VenLuc - Second Chances

Venti had been on shift for barely two minutes when the entrance flew open with a ridiculous amount of force. It made Venti jump, a lady at one of the tables spill a bit of her coffee, and a pair of teenage boys just leaving stumble backwards a moment. And all of them turn to see a man stalking into the coffee shop. He was a younger guy, maybe a few years older than Venti, but he was tall and muscular and gorgeous in a way that would have drool-worthy if the man didn't appear absolutely murderous at the moment.

The dude looked like he could bench press a small car so it was a bit concerning to see the anger radiating off of him as he looked at Venti and started towards him. There was a stomp in his step, like he was getting ready to yell. He had a cardboard coffee cup from the shop in hand, fingers clutching it so hard that there were dents in it.

Venti opened his mouth to ask what exactly was wrong, but the guy beat him to it.

"You are the fucking worst kind of person in the world," the man said, practically spitting where he stood in front of the counter.

Oh.

Venti froze, the familiar words hitting him and stealing the air from his lungs. He knew that sentence. That particular combination of words were etched neatly down his right side, dipping slightly around his rib and curling. He'd been waiting for this moment his entire life. Preparing for it.

Oh the Archons.

A lot of times the 'markings' were common, simple things you said to strangers all the time. Excuse me; thank you; hello. Some got extremely romantic things like it's you, isn't it? I've been waiting for you or, Wow you're really pretty. And they were always the first words their soulmate would ever say to them.

Of course, having You are the fucking worst kind of person in the world tattooed down your side, didn't bode well. How fucked up was Venti that even his fucking Soulmate hated him? High School had been a special kind of hell when all the kids learned what his tattoo said—despite his best efforts to keep it a secret.

Taking Venti silence as confused fear, the man continued. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you think it's funny? It's disgusting and childish." He slammed the coffee cup in his hand on the counter. The real hatred coming off the guy was a bit much though. Venti had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.

But by the Archons, did he ever want to punch the guy.

While other people took comfort in their words, would repeat them to themselves like a mantra, would rub them in anxious moments, would remind themselves their soulmate was out there, Venti hated his words. From the moment Venti was old enough to understand, he hated his Soulmate too.

Venti took a deep breath, staring at his Soulmate. The guy looked absolutely furious, face a bit red and eyebrows furrowed. He might have still been talking, Venti couldn't really listen.

Instead, he looked down at the coffee cup his Soulmate had smashed onto the counter. Blue Sharpie, usually used simply to write the name of the customer, was used to write "You might not be the best looking girl here, but beautiful is only a light switch away." Venti had to tilt his head slightly to be able to read the whole thing.

Venti blinked down at it, squinting. Fucking hell. His co-worker, a bitch, druggie named Rhinedottir had just left when Venti arrived. It was a horrible thing to write. Seeing as the world girl was written on it, and Rhinedottir was not straight, it probably wasn't her Soulmate that Rhinedottir had written that to. Some poor, unsuspecting girl had probably gone to take a drink of her coffee only to find herself being insulted and objectified with a single swoop.

Hottie with Anger Management Problems was here to defend the honor of someone else.

Sure, why not? Why shouldn't Venti have had to grow up with you are the fucking worst kind of person in the world on his body because Rhinedottir was a fucking asshole.

Venti straightened instead, lifting up his head slightly to look back at the man. He was glaring at Venti, a look of absolute hatred about him. And the man didn't know, had absolutely no clue who Venti was.

Venti took in a deep breath. In this moment, Venti got to decide what this man would have grown up with. What words would mar his skin, a reminder that there was someone out there for him? What would his first words be to his Soulmate, leaving permanent tattooing on his body from the moment he was born? Even if this man didn't want Venti, his words would be branded on his skin. This drop dead, gorgeous man who had come in to defend someone else who looked like he was seconds away from ripping Venti apart.

Of course Venti had thought about it before, what words would pass his lips in exchange for the mark against his skin. But never in Venti's imagination would he be the one to speak second. Or have time to truly think about it.

"You are absolutely perfect," Venti said slowly, finding a bit of satisfaction in the way the man stepped back like he'd been slapped. If nothing else, Venti could give him those words.

The anger gave way to utter shock. The man's mouth dropped open, his eyes widening as he stared.

"Y-You," he managed to stutter out.

Venti looked away from the man quickly. "I assume you're angry about the cup? And this is your friends or girlfriends?" Venti asked, calmly looking up at the redhead. When he didn't reply in any way, Venti continued. "The girl who was working here just before me, Rhinedottir, is a total bitch. If you'd like to complain—which you absolutely should, I can give you the number for the owner, Lisa. Rhinedottir and I switched out only a few minutes ago."

The man stared at him a moment, gaping like a fish. "It wasn't you."

"No," Venti agreed with an awkward smile, "that isn't really my style. Promise it wasn't me. But if you'd like a new cup of coffee, for you or your girlfriend, I can absolutely do that on the house. Lisa will be absolutely mortified when she hears Rhinedottir wrote that on the cup. I'd suggest we call her right now, but she's at a funeral."

"My friend," the man said suddenly, seeming to come back to reality. He blinked rapidly, like he had gotten something in his eye. "It was my friend's, Jean. She was really upset. More upset than usual because she's been having a shitty week but— she's not my— she's my friend."

"Okay," Venti agreed calmly. "Tell her I'm so sorry, okay? Rhinedottir is a complete bitch. Should I make her a new cup or…?"

"What? No, no that's— it's fine. I was angrier than she was."

"Right," Venti nodded. He grabbed a notepad and pen to quickly scribble down Lisa's email address and the number for the coffee shop. He ripped it off and handed it to the guy. "She'll be back in here tomorrow morning if you want to call, otherwise you can send her an email to complain. I'll give her a heads up. Or if you'd rather, I can tell her myself and you don't have to worry about it. Whatever works."

"Thanks," he said absently, taking the paper. He didn't move beyond that, just stayed rooted to the spot. Gone was the anger, replacing it with a soft look. He was staring at Venti, something different in his eyes. "My name is Diluc," he blurted suddenly. "Diluc Ragnvindr. You—You're my Soulmate."

Venti winced. "Yeah, hi. My name is Venti." He felt awkward, like he should apologize for being him. But it wasn't really Venti's fault the universe tied Diluc to him.

Diluc was smiling though. "I'm so sorry for yelling at you. I can be a bit over-protective, but that wasn't really fair of me."

"Don't worry about it. I'd have been pissed too," Venti said with a shrug. "I hope err… Jean is okay. Tell her I hope her week gets better, okay? Have a good day!" he kept his voice chipper, even giving a tight grin like the world didn't feel like it was being held together by scotch tape. Venti turned away, oddly relieved that now at least he knew. The words had been said and the situation was over and he'd never have to worry about it again.

"Wait!" Diluc shouted, stopping Venti from picking up the cleaning cloth.

Venti blinked up at him, confused. "I'm sorry, was there something else?"

Diluc shook his head, smiling. "No, I realize you need to get back to work, and I should probably go find Jean. But uh, I'll leave my number? You could call me some time, and we could meet up, get to know one another, you know?" He was scribbling down numbers on a piece of paper quickly, and then holding it out to Venti.

Venti just stared at it. "You want me to call you," Venti repeated slowly, "and you want to get to know me?"

Diluc nodded slowly, like he thought Venti was a bit slow. To be fair, Venti felt like he was rebooting.

Carefully he reached out to take the offered number. "Why?"

Diluc cocked his head to the side, his eyes running over Venti like he was trying to decipher him. "What do you mean? You're my Soulmate. I'd like to get to know you. I'm really excited to."

Venti considered him a moment. "Huh. You're serious."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Diluc asked. He looked suddenly younger, a bit vulnerable. "Do you not want…?"

"No I do! Of course I do!" Venti assured him quickly, the paper in his hand wrinkling in Venti's tight grip. "I just didn't think— I mean I never thought my Soulmate would actually…" Venti bit his lip, trying to keep the words from continuing to spill out.

Diluc looked concerned though, eyes wide and searching. "I don't understand? You never thought your Soulmate would actually… what?"

Venti felt his face heating up. He reached a hand back to awkwardly scratch the back of his head. "Well I mean, I always sort of assumed that my Soulmate would… you know… hate… me."

Diluc looked completely bewildered. "What? Why would I hate you?" A moment passed and then a sort of understanding seemed to cross his face, his eyes going wide as his face paled. "Oh, Archons." The man looked like he might be sick all across the floor. "I said— I called you the worst person in the world! That's tattooed on you?"

Venti wanted to melt into the floor. "I guess it seems a bit stupid now. You don't even know me. But uh, I guess growing up I'd always assumed…" He cut off again, shaking his head. "Sorry. I suppose I'm being all kinds of stupid."

But the look on Diluc's face rolled to understanding and his hand shot up to rub along the top of his chest. He stared at Venti a moment before his face turned paler. "Oh, Archons."

Venti winced, nodding. "Yeah."

"I am so sorry."

"No! No, don't. It's fine. Really."

Diluc looked at him. "How the hell is that fine? And you… even after that you said… my words are…"

Venti looked down at his feet, embarrassed. "I always wished my words were like that. You know, something that was comforting even when things went bad? I thought that even if I couldn't be a person my soul mate would want, I wanted to give them something good."

Diluc's face is turning paler. Oh dear, Venti had fucked this up magical second chance already.

"But you do seem really great!" Venti tried to reassure him, wondering how this had gotten so out of hand. "Honest! And if you did want to get to know me I would be absolutely up for that. But, like, no pressure." Venti wished the world would swallow him up. "I could give you a call?" he said waving the paper Diluc had given him. "We could set up dinner or something…"

Diluc looked at Venti like he was a fragile thing. His eyes darted between the paper and Venti and back again. "Would it be too forward of me to ask if I could pick you up from here at the end of your shift? I'd really like to get to know you."

Venti bit his lip. "Maybe I should go back to my apartment and change first. I must look like a slob." He was dressed in sweats, his hair probably sticking up in every direction, his pigtails feel a little loose.

"If you'd be more comfortable changing I can wait. But uh— for the record, you definitely don't have to. You look ridiculously good." Suddenly it was Diluc's turn to blush. A redness crept up his neck and at the tips of his ears. Where Venti always managed to look awkward and blotchy with a blush, Diluc looked endearing. "Sorry. I sound like an idiot. You're just kind of distractingly good looking. And apparently you're a saint. And I fucked this up with the very first thing I said, but if you're willing to give me a chance I'd like to try to make up for that."

Venti didn't really know what to say to that. His mouth opened and closed for a moment and then he said, "Thank you."

Diluc ducked his head looking cool but shy (how does he do that?) and wow, he was nothing like the guy who came storming in. This was is soulmate? And he actually wanted to get to know Venti?

Venti took a deep breath. "Well, if you're sure you don't mind the fact that I look homeless, you could swing by here right at 3, and we could grab some coffee and go for a walk? I like my work place well enough but I'd prefer not to stay here longer than I need to."

Diluc nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Yeah that's perfect actually."

Venti offered him a smile, fiddling nervously with his fingers. "Well your friend's sister is probably waiting for you."

"Hmmm?" Diluc questioned, shaking his head. "Oh. Jean. Yeah I should go find her. Right. But umm… I'll see you at 3, right?"

Venti nodded. "Yeah. I'll be here."

Diluc turned to go towards the door, his shoulders more relaxed than when he came in. But then he spun around again to look at Venti. "Thank you— for letting me try to make it up to you. I don't deserve this second chance but I swear to God I will not make you regret it. I know everyone says cheesy stuff about meeting their soulmates but— I really do look forward to getting to know you, Venti because I swear I've only just met you but I can already tell you're something special." And then he was gone, not waiting for Venti to reply.

The pair of teenage boys Diluc had nearly run into (Chongyun and Xingqiu) when he had entered the coffee shop had stayed behind to figure out what was happening. After watching, they began clapping with stifled laughs.

"Wow," said a woman drinking a cup of coffee near the counter (Ningguang), "that was certainly interesting. You two will be cute."

"Thanks," Venti replied, unable to look away from the door, his eyes still glued to the spot where Diluc had disappeared.

Maybe it would be okay.