A/N: A little Xiaoven fic, because Xiaoven is amazing, featuring Enby!Venti, because Venti gives of enby energy and also I said so.
Xiao sat on the roof of Wangshu Inn, gazing towards Mondstadt instead of Liyue, where he usually watched over.
Five hundred years. Five hundred years since he'd seen Barbatos.
Not that he could really blame them, after the… Cataclysm, and what happened in Mondstadt with Durin. He'd helped deal with only the Cataclysm, and he'd be a liar if he claimed not to have wanted to follow his partner into their centuries-long slumber—only having refrained from doing so due to his duty to Liyue and Rex Lapis.
Besides, Barbatos protected their nation anonymously, which wasn't doable when their appearance was revealed. When everyone followed them around, revering them and treating them as superior in a way that they'd despised.
So, of course, Xiao understood why they'd left. He understood perfectly why it'd been the best choice for them.
That didn't stop him from missing them with every day that passed by, every gust of wind that ruffled his air just as playfully as if they were doing it themself.
It was even worse today, as this was the five-hundredth time their birthday had passed by without them here. Usually, on this day, he'd travel to Mondstadt, and spend some time by the Windrise tree—Barbatos' favorite spot.
But, today, he couldn't help but want to stay here, holding on to some distant hope that maybe, just maybe, today would be the day that they finally awoke. After all, half of a millennium was quite a long nap, even for them.
Just as he thought that, there was a light weight that'd descended onto his head, followed by a breeze that was almost certainly not natural.
Xiao lifted a hand to his head, picking up the wind spirit and looking at them with a (mostly) deadpan expression. "Really, Venti? Five hundred years, and the first thing you do when you see me is sit on my head?"
There was a brief cyan flash before they returned to their usual form—apart from the noticeable lack of wings—and they looked up at him. "Wait, really? Five hundred years?"
"Mhm."
"Well," they chuckled nervously, "I didn't realize it'd been that long…" they puffed out their cheeks before flicking his forehead. "You could've woken me up!"
"I figured if you hadn't woken up on your own, that you could use the rest."
"You didn't have to let me sleep for five hundred years!"
"Did you want me to blow on a dandelion and say that I missed you or something?"
"Yes! If you missed me then you didn't have to let me sleep!"
"Agree to disagree?"
Venti huffed, "Fine… sometimes I wonder why you're so headstrong," they paused, smiling softly, "but to say I wished you were different would be wrong."
They summoned their lyre, absently strumming on it. "So, fill me in on what's happened?"
"Hm.. not very much. I mean, monsters from the Cataclysm still exist, so that's a change, but other than that… I cannot really think of anything. Well… I think something might be going on with Dvalin, but what, I cannot say for sure."
"Dvalin? What makes you think there's something wrong with him?"
"Just things I've heard the visitors to the inn speaking about. Mondstadt is being ravaged by storms caused by Dvalin, apparently. They've begun to refer to him as 'Stormterror.'"
Venti paused their music, frowning. "But… Dvalin wouldn't do those things. I… it's been a long time, but I know he wouldn't. What must've happened to my old friend… to make him want to bring Mondstadt to its end..?"
"Ah… yes, another thing. A new order has formed since the Cataclysm, referring to themselves as the 'Abyss.' They seek to bring you, the other archons, and Celestia itself down, and they'll resort to any means to do it, even dark magic and alchemy—maybe even Khemia, should they discover how to use it."
Their frown deepened and their lyre disappeared. They looked back at him, sighing, "Well, then, my love, I'm afraid to cut out reunion short, but Mondstadt and Dvalin seem to need my support."
They kissed him, but it was all to brief of a time before they were gone, leaving nothing but a breeze in their place.
At least I won't have to wait as long to see you next time, Xiao reasoned, but even that did little to help the aching, lonely feeling in his chest.
A/N: Hope all of you enjoyed! My apologies for the shorter length, I tried to make it at least 1,000 words, but that really didn't fit with how I wanted it to go, and I couldn't figure out a way to make it longer, so /
Also, sorry if Xiao is maybe a little OOC, this is my first time writing anything with him, including things I haven't posted.