

is it short bc i want to write 24?

also yes.

anyways double post? [with hours between them, yes.]

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once venti confirmed xiao was going to meet him out the front of the hotel, and made sure he had his keycard, he went downstairs and outside.

sitting down on one of the few benches out front, he leaned back into it.

feeling himself drift off, he was only shocked back into consciousness by xiao sitting next to him.

"hi!"

"hey."

"i don't care it's late at night, but, can you show me your favourite place around here?"

"i don't exactly have a favourite place... but there's a park nearby that i used to go to after the incident..."

"incident...?"

"aether's death..."

"oh."

xiao sighed, and stood up. "let's just get going."

venti nodded, and xiao started off in the direction he assumed was towards the park.

"how long has it been since you came to the park?"

"i was sixteen when it happened... so around seven years."

"so you're twenty-three?"

"yeah."

" 'm twenty-four." venti murmured, yawning.

"if you're tired, we can head back."

"no! i invited you to hang out, and i dont want to cut it short!"

"alright. but if you fall asleep, you better have your damn keycard."

"i do i do! wait what do you mean if i fall asleep?"

"i'll be taking you back to the hotel then. and i'm not asking the person at the desk for a new keycard for your room."

"oh-"

venti chuckled, before running after xiao.

----

in record time, they'd made it to the park, which had a children's playground on one side, and the rest was fields.

"i'd sit on one of the benches near the kids side of the par-"

before xiao could even finish his sentence, venti was already dragging him towards the swings. "we've gotta swing! it's like tradition! if you go to a park at night, you've gotta swing!"

"okay...?"

venti could see how confused xiao was, but he didn't comment on it.

once they had swung for awhile, with venti talking about some song he'd been working on for a year.

"you look tired, want to stop swinging?"

"no."

"are you sure, xiao? you have pretty visible eye bags."

"i just had a nightmare, so i don't want to res-"

"tell me about it."

"... it was of that night, the night of the incident."

"oh... if you don't want to tell me, then atleast can i hug you?"

"... sure."

venti slid off of his swing and walked over to xiao's, immediately hugging the man.

"... can i tell you something? just don't tell my father."

"yeah!"

"if you hadn't messaged me, i'd probably be smoking, so thank you..."

"weed or-"

"cigarettes, and dad thinks i've quit... i trust you though."

"you really should quit."

"... i know, i only do it when i have that nightmare, or if im overly stressed..."

venti simply nodded, and pressed his chin into xiao's head.

"thank you, again..."

"don't thank me! it's what friends do."