The Windborn boy ─ Venti x reader ✔

6.

——present

[ 3rd pov ]

The day Lumine returned to her home of a chaotic bunch, she had been destined to become a victim and fall into the traps of interrogation. To start from the questions Aether would mainly ask—then there were few left which Kazuha would add.

However, Xiao didn't consider speaking up. He remained quiet as he wasn't the type, but the blonde watched him attentively nonetheless while she expressed silent gratitude for staying quiet.

Once he opened his mouth, her curiosity was sparked. It wasn't about not possessing the courage, it was rather the lack of energy he decided not to dedicate to the cause—which sounded incredibly offensive to others, but not to his friends—he had other strengths in indicating he cared.

He was quite the gentleman and possessed a very soft-sided soul, but he took time to adapt to anyone. If it weren't for the trauma he endured by a homeroom teacher, he'd be more talkative.

Lumine had studied him and her brother's friends for a longer while. Xiao was simply someone awkward with a soft-hearted soul with scarring deeply concealed in his heart.

She watched Xiao sit down beside Aether. Who shot him a smile without hesitation about what might happen if the boy reacted.

All of them, including Lumine, sat around the kitchen counter. Everyone beside one; Venti. He didn't care to take attendance yet.

She wondered where he might've hidden his presence away. She kept an eye on the staircase, but he never came.

— ☆ —

Not too far from the group, a young male with a sharpened mind sat on the highest stairs. He loosely propped his elbows up. His gaze never left their figures, and from afar, he listened very cautiously.

Why was this the most boring part to do? He didn't know, and why was he even listening? It's not like he knew it for sure either, but he turned this habit into a regular one long ago. At least that got suspected by many others.

There were only a few meaningful words and things discussed, but he didn't back off eavesdropping to what he should've attended anyway. It didn't make much of a difference at the end of the day.

The dark-haired, golden-eyed male let his gaze wander. He was the first to notice Venti's will to tag along.

He stood there, quietly beside Xiao and their eyes met briefly, jade met gold—nature met sunrise. With a tired worn expression evident, the guy had been a shadow of himself. With slightly widened eyes Venti recognized surprise in Xiao's eyes.

Xiao and everyone in the group knew how sensitive the matter was. Lumine picked up on the change in atmosphere. She ignored the fact Venti just joined them and pretended as though he'd been there the whole time, because that's what they'd always do.

Xiao didn't ask, no one ever dared to ask before. When they kept quite and gifted him sympathy and support it was enough, he'd never needed more. There had always been a silent agreement between the two, some kind of mutual understanding and respect. The dark-haired Chinese male may have received silence, but deep down Venti thanked him for not bringing it up.

A piercing gaze met his, it was filled with curiosity—that of Lumine, the teal-haired boy with the jade green eyes averted contact and he frowned. Something must've seemed off to her. He knew how he was perceived he seemed rather calm, like a storm inside building up. It wasn't necessarily a surprise that his personality felt dry and used up.