Sleep Tight | Xiaoven

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Hi!!  Thanks for checking out my story :) Venti and Xiao are not immortals. This is set in a modern time setting, they are favoured by the gods.
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"Thankyou for dining with us, sir!" said Venti Dei; 19 years old and trying to make a living by working for his mother at her fast food restaurant. It was comfortable, to say the least. He made $25 an hour, and worked a lot. Oh! Free dinner was also a plus factor. What's better than mom's own recipes?

Now, let's discuss something a little more... interesting, per say. Since he was young, Venti had the ability to see the future in his dreams, although he never told anyone other than his mom who believed him. It was a strange phenomenon, but he didn't feel alone! Not at all! All around the world, many people were beginning to have special powers! Some could bend water or fire or even make mountains move according to their will. He felt as if his ability, as the media called it, was tiny in comparison to all of the flashy things that other people could pull off. But, he didn't feel completely useless.

Once he had a dream that a lady would be hit by a car when crossing the road, but he was able to recognise the street from the clues in his dream. So the next day he waited on that same street until he saw the woman, and quickly pushed her back before the speeding car whizzing past could hit her. She expressed her gratitude for his quick reflexes before they parted ways. He hasn't seen that woman since then, but he hopes she's doing okay.

In comparison to all of the things demonstrated on the news, his power may not have seemed like anything special. But he was able to help people, and so he was happy. Besides, everyone knows how the media works. They purposely look for flashy things to report on. So, behind all of the news coverage, Venti was absolutely certain that there were many others out there with similar abilities to him. He was yet to find them, though.

"Venti, stop spacing out! Come and serve this man while I take orders to tables!" He heard his mom shout, breaking his train of thought.

"Yes mom!" He called in response, walking to the register.

"Good afternoon Sir! What was your table number?"

"Table 13."

"Sweet! That'll be $42 for today."

"Alright," The man grunted before paying. He had a lion tattoo on his arm that seemed all too familiar.

Wait a second...

And then he saw it. The cigarette packet with red writing, and a metal lighter with a lion printed out on it, sticking out of his shirt pocket. He must've been staring for too long because the man gave him a weird look before exiting.

I have to do something.

Was all Venti thought. He ran up to his mom and whispered, "Last night's dream, I'll be back." Her eyes widened and she gave a firm nod at his statement.

He quickly ran out of the shop with his mother's approval, and grabbed onto the man's arm.

"Sir! Excuse me! Please don't light that cigarette!"

The man scoffed, "And who are you to tell me what to do with my life? Piss off."

"It'll explode the moment you do!" Venti was in a state of panic, he'd never had a dream about death as vivid as the one about the man in front of him. Orange, red, yellow, and ash grey smoke would be all that was left of the man in front of him if he didn't stop him.

"You're mental. Leave me alone and go back to work kid."  But it was too late, no one believed Venti and his stories anyways.

"Sir, please. Just tonight, don't smoke." He said in a hushed tone, flinching a bit from the loud noise that the man made while slamming his car door.

"Whatever." And the man was gone.

————

"Breaking News! A man has died from an explosion at a petrol station! After thorough investigation and footage from nearby security cameras, experts have been able to determine that the blast was caused by the man dropping a lighter onto a gas leak. Regulations are beginning to be put in place after this incident, in order to ensure that-" Venti switched the TV off, unable to watch any more. The footage was just as vivid as his dream, and everything occurred exactly the same.

"Mom." He whispered, turned to face the woman next to him, "Its my fault, I couldn't do anything." His eyes began to go glossy as his mother embraced him.

"Sweetie, it's not. Don't be harsh on yourself." She rubbed small circles into his back.

"I'm sorry.."

"Don't be sorry love. You have a date with that boy Aether next week don't you? Think about that. Think happy thoughts. Tonight you'll have a nice dream."

"Thanks mom, I love you."

"I love you too, now I think we're both tired after work today. Let's get some rest."

————

It was happening again: a lucid dream that would soon occur in reality. Although, it was different this time, because it involved Venti himself. He wasn't in control of his actions, but merely trapped inside his body.

Venti stood alone in the snow- the scene that surrounded him was outrageous. Two cars crashed into eachother, and debris everywhere. That was until a figure appeared in front of him.

A guy his age, with black and teal hair, stood a fair distance away from him, and they stared at eachother, entranced by eachother's eyes, features, and everything. Venti felt like a spectator in his own body, unable to control his own actions. He felt the warm sensation of what seemed to be tears flowing down his cheeks as he began to approach the man in front of him.

Closer, closer, close, together.

He wrapped his arms around the man's waist and rested his head on his shoulder.

"Thankyou." He whispered, "Thankyou so much."

He felt the man hesitate before returning the hug.

"Sorry for ruining your car?" He said awkwardly, and received a laugh in return.

"Don't apologise, you have nothing to be sorry for. Thankyou, so much."

'What am I doing? Why am I hugging this guy? Staring at him?' Venti wanted to pull away and ask his name, ask who he was and where he came from, but he couldn't do so. He wasn't in control. And it was his first time dreaming about a future that involved himself.

———

When Venti woke up, it took him a few minutes to process his dream. He remembered it vividly, but it confused him to no end. He wrote down a recount of the scene in his dream journal anyways.

"Venti! Wake up! We have a new neighbour!"

What?

He dragged himself out of bed to see what the commotion was about. He saw his mom at the window, and went to join her.

"He looks your age! Why don't you talk to him?"

"Huh?" He looked out the window to see a man next to a moving truck, unloading boxes.

But that man looked all too familiar. That black and teal hair, those golden eyes, and that tattoo on his arm.

Oh, shit. It's dream boy.

——

Hi!! Been in a bit of a rough patch with my mental health but hopefully I can start updating regularly :)))