Fourty-One: Sleepless hours

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Xiao is sitting at the corner of the bar, scrolling through his phone. He was exhausted. It's only three am. They have another hour till they go home. Venti pokes him, and he hums, "You regret coming along?" He teases, and Xiao laughs softly, "Kinda. But it's nice seeing you work." He responds, humming softly.

Venti giggles, "Mm, I think Heizou is coming by for a usual check up." He murmurs, "How come?" Xiao asks, and Venti groans, "Right. We didnt- shit." He sighs, "Awhile ago, we hosted a show, word got out to others, ya know, spread. Some guy came in preaching about Jesus and shit. Basic Christian shit." He says, "We weren't surprised, till he pulled a g/n. And he shot three people. They all survived, just, scarred for the rest of their lives. I mean, Scara is a perfect example of what it did to us. I mean, he couldnt walk for months, and just recently got back to dancing without being hurt." He says, cleaning a cup.

Xiao hums, "I wasnt aware of that."
Venti shoots him a look, "Okay I knew that there was a shooting here- BUT! I didn't know why." Xiao grins, and Venti laughs, "Thoma told me to ask you, but it never seemed the right time to bring it up." He speaks, and Venti nods, setting the glass down, and grabbing another to clean.

Xiao lay his head on the counter, sighing.

Heizou sits next to him, laughing softly, "You alive?"

Xiao only groans, "He insisted on coming with me." Venti says, "Becauseeee!" He whines, "You're very whiny when you're tired," Venti pats his head, "Shut up."

Heizou leans back, looking around, "Kinda empty for a three am bar."

Venti laughs, "Yeah, it's a Tuesday, and Christmas eve day, so."
Heizou nods, "What are y'all planning to do?"

"Uhm, Ganyu wants us to do it at hers. She said you guys can come as well if you want. I'm sure you have plans."

"Uh, no. Actually." Heizou laughs, "I would love to come."
Xiao hums, "Oh my gods, I didnt get Venti's gift, oh my gods." Xiao sits up, looking at the time, "I already told him I dont need anything." He says, and Xiao waves his hand, "I'll ask Zhongli to take me to places to get you some things after practice."

Venti rolls his eyes, "Okay."

~

The two didnt get home until 4.35 am.
Xiao was the first to fall asleep, huddled under the blankets with a stuffed animal.

Venti is still awake, sitting up on the bed, sighing. He scratches at his arm, knee bouncing from his anxiety.

Xiao shifts a bit, gently touching his waist, making him jump.
It forces Xiao awake, and he moves closer, "Ah~Ti? Are you okay?" He asks, and Venti exhales shakily, "I-I cant get...what-what he said to me out of my head." He murmurs, and Xiao moves to sit next to him, rubbing his eyes, "Hes an asshole, okay? It's not your fault." He leans against Venti, taking his hand in his, and kissing Venti's knuckles, and Venti laughs softly, "And I know that its not. So why the fuck is it affecting me so much?"

Xiao leans against him, "I don't know." He murmurs, and Venti stares at his arm. He inhales softly, "Liang-Shein's a dick, he doesnt respect anyone, thinks hes superior and can do no wrong." Xiao speaks, "But listen to me when I say this, you didnt deserve it. Didnt ask for it. You said no each time, you did not lead him on. He is to blame, and not you."

Venti nods softly, and Xiao kisses his cheek softly, "And it's okay, to cry." He whispers, and as he says those words, Venti sobs, the tears flowing from his eyes, and Xiao hugs him, "Its okay." He whispers.

Venti's words are messy and jumbled. Xiao only kisses his shoulder, "Its okay, Ah~Ti." Xiao whispers softly, and he lays them back down, Venti curling up into his arms, pulling him as close as he can. He inhales shakily.

Xiao runs his hand through his hair, and kissing his forehead softly, "Its okay, I promise. You'll be okay." He murmurs, and slowly Venti stables his breathing.

"'m sorry."
"No, do not. Do not apologize for being human. You're allowed to cry, you have emotions. Baby, you have no reason to apologize." He kisses his forehead softly, and he sighs, "You're allowed to cry, okay? You're human, and I'm human. Emotions are important, and you should express them." He says softly, and Venti nods.

"So, let it out. Its okay."

Then its silent besides the occasional huff or sniffle from Venti. Xiao didnt fall asleep until he was sure Venti was.
Which took a few hours, and around six is when they fell asleep.

Xiao's alarm goes off at Seven, and he inhales, sitting up, and he looks at Venti, gently touching his face, sighing. His body hurt, "Fuck." He sighs, and swings his legs over, and grabbing his pants off the chair, and a t-shirt, and then his hoodie.

He grabs his violin from its resting spot,  and to the bathroom, petting Thackery on his way.

He stares into the mirror, and his eyes are dull, and eye bags forming under his eyes.
"Fuck." He whispers softly.

Venti sits up, and looks over at the light. He puts his head in his hands, sighing, he feels like shit.

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