genshin impact imagines +.*

venti | the only exception

based on this song by paramore :)

warnings: none

-

Venti watched from the doorway as your face scrunched up in your sleep, missing the feeling of him laying beside you. When your expression fell into something softer, he shut the door carefully and walked downstairs. The bard's eyes ran around the living room, taking in all the little things that made the house yours. He smiled softly and went outside, his thoughts immediately returning to your relationship, something he had been dwelling on lately. He had always distanced himself from potential romantic partners because of his immortality, but you were different. He found himself hopelessly drawn to you, and even though the day he'd watch you die was still inevitable, he couldn't stay away.

The anemo archon's feet carried him from Springvale to Windrise, where he sat in the dawn, mindlessly strumming his lyre. His eyes closed as he became lost in his thoughts, the only thing occupying his mind being you. The traveler would be heading to Liyue later that day and offered to take you with them, as you had always wanted to travel across Teyvat, and of course, you accepted. Venti wasn't sure what to do– he didn't want to stop you from living your dream, but he also couldn't bear to be away from you, especially when you didn't know the true nature of his feelings towards you. Venti weighed his options in his head, but the one phrase you repeated often kept interrupting his train of thought.

"You are the only exception," you said playfully as you opened the door to your cottage in Springvale, inviting the bard inside. He hadn't really had a place to live beforehand, and since you were quickly forming a friendship with Venti, you invited him to stay with you. "Normally I don't just invite people to live with me," you half-joked, "but you can stay as long as you'd like."

"You are the only exception," you said again, placing a bowl of Barbatos Ratatouille in front of Barbatos himself and sitting down across from him. He tilted his head as you said it, the phrase beginning to evolve into a kind of inside joke. "It's been a long time since I've cooked for someone other than myself," you explained. Venti looked down at his dinner, a small smile forming on his face. He felt special.

The third time you repeated the phrase was the first time you held hands. You were walking to the city together with the intent of getting Good Hunter, and as soon as you stepped out the door, you took Venti's hand in your own as if it was something you did every day. He stopped in his tracks, looking down at your intertwined fingers, and you blushed upon realizing what you had done. His face quickly contorted into a smirk, recalling a conversation you had before that day. "I thought you didn't like holding hands." Your eyes met his, and with a laugh, you mumbled, "you are the only exception," before pulling Venti along, who could only smile in disbelief behind you.

Venti's eyes opened slowly. He watched newly airborne dandelion seeds float past him, and a familiar feeling filled his heart. He found himself standing again, beginning the walk back to Springvale. More memories came flooding back as Venti thought of the same phrase.

"You are the only exception," The night you 'accidentally' fell asleep in his arms.

"You are the only exception," The time he got you to dance with him in Diluc's tavern.

"You are the only exception," When he returned from the traveler's fight with Dvalin, bruised and battered, but still your bard. You held him like he would fall apart in your arms. He never forgot that.

'You are the only exception.' He could never connect with someone like he had with you, never fell so deep so fast and it hit him, suddenly, that you were the only exception. You were the only one he would give everything for, and at that moment, his immortality meant nothing. The future meant nothing. All he wanted was you.

Venti took off running, his hand on his hat as he sprinted the distance from Windrise to Springvale, hoping to make it before the traveler. When he made it to your house, his house, he was terribly out of breath, and practically fell onto the front door. He leaned on the wooden frame as you noticed the slight thump sound of the action, and ran to it. To Venti, time seemed to stop as you opened it. He thought you looked beautiful in the morning light.

"Venti?" You questioned, watching him think of what to say.

"I've got a tight grip on reality, y/n, but I can't let go of what's in front of me here," He spoke fast and out of breath. "I know you're leaving with the traveler soon, but please, leave me with some kind of proof you weren't a dream."

You are the only exception

He leaned forward and cupped your jaw with his right hand, causing your breath to hitch a little in shock.

"I've told you before the reason why I don't get too close to people, but y/n..."

Venti's lips hovered over yours, his heart pounding as he whispered,

"You are the only exception."

The gap between you closed, Venti's free arm wrapping around your waist as your hands moved up to link behind his neck. You quickly melted into the kiss, all your unspoken feelings pouring out into one act of pure, mutual love, all without a single word.

"I love you," Venti blurted, pulling away. "I couldn't let you leave without telling you I love you."

You stared at him in shock. Your face was flushed, your hair was a mess and you were still in your pajamas, and here the bard was, gazing at you like you were the most beautiful thing in the world. You pulled him in close for a hug and buried your head in his neck.

"And I love you," you whispered, "my only exception.