900 Years is a Long Time to Wait

Ch. 3: A Reunion of Wind and Flame

The world slowly came into focus as Venti's eyes blinked open. Trying to shake the sleepiness away, a brilliant flash of red entered his field of view and stayed there. Voice hoarse with sleep, Venti croaked out, "Diluc...?" The red blur became clearer, and soon Venti found himself staring into the face of the knight he had loved for so long. Diluc cradled Venti's body close, a small smile making its way to his face as he buried his face into Venti's neck. "I missed you. How long were you waiting?" A weak chuckle came from the Archon before tears began to slip down his face. "How dare you make me wait for nearly a thousand years, Master Diluc. How cruel." Cecilia came running over, her feet flying across the ground as she dashed to join her family. "MOM!" Venti barely had time to look up as his oldest daughter's body slammed into him. He could feel her crying, her body shaking as she hugged him close. Meiling and Rai came barreling over not a minute later, nearly tripping into the water in their haste to reach their uncle.

If there was one thing that Kaeya Alberich would never understand, it would be this. Why in Celestia itself was Cecilia Dei, resident bard, hugging the Anemo Archon Barbatos while his brother simply stroked her hair and held the Archon close. Wait- the winds had dissipated while Diluc was on the dais, so that could only mean that Diluc Ragnvindr himself had woken up the Archon. "Albedo...?" The blonde looked up, his head tilted slightly to the side. "Kaeya?" "Am I dreaming, or did my unromantic, blockheaded brother just wake up the Anemo Archon, who is one of the two that can only be woken up if their past lover is there?" Shaking his head slightly in affection as a small smile made its way onto his face, Albedo interlocked their hands and nodded. "Is Diluc going to become sappy? Because if it happens, I swear to Celestia that I'm going to throw myself off the dorm roof." Beside them, Jean let out a small snort and Childe coughed, both of them trying and failing to hide a smile at Kaeya's little antics. Albedo only sighed and squeezed Kaeya's hand softly. He was tired already.

Soon after, the group was back on the bus, this time with Venti dozing in the back next to Diluc and the trio. Bennett kept turning around, determined to see the Archon in clear view. Fischl kept tugging him down, saying that "The Prinzessin der Verurteilung should not need to keep dragging her subjects down" and Razor... Well, Razor was eating something. Knowing him, it was probably his hash browns. Kaeya was raising his eyebrows at Diluc, smirking in the most annoying way possible. Diluc shot him a glare, shifting his body so that Venti could rest against his shoulder. Kaeya simply smirked again, mouthing, "Whipped" at his brother, who mouthed, "Hypocrite" back when Albedo moved closer, trying to find a better position to nap in. Meiling stretched, checking her phone to see how far from the hotel they were, screeching indignantly when Childe snatched her phone away.

At the hotel, they were led to their rooms, and almost all of them passed out immediately on the plush beds. Venti simply clung to Diluc and refused to let go until Diluc dropped him on the bed. The next morning, Cecilia raided the breakfast buffet, snatching several muffins before throwing them in her backpack and jumping in the waiting bus, and they were off to Liyue. Diluc had to physically restrain Meiling from leaping out of her seat, since she was so excited to be back in her home country. The rest of the Liyue people were pressed up against the windows, each trying to catch a glimpse of their homes and family businesses. Chongyun was licking at one of his ever-present popsicles, glaring at Xingqiu when he slipped a pepper into his hand, and Xiangling was eagerly rambling to the twins about the new dishes she could make now that she was home.