TURBULENT / XIAOVEN

forty

authors notes: one chapter left before epilogue... who's excited...

also i wrote all of this to metallicas enter sandman which i am not saying u all should listen to it but like definitely do it very good mood music (also its soooo xiao core in this fic)

okay thats all. the usual cws yall already knowwwwww xoxo

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no sounds were heard through the basement. venti didn't really know what to expect– hey, your life could possibly be ended within any minute now because the government finally decided to act about the zombie apocalypse! yay! 

venti taps his knee as he sits next to xiao against the brick wall of his basement. he never liked silence and he always attempted to cover it up with jokes and laughter but now, he can't think of anything he wants to do less. 

everyone is silent. venti watches as how zhongli grips dilucs shaking hand with no words but he can tell what he wants to say through the way they look at each other. zhongli's thumb brushes over the back of diluc's hand and venti can't help but feel his heart shatter over such a situation. 

"xiao," venti speaks softly as he can hear loud distant booms from the basement, "if we don't make it out–"

"please don't say anything like that, venti." xiao says as he watches how qiqi grips venti's arm as she lays on his lap, her eyes looking at him with awe in her eyes. 

"just, let me talk xiao." venti says as he watches xiao slump against the brick wall, "if we don't make it through this, just promise me one thing, okay?"

"what is it?" 

"that you'll love me, even in the next life, okay?" venti asks and xiao chuckles softly. 

"you don't have to make me promise that." 

venti’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he watches how xiao rests his head against the brick wall, his eyes closed and a smile laid upon his lips in pure bliss, "why is that?" 

"it's easy. i can't help loving you venti." 

venti smiles as he sighs, "well, it was a good run, wasn't it?" 

"oh yeah, definitely the best possible run for us. uh-huh." xiao answers. 

"sarcasm isn't going to help, xiao." xinyan says from across the room, her head resting against the wall. 

xiao is about to respond when a loud boom echoes nearby and a crash comes down into the basement, debris falling down in small sprinkles as if it were snowing, but it was nothing like that. a shout followed shortly by in fear and soon muffled cries followed quickly behind. 

venti doesn’t know what's happening. he doesn't want to. but he can't possibly look away from how xiao and zhongli are lifting a piece of what seemed to be the ceiling off of diluc as the redhead's hands were covered in crimson blood over his own abdomen. 

all diluc can do is gasp in agonizing breaths as he covers his side that is overflowing with blood. he doesn't know what happened, nobody does, he thinks. it happened all within a few seconds. he had blinked and suddenly a piece of the ceiling had come crashing down on his side and his thighs.