The shoes weren't the only problem. There were also the stairs and, most importantly, the main entrance. But as long as Venti didn't let go of her hand, Lumine refused to let go of his, no matter how inconvenient it was.
Besides, it was hard to find anything inconvenient when you were attached to someone who was having the time of his life. As far as Venti was concerned, there was no such thing as an obstruction – there were only partner puzzles he very much enjoyed solving, and it was probably a good thing that no one else was in the main hall. Elzer would have fainted, had he seen the way they treated the poor stairs. And not without reason, to be fair... They did creak a little too loudly for comfort when the two teens jumped down the last three steps before the landing, and Lumine felt a pang of conscience.
Fortunately, the next plane surface was solid, non-creaky ground, and opening the heavy front door wasn't as much of a hassle as Lumine had expected it to be, either. That both she and Venti were ambidextrous probably played a part in it, but she also liked the thought that they just worked well together. She had no reason to doubt it, of course – be it cleaning taverns or fighting dragons, there was nothing they couldn't do. But there was something about gripping the same door handle with one hand each and pushing it open that was... different. Weird, but in a good way.
Lumine didn't have much time to dwell on it, though. The moment she stepped outside, a giggling bard in tow, her nostrils were hit by a rush of delicious smells – not only the mouth-watering aroma of Adelinde's grilled steak wafted through the air, she could also detect roasted bread with butter and herbs, various roasted vegetables, and even grilled cheese. Which, if the dramatic whine behind her was any indication, did not go unnoticed by Venti, either.
"Cheese..." he muttered under his breath. "Why make cheese when you can make cream? Or yogurt?"
Lumine snickered softly and gave his shoulder a gentle bump with her own. "It's called freedom."
"Freedom from functional taste buds," Venti grumbled, motivating Lumine to reach up with her free hand and ruffle his hair. The (a)cute hatlessness needed using, after all!
"Stop complaining," she said quietly, a small smile on her face. "Not everyone here is familiar with your antics. You'll look ungrateful."
Venti curled his lips into a pout in response and puffed up his cheeks. "I'll complain as much as I want! People are free to grill cheese, and I'm free to cry about it!" he declared, but then he took a deep breath and relaxed, his shoulders squared and the pout was replaced by a grin. "Don't worry, I blocked the sound. You're the only one who can hear me right now."
Lumine quirked a brow. It was a good thing, sure, but it seemed a little... overkill-y. "Really?"
Venti nodded, now back to being his usual cheerful self. "I actually just wanted to block the sound of the door, in case we lost control of it. But it's also nice to have a giggle without bothering anyone. That said..." He laughed through the nose, grinning and the tip of his tongue poking out. "I'm afraid I won't be treating you to breakfast today. How about tomorrow? Will you be staying in Mondstadt one more night?"
Lumine curled her lips and hummed noncommittally. She'd completely forgotten about that, and 'depends on whether or not I have reason to run away after today' didn't seem like the correct answer. But at this point, she seriously doubted it anyway. She hadn't felt any need to drown herself in chocolate ice cream yet, and she wasn't going to start now. "I'd love to," she decided with a contented smile. "I would have to ask Paimon first, of course, but I doubt she'd say no." She grinned. "There's free food involved, after all!"
Venti burst into snorts at the comment. "Isn't her food always free?"
Lumine shrugged, still grinning. But it was deliberate now – with the sound off, she saw an opportunity to clarify some things without upsetting her travel companion. "Wanna trade places with her? I'd feed you too if you stuck out a sea monster attack with me, or a soul-eating cave system, or a stint in Meropi–"
She couldn't even finish her bullet list. Something interrupted her, something ear-piercing that wasn't quite a sound, a wave of static that made her heart stop and left her gasping for breath. Something that made her blood run cold and her hair stand on end, something visceral that her brain processed as a scream simply for a lack of options. And even though there was no way it came from a pair of lungs, human or otherwise, there was no doubt in Lumine's mind that that was exactly what it was.
A scream.
It was only then that she realized Venti's hand had slipped out of hers and he'd jumped back, but he looked nowhere near as frazzled as she would have expected him to be after what she had just witnessed. In fact, between the two of them, it looked like she was the one who was freaking out the most. Her stomach churned and her heart wouldn't stop racing, but Venti had already recovered and was shaking his head without looking at Lumine. "Yeah, hard pass," he declared with the sort of full-body shudder that could only come from deep-seated revulsion. "It's bad enough that that glorified metal bucket is underwater and cut off from any sort of natural air flow and sunlight. It just haaaaaas to be a prison, too!" He huffed through the nose and crossed his arms. "Fontainians, I swear... Urgh..."
Lumine took a deep breath. As she finally regained control of her emotions, she realized she was probably overreacting. That the alien nature of what she had sensed messed with her perception of its severity. But she had to be sure. "Venti?" she spoke up, her voice a little breathier than she wanted it to be. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" Venti emitted and returned his attention to her. His eyes widened briefly when he saw her face (Lumine figured she still looked a little pale), then they narrowed in thought and he half-unfolded his arms to raise a hand. "Right... You're much more in tune with the elements than normal humans, so you probably heard that. For a... certain definition of 'heard', that is." He smiled encouragingly and uncrossed his arms to put them behind his back instead, one hand gripping his elbow. "Don't worry about it. It's just that, when you take all the primal fears that every last member of my kind has in common and combine them into a single concept, you get the Fortress of Meropide." His shoulders hunched and he hummed uneasily. "Call it Merophobia? Getting stuck in there would be a fate worse than death for any of us, so when you brought it up in the same context as me, I uh..." He trailed off and clenched his teeth to draw a sharp breath. "...reacted... accordingly." He winced and suddenly started waving his hands. "But it's fine, really! You weren't trying to scare me on purpose, and it only lasted a split-second anyway, so–!"
"Venti..." Lumine cut in, not because she had all that much to say, but because she could tell he was stressing himself out again and wanted to nip it in the bud. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
Venti sighed and glanced aside. "I just said it's fine..."
"I know," Lumine replied with a fond smile. "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't apologize anyway."
Venti tilted his head, a little puzzled at first, but then he started grinning and bouncing on his heels as he hummed his appreciation. "That's why you're one of my favorite humans, Lumine!"
Lumine chuckled affectionately. Three years ago, she would have felt like he was talking about a toy or a pet, but by now, the weirdest part about such a statement was how decidedly unweird it had become. When half your social circle consisted of various spirits, be they born from natural phenomena or from the desires of living beings, of artificial life forms, of talking animals, of sapient beasts with or without a human form and their half-human offspring... you got used to being identified by your species, and found that no one was offended when you identified them by theirs. It was just... normal. So without missing a beat, Lumine stepped up and wrapped her arms around her friend. "And you're my favorite wind spirit."
Venti chortled next to her ear and poked the back of her neck. "That would be a lot more meaningful if I wasn't also the only wind spirit you know!"
"Can't have everything."
"Heh!" Venti emitted and pulled away to take Lumine's hand into his again. "I can introduce you the next time I go say hello to the other winds, if you want. Most of them don't speak human language very well, or not at all, but I'm sure you'll get along great! They're a lively bunch, and they know how to have fun even without words!"
Lumine smiled tenderly and tugged on her friend's hand to pull him a bit closer, so she could lean against his shoulder. "If they're your friends, they must be delightful."
"You'll see!" Venti cheered, beaming and bouncing on his heels. "But speaking of friends and delights..." He tilted his head back, looking up so pointedly that Lumine couldn't help but follow his gaze. "We just lost track of time – again! – we're still under the canopy and if we don't get to the table soon so Paimon can eat, she's gonna eat us." He hummed nonchalantly and Lumine returned her attention to him just in time to watch a toothy grin spread on his face. "Unless I eat her first, of course."
"Hey!" Lumine laughed and flicked Venti's forehead. "I'm the only one who gets to call Paimon a snack!"
"That's fair," Venti conceded, rubbing the spot Lumine had hit. "It's your Mora that goes into fattening her up, after all. Anyway, there's food!" He took a step forward, pulling on Lumine's hand. "Let's goooooo!"
Lumine smiled indulgently as she let herself be dragged along. She lost count by now of how often they'd gotten distracted in their quest for lunch, but she didn't mind as much as she probably should. After all, losing track of time just chatting away showed how much they appreciated each other's company – even if the contents of their conversations weren't always enjoyable.
She picked up the pace to catch up to her friend and, without breaking stride, gave his hand a small squeeze. He turned his head in response and flashed her a smile as he squeezed back, then it was time to dive headfirst into the hustle and bustle of the courtyard.
"Sorry for the wait, everyone!" Venti called out, and while plenty of heads turned (apart from Moco, Hillie and Adelinde, Lumine could also spot Diluc, Connor and even Tunner... still no sign of Elzer though), the person who answered first was Paimon.
"About time!" she yelled back and flew over, putting her hands on her hips as she eyed the pair up and down. Her gaze lingered just long enough on their intertwined fingers to be noticeable, and Lumine caught herself squeezing Venti's hand again in anticipation. But Paimon just shook her head. "You know, Paimon wants to make a quip about you two finally making it out of your love nest, but something tells her Lumine would take it the wrong way right now."
"Really?" Venti gave Lumine a curious look. "Would you? Am I missing something?" he asked, but before Lumine could answer, his brows furrowed. "Wait, I think I get it," he muttered, nodding to himself before he directed his gaze at Paimon and waved his hand. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to come between you. And even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I may be a drifter at heart, but at the end of the day, my place is here. I can't just up and leave to go adventuring all over Teyvat. There's quite a difference between going treasure hunting for a couple of days every once in a while and making it into a permanent arrangement. I have commitments here that I can't simply ignore." He shook his head and sighed. "Never again..."
"Venti..." Paimon whispered gently, and it was like a switch flipped. Her tiny shoulders squared and she took a deep breath, then nodded resolutely. "Okay, Paimon feels better now. Lovebird away, you two!"
"Hey, let's not shoot the arrows before they're nocked here! We're not even–!" Venti started protesting, then cut himself off and let out a half-frustrated, half-resigned sigh. "I guess we might as well be at this point..."
"No," Lumine cut in, and she was surprised herself by how firm her voice was. "That's not how I want to become a couple. I want you to be 120 percent on board. I want you to genuinely want it too, not feel pressured into it."
"Huh?" Venti blinked at Lumine, apparently taken aback, but then he burst into laughter and turned a little so they were face-to-face. "You really care a lot about this, hmm? But there's no need to worry!" He smiled slyly and pulled his hand out of hers to wrap his arms around her, holding her close as he nuzzled into the crook of her neck. "What, do you think you can pressure the god of resistance into anything?" he whispered, and the tone of his voice made Lumine's knees give way and the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. Suddenly, she was acutely aware of his breath brushing past her ear, and the tingling sensation it left in its wake. Of its warmth, and how it spread through her body tenfold. Her own breath hitched as her heart skipped a few beats, then started racing as if trying to make up for lost time. Her mind was wiped blank, and she had trouble grasping the content of Venti's words. She just held onto his shoulders while the twinges in the pit of her stomach, the perfect razor's edge between pleasant and agonizing, left her unable to focus on anything else.
She took a deep breath, pulling herself together the moment she was able to, and let herself relax against her friend's body. Her chin settled on his shoulder and her hands slid down his back to hug his waist. The leather vest was nowhere near as stiff as his corset, and it felt so good, getting to hold him like this.
"I love you, Venti," she whispered, quietly enough to make sure that no one but him was going to hear what she was about to say. "And I don't want to dictate how you should act around me. But you should probably know that, right now, I want to pin you against the closest wall and kiss you senseless."
She barely finished the sentence before she found herself stumbling back, but it came as no surprise and she quickly regained her footing.
"What's wrong?" Paimon shouted, reminding Lumine of her existence and compelling her to look at both of her friends.
They seemed about equally panicked, albeit in different ways. Where Paimon was bent forward and bobbing in mid-air with her arms tossed back and her tiny hands balled into fists, Venti had gone rigid and his face had lost all color. Lumine felt sorry for both of them, and now that she thought about it, it probably wasn't the smoothest thing she'd ever done. She'd wanted to put all the cards on the table, to make sure Venti knew exactly what he was signing up for, but in hindsight, the way she went about it was really more akin to throwing them in his face.
She took a deep breath. She should've just kept her mouth shut in the first place, but it was too late now. Lumine knew she needed to say something, but she had no idea what. She couldn't exactly dismiss Venti's reaction just to calm Paimon, and not saying out loud what was going on had been the whole point of the exercise. But still...
Venti saved her the trouble. In the blink of an eye, he'd bounced back and grabbed Lumine's sleeve with a determined expression on his face. "Please excuse us, Paimon," he said in a tone that brooked no argument, and before Lumine knew it, she found herself being dragged back towards the mansion.
"We're still waiting on Elzer!" Paimon called after them. "You better be back before he is, because Paimon won't be waiting for you! And she will have the best bites first!"
"Got it!" Venti yelled back, making it unnecessary for Lumine to respond. So she just let him lead.
He was aiming for the front door. At first, Lumine thought he wanted to go back to their room, but he made an unexpected right turn before the door handles were even in reach and pushed through a hedge onto a small square of greenery framed by the mansion walls. Once they were both on the grass, Venti let go of Lumine's sleeve and dodged around the ornamental tree in the center of the square to sit in a corner of the house, in the relative privacy of the mansion's shadow. Lumine, unsure what to expect, sat down next to him.
"Are you okay, Venti?" she asked, concern painting her voice.
He nodded, perhaps a little too vigorously. "I'm fine. I just need a minute."
"But..." Lumine muttered, now more confused than anything. "Wouldn't me being here be detrimental to that?"
Venti shook his head. "No, it's not. Quite the opposite, really." He heaved a deep breath and, much to Lumine's surprise, leaned against her shoulder. "I don't know where my thoughts would go if I was alone with them, and I have no desire to find out. With you here, at least I know I can talk to you and clear things up if I feel any need to. And it's not like I expect you to actually try anything." He sighed and got up from Lumine's shoulder. Instead, he leaned forward and absently started playing with a blade of grass. "Sorry for pushing you, by the way. I overreacted."
"No, no! I'm the one who needs to apologize!" Lumine shook her head with such vehemence that she nearly went dizzy. "I was way too forward. It's just... I thought you deserved to know and... uh... well..." She cleared her throat. She was going so red in the face now, she just knew it! "Hard to think with your brain in your underwear..."
Venti nearly ripped out the grass blade. "That's...!" he began, his voice rising in pitch until it was halfway into a squeak. "That's about the last thing I wanted to hear!"
"Sorry...?"
"Eeegh..." He shook his head. "Can't say it didn't get the point across, at least." He squeezed his eyes shut and dropped his head into his unoccupied hand. "Both points. This is going to be a regular occurrence from now on, isn't it? Or... maybe it's been a regular occurrence for a while now and I simply didn't notice." He sighed and wound his blade of grass around a finger. "What am I getting myself into..."
"It's not too late to back out." Lumine heaved a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it out again. She hated the idea of losing whatever she had had with Venti now – but really, if she lost it over this, then it only meant there never had been anything in the first place. "That's what I meant with what I said before. If I can't call you my boyfriend for the right reasons, I don't want to call you my boyfriend at all."
"Well, I meant what I said, too," Venti replied, and he sounded a lot better already. He finally let go of the grass and leaned back against the wall, turning his head in the process so he could give Lumine a small smile. "You know me. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's going my own way with the stubbornness of a five hundred-year-old Sumpter Beast whose feeding trough is blocked by a Tent Tortoise. If I say I'm okay with being called your boyfriend, you can take my word for it."
"It's not about 'being okay with it', though," Lumine objected. The conversation felt a little circular at this point, but she held firm. "I don't want an 'okay'. I want a 'Yes, awesome!' And if it never comes, then..." She sighed and leaned against the wall as well, looking up at the sky without really seeing it. "...so be it."
It seemed like she'd finally gotten through to him, because Venti hummed pensively and Lumine could feel his hair tickle her neck as he rested his head on her shoulder once again, eyes closed and knees drawn. A smile crept onto her lips and she ran a hand through the blue strands, enjoying the sensation of them passing between the sensitive roots of her fingers. But as time dragged on and he still wouldn't move or speak, she started to worry.
"Are you okay, Venti?"
"Mh-hm," he responded, still not moving a muscle. "Just... drained."
"Do you need to go to Windrise? I can cover for you for a bit."
"No, it's fine. Not that kind of drained. It's just... I don't know." He sighed through the nose. "I guess I'm realizing how much more I still have left to learn about humans. And... it's scaring me all over again. I want to learn, but not like this. Not at the cost of someone else's well-being." He shifted a little, and Lumine thought she felt a slight tremble. Perhaps she was imagining it... but perhaps she wasn't, and it filled her with a sense of foreboding.
"What are we even doing?" Venti continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "We both know I can't give you what you need, and you deserve so much better than this. I know it sounds weird after what we just discussed, but there's a part of me that just wants to stop. To quit while we're ahead."
Lumine's heart sank, but she didn't dare interrupt. It wasn't hard to see that Venti was having a lot of thoughts right now that he needed to get out. Even if he was just rambling aimlessly, she would keep listening. And if he wasn't, it would be all the more important.
And ramble on he did. "Girlfriend, boyfriend, couple..." he said, and he sounded almost defeated. "They're just labels to me; they change nothing as far as I'm concerned. They mean nothing. Just like calling a fox a falcon won't make it fly, calling you my girlfriend won't make you more or less important to me. It won't make you not Lumine. That's why I don't mind. Or rather, that's why I don't care. As long as wearing those labels makes you happy, I'll be happy, too." Venti heaved a deep sigh and got up from Lumine's shoulder to hug his knees and pillow his chin in them. "But it's different for you, isn't it? You do care. I don't understand how or why, but it is what it is. And it makes me wonder how many more apparently clear-cut ways to happiness, ways that look like they couldn't be any more fool-proof... will just lead to hurt instead. I can't do this. I don't want to do this. You deserve better than this!" He lifted his chin off of his knees just enough to get it out of the way and he could bury his face in them instead. His next words came out muffled and strained, but still clear enough to be understood: "You deserve better than being some inept god's research project..."
So there had been a point to tie it all together. But that didn't change the fact that he'd said so many things... right things and wrong things. It was a lot to process, and a lot to debate. A lot of thoughts and feelings that needed sorting. How did they even get here, considering where they started?
But first things first – seeing Venti like this hurt Lumine's soul, so she took a deep breath to push her own misgivings aside. She put her arms around the tight little roll of Anemo god that had no business looking so small, and pulled him into her lap. And this time, he did curl into her chest.
It made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. She wasn't doing this for herself, but she couldn't deny that she liked it. Couldn't deny that she liked the feeling of his head on her shoulder, and of his shoulder on her chest. Couldn't deny how right he felt in her arms, how right it felt to just hold his waist and rest a hand on his knee, gently massaging it.
"But what if I want to be some inept god's research project, hmm?" she whispered. "Then what? Will you tell me I can't?"
"You're so mean." Venti huffed and sat up, leaning his elbows against his thighs to cup his cheeks with a miffed expression on his face. "You know I won't."
"Venti..." Lumine sighed and let go of his waist to play with the hair right in front of her. There was something very soothing about rubbing the soft strands between her fingers, and it helped her immensely with gathering her thoughts. "You're acting like this is the first time we ever stepped on each other's toes. A misunderstanding between two people will always be a misunderstanding, no matter if these people are friends, acquaintances, lovers, or enemies. And more importantly, you're acting like it's your fault for not being human enough, and like you could fix it by becoming one. But you're not human, Venti, and you never will be. You're a wind spirit. And that's fine, because I'm not in love with the human you're trying to be. I'm in love with you." Lumine took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around her friend's torso to pull him against her. He yelped as he was ripped from his sulking position in such a rude manner, but Lumine was too busy nuzzling into the crook of his neck and letting his scent envelop her to think about it. "I love you, Venti the Wind." Another thought hit her as she said it, and she couldn't help but smile against his shoulder. "Or maybe I should call you Barbatos the Breeze instead to get the point across?"
Venti snickered – much to Lumine's relief. "No, no. No need," he laughed softly against her ear. "The point crossed over just fine."
"Wait, I still got one," Lumine continued, emboldened by the positive reaction. "You said 'Mondstadt' means 'moon city', right? Lunar Lord!"
"Oh, come on!" This time, Venti's laughter was anything but soft, and it chased away the last traces of heaviness in Lumine's heart. It wasn't just relief anymore – it was release. "You do realize that not even the wind can reach the moon, right?"
"It's part of the sky, though. Just like the wind," Lumine pointed out. She tightened her hug and gave it her all to nuzzle deeper into her friend's shoulder, even if it seemed impossible. "And the stars."
"Ohhhh... I see what you did there!" Venti chuckled and Lumine could feel his head leaning on top of hers. "Hmm... If I'm the Lunar Lord, does that make you the Starry Knight?"
Lumine snorted. "Maybe an honorary one."
The warmth of Venti's cheek was gone as fast as it came. "Honorary Starry Knight?!" he cried, sounding absolutely scandalized. "That's a terrible title! No, you're the Starry Knight now, no ifs and no buts!"
"As you wish, my liege."
"Lunar Liege, if you'd please!"
Lumine chuckled. Something told her her friend thought that one through about as much she had. "As you wish, my Lunar Liege."
"...Yikes. That's almost worse than 'Venti Windline'. You know what? Let's forget about that one."
"As you wish, my Lunar–"
"Stop that!"
Lumine couldn't keep a self-satisfied grin from spreading on her face. "...Love."
Heh, she got him. If his indignant huff was anything to go by, at least. "I don't think you deserve to be called 'Stellar Sweetheart' right now. Maybe 'Siren'."
"Aww, are you secretly a Whopperflower?" Lumine quipped and leaned back against the wall. As much as she enjoyed resting her head on Venti's shoulder, her back did not. "Can I tempt you with my singing?"
"Tempt?" Venti repeated, using his newfound head mobility to raise a brow at Lumine. "What are you talking about? Last I checked, sirens are those noisemakers they use in Fontaine. You know, the ones you're supposed to run away from? Wait..." His eyes widened. "You mean, the Sirens? That band of Oceanids that was infamous for singing so horribly that some sailors would jump overboard to punch them personally? The ones that sirens were named after?" He shook his head, looking almost offended. "No, I'm not tempted to punch you! You're not that bad!"
"Umm..." Lumine emitted. That was what she got for projecting one world onto another, but she didn't really feel like explaining right now. "Must have gotten some words mixed up," she said instead. Her lips curled and she hummed doubtfully. "But now I'm not sure if I should feel insulted."
"Hehe!" was Venti's very Venti answer to that. "If it helps you any, they were supposedly very beautiful and had a lot of admirers despite their... questionable musical choices. I can't confirm anything, though – that was long before my time, so I only heard the stories." He glanced at Lumine, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. "I'm surprised they were the first thing that came to your mind. I didn't think the story was even around anymore, much less common enough to be a first association."
Seemed like Lumine wasn't getting around an explanation anymore. "I don't think it is," she admitted. "It's just something I picked up from another world that also had beings called sirens. But they're the other way around. They're quite unsightly, but have enchanting voices that they use to lure sailors and eat them. And that word was also used to describe women who use seduction for nefarious purposes."
"That's... one heck of a leap in logic," Venti commented, eyebrow furrowed. Then the skepticism suddenly fell away and was replaced by consternation. "Wait, wait, wait!" he yelled, frantically waving his hands. "Is that what you thought I meant?!"
Lumine hummed awkwardly and nodded. "The context fitted..."
Venti's mouth opened and closed like that of a fish on dry land, but nothing came out. It was almost surreal, seeing Venti of all people at a loss for words, but eventually, he choked out a "What...?"
Lumine sighed. In hindsight, it did seem rather dumb. "Let's just pretend it never happened."
Venti nodded a little too forcefully and slipped from Lumine's lap to sit next to her again. "Excellent plan."
"That reminds me, though..." Lumine pondered as it occurred to her that they hadn't quite finished the conversation from before, and she folded her hands in her lap to stare at them. Her thighs felt so cold all of a sudden. "I want to apologize again for ambushing you with my..." She trailed off as she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, but she took a deep breath, still refusing to look away from her hands. "...desires. It was the most thoughtless thing I'd said in months, and... it won't happen again."
"Ehe..." Venti emitted, but the awkward laughs turned into a sigh soon enough. "I'll get over it."
"If you say so..." Lumine muttered. She couldn't help but notice that he'd neither said 'I'm fine' nor 'Don't worry about it'. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... This is the first time for me, too. The fact that I was born into this meatsuit doesn't make me any sort of expert on love. Besides, before I was separated from Aether and forced to interact with people who weren't him... my relationships with others were incredibly shallow. When it comes to proper humaning skills, you probably have me beat. So... you're not the only one who still has a lot to learn. If nothing else, we're in this together. An inept god, and an inept human, up the creek diving for a paddle."
There was a pause, but even with her eyes glued to her lap, Lumine could hear Venti's eventual intake of breath. "Well, as long as it's down there somewhere," he decided and hopped to his feet, prompting Lumine to look up.
He was smiling that ancient smile again, but this time, she could detect a cautious optimism in it instead of the placid resignation from before.
She smiled back, and when he reached out a hand, she gladly took it – and held onto it even standing up. In fact, one hand wasn't enough for her, and before long, she took his other hand, too.
At first, he looked rather uncertain about it. Not in a bad way, but he looked at Lumine, then at their hands, and then back at Lumine with a lopsided expression that had 'Why?' written all over it. "Soooo... What now?"
"I don't know," Lumine replied, unable to keep that complacent smile off her face. All she knew was that she didn't want this moment to end. "Whatever we want, I guess. Is there anything you want?"
"I want... Hmm..." Venti chuckled wryly. "Well, since you're asking with such sincerity, I can hardly say 'unrestricted access to Master Diluc's wine cellar', now, can I? Even if it was yours to give." His brows furrowed and he looked away. "Funny... I don't remember the last time someone asked me that in that tone," he pondered, seemingly more to himself than to Lumine, but that didn't stop the flashes of sympathy. Venti didn't let her dwell on it, though – he returned his gaze at her and gave her a contented smiled. "You know, I can't think of anything in particular right now. I have good friends, good food, good wine... I have my trusty lyre with me, and the weather is nice, too. I guess I just... want things to continue as they are." He laughed softly. "And I have you by my side to share them with. What more could a humble bard ask for?"
The words filled Lumine with a mix of emotions that was nothing short of overwhelming. Her inside was flooded with love, while her outside was enveloped in warmth and tenderness. But there was an ache of melancholia, too – the knowledge that time relentlessly marched on, and that things would never not be changing.
And yet, that wasn't so bad, either. There was still an Aether-shaped hole in Lumine's heart that not even Venti could fill, but if it had never opened up, she never would have realized there was space for many, many more people. Including a very special space for this cheeky but loving bard whose boundless energy gave a whole new meaning to the phrase 'wild and free', who was stubborn and knew exactly what he wanted and what he didn't want, but had a heart so big and caring that he threw his own life away to save the lives of others, who had sacrificed his freedom and taken on responsibilities he wasn't cut out to handle because no one else would, responsibilities that crushed him, and the only way out of them was death. Who gave up any chance at true happiness for the sake of his people, and asked for nothing in return. Who learned to be content with the little things when truly, he deserved the world.
And who couldn't even see that because he was too busy punishing himself for things that, in many, many cases, weren't even his fault.
"Lumine?" Venti's voice reached Lumine's ears, snapping her out of her reverie. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Normally, this sort of question would lead to awkward scrambling, but not this time. Lumine had no idea what her face had been doing while she was spacing out, but she could imagine, and it didn't embarrass her one bit.
After all, there was nothing wrong with looking at someone like they were the most amazing person in the world.
She tugged on her friend's hands, pulling him against her before she slipped her hands out of his and enfolded him in her arms. "Because I love you, silly breeze," she whispered into his hair. "And if you can't see yourself the way I see you, then at least see me seeing you the way I see you."
"That's a great tongue twister, but..." Venti sighed and wrapped his arms around Lumine to return the hug. "Never mind. I love you, too." He snickered softly. "Underwear brain included."
Lumine wanted to be offended, but it was hard with her face on fire and her beloved's breath brushing through her hair. Besides, she couldn't help but think that the teasing was a good sign. "I'll never live that down, will I?"
"'Never' is a bit long, but..." Venti huffed out a laugh. "Maybe a century? Maybe when Master Diluc's grandkids hit puberty, big bro Venti will tell them all about how big sis Lumine–"
"Alright, alright!" Lumine shouted and pulled away. Her blood was lava enough. "I'm really sorry, okay?! You can stop now!"
Venti grinned mischievously. "Just because I can doesn't mean I should!"
"Oh, now you remember that!"
The boy archon chuckled. "By the way, I can sense Elzer panting his way towards the entrance inside the mansion," he informed Lumine and took her hand, still grinning from ear to ear. "Let's try to beat him to the table. Something tells me there's a Paimonian scolding in our futures, and I don't know about you, but I certainly do not wish to be the one on the receiving end of it."
Lumine glanced at the hedge, already calculating the distance. "In that case, there's only one thing to say–"
"'Poor Elzer'?" Venti suggested without waiting for her to finish, snickering and the tip of his tongue poking out.
Lumine looked at her friend, then shook her head and readied herself for a sprint. "Two things, then. 'Poor Elzer' and–"
"Race you!" Venti yelled, interrupting her yet again as he took off, using his unfair advantage to launch himself over the hedge without a run-up – for which there was absolutely no space.
"Yeah, something like that..." Lumine muttered under her breath as she stared at her friend's leaping form, pondering briefly if she was petty enough to suck him back in with a storm eye.
She decided against it, though. After all, she had an advantage, too.
It was called 'Geo objects'.
Updates will be a lot less frequent from here on out. The whole reason why I started this in the first place is because I injured my leg in such a terrible fall that I couldn't even sit up for days (I didn't even know that was possible!), and thus had a lot of pent-up energy that I ended up putting into writing the moment I was able to.
But now I'm better and have since returned to work, which means less energy and less time. But I'll be keeping at it as much as I can. I'm having plans here!