...
"I... Think I'll go with Xiao." I nervously made up my mind. How did I even get in this situation in the first place? Why does everyone want to share a room with me??
"Ehe, see? I knew you'd want to pick me!" Said male slung his arm over my shoulder.
"Ah, if that's your choice, so be it, my lady." Albedo sighed.
"Grr." Venti glared at Xiao.
"Venti?"
"I'm going to my room then." He walked to the stairs, feeling pretty salty.
"Wait, how do you know which is your-" "Silence." He snapped his head to Albedo, giving his last glare. Without another word, he walked his way upstairs, his cold face still staying.
"... I'm sorry, am I the one who caused this atmosphere?" I asked.
"No need to worry, (Y/N). It'll work out, no? That's what you always told me." Diluc smiled. Same charming smile as Kaeya.
"I suppose we should choose who we want to be roommates with now then. Xiao and (Y/N) are off limits." Xingqiu said, "I suggest we stay with the person we switched personalities with."
"Good idea, Razor likes!"
"Then, I'm staying with Razor?" Bennett asked.
"I'm with Xingqiu. Nice having you, my liege."
"..." And cue Kaeya and Diluc glaring at each other again. Maybe it's a bad idea to let them stay in the same room.
"Wait, but what about Venti?" I reminded. "No one's sharing a room with Venti, and there's only four rooms." That's when I feel like I screwed up somehow.
"Uh... Maybe one room will have three people?" Bennett suggested.
"But, will Venti want to stay with whoever that'll be? Considering his personality is now Xiao's, it doesn't seem like he'll be too tolerant." I said.
"We'll have to discuss with him, then. Either that, or he won't have a room." Xingqiu said. "Well then, let's pick our rooms now."
"Yes, let's go, (Y/N)!" Xiao pulled my arm, almost dragging me up the stairs.
"W-Woah, slow down!"
...
"Aww, a bunk bed?" Xiao whined as we opened the door we choose. It was a pretty standard room, I have no idea why Diluc has guest bedrooms in a winery.
"What did you expect? Or rather, what did you want?" Xingqiu looked at Xiao suspiciously.
"Fine, I'll take it. But, I want to sleep on the same bed as (Y/N)!"
Albedo face-palmed, "I should've known."
"Uhm, anyway... This is our room now. Let's go see what rooms you guys pick!"
"Oh, I feel like staying here." Xiao said.
"Um, okay."
"Tell me all about everything when you get back, okay, (Y/N)?" I nodded.
We walked back out to the hallway of guest rooms. Three more rooms left to check.
"Let's see this one..." I opened the door to the room beside mine.
"Woah! So many bookshelves!" I walked into the guest room filled ceiling to floor with books, the only other space without said literary items are the two separate beds in each of the further in corners of the room.
"We'll take this room!" Albedo immediately said as he gazed at all the reading materials in the room. I nearly forgot his personality is swapped with Xingqiu.
"Wow, are you sure this isn't your personal library or something, Diluc?" I asked.
"Hm, maybe. Wouldn't you like to know, though?" He smirked at me. Reminder to read his dialogue with the Kaeya tone.
"A-Anyway... Is my liege okay with this room?" Albedo nudged Xingqiu.
"Hm? ...Oh, it's fine for me." Xingqiu was busy looking at the inside of the room than to pay attention to our conversation.
"Yes, that settles it! And, um, can I stay here to read some books...?" Albedo asked.
"Yeah! Course you can. Although, you're gonna miss out on everyone else's rooms." I said.
"I prefer to be alone either way. Off you go, my lady. Remember to tell me about everything!" He ran off to admire the shelves of books.
"Have fun I guess." I closed the door.
"Me and Razor next?" Bennett pointed to himself.
"Sure!" I noticed Bennett and Razor's personality swap is actually quite subtle. You might not even be able to tell unless you knew what happened here.
We walked to the next room in the hallway. As soon as I opened the door, all I could see was bright, blinding light. Actually, I couldn't see anything because of that.
"Ow, my eyes!" I shielded my vision from the light. I'm too young to go blind, alright.
"Bright, so bright..."
After that I heard something drop... And then the light piercing through my eyelids was no longer there.
I slowly opened my eyes to see a generic looking room with two beds, and a flashlight on the floor... And an open window.
Okay but that was the brightest flashlight I've ever seen.
"Oh lord, w-was that a thief?"
"Unlikely, it's morning and people are outside. It's hard to sneak in a winery like that. Also, what kind of thief would sneak in during the day? A bit stupid, don't you think?" Bennett wondered.
"What if it is, and that's how they will trick us into thinking it's not them? Treasure Hoarders these days are becoming quite smart, I must say." Diluc put a finger on his chin.
"So... Do we investigate this?" I asked.
"I'll do the job, you go on and continue the tour!" Diluc smiled, reassuring us.
"Okay, we'll leave this in your hands." Bennett nodded, as Diluc walked away.
"I'll follow him to make sure he doesn't do things inefficiently... Don't do anything stupid while we're gone." Kaeya said, following Diluc from behind.
"Uhm, okay... Let's see the room then..." I looked inside said room and honestly, what did I expect to change. It still looked pretty normal, generic, bland even. Kind of like mine and Xiao's but way worse.
Two beds in each corner of the room, a closet, a study table, a potted plant, a bookshelf... I wouldn't even be surprised if this was actually Diluc and Kaeya's room as children.
"Razor thinks... Boring?" He commented on the room.
"Yeah, not really much of a surprise to me." Bennett looked around.
"At least Razor has room to sleep!" The wolf boy smiled positively. I guess you actually can somewhat tell they've swapped personality.
And he's not wrong either. It just looks a bit boring, but the quality is probably top notch! (Reference to possible characters whose design might look bad but they're actually really cool that might come in the future)
"Maybe so..." Bennett sighed.
"Now, now, you sound a bit depressed, Benny." I patted his shoulder.
"I'm fine. We'll be having this room then." He turned to me and smiled. Honestly I miss positive Benny already.
"That's that then. Do you want to check on Kaeya and Diluc?"
"I'll go... What about you Razor?"
"Razor wants to go with (Y/N)!" He happily nodded.
"I'll pass. I need to look around." Xingqiu said.
"Okay then. Let's go."
...
"I know you're following me." Diluc said.
"I didn't keep it a secret." His brother growled in response.
"Hello! How's th investigation going?" I greeted.
"So far we've found no clues of thieves. We've questioned the workers, but no one has seen anyone suspicious." Kaeya told us.
"Hmm...Either someone is helping the thief cover up by lying, or..." Diluc thought.
"Or one of the workers is the culprit." I finished his sentence with my own thought.
"Ah, sharp as ever, (Y/N). You'll be smarter than me one day." Diluc clapped his hands. "But back on topic, those two are the only possibilities left."
"Slow down." Kaeya interrupted.
"Yes?"
"What did the thief want to steal?" He asked.
"Oh, that's right! We assumed it was a thief who broke in but... What did they want to steal?"
"The wine is in our cellar, two floors below. If they wanted to steal our wine, wouldn't it be easier to enter from the ground floor windows?"
"Hmm..."
"..."
"Grr..."
"What was that?"
We turned to look at each other. Soon, our eyes somehow all landed on Razor in sync.
"Razor is hungry..." He held his stomach.
"Aww, poor boy.. Lunch time it is!" I ruffled his silver hair as he grinned widely at the sign of affection.
"I suppose we can take a break. Let's go back in."
...
"Thank you for the food!"
The table was decorated with dishes ranging from Liyue to Mondstadt cuisine. Fragrance wafted through the air, possibly even reaching the noses outside.
"(Y/N)! You made this?!" Xiao asked, pointing to the cup he held in his hand. It was filled to the brim with his current favourite drink, the holy dandelion wine.
"Yes... I just got the recipe from Diluc, but-"
"Mm, it's like the gift from the Gods..." The adeptus said as he sipped the Dandelion wine from this cup.
"..." I sweat dropped.
"Hash brown! Meat!" Bennett chomped in on his lunch too. I smiled at how happy he looked.q
"Sweet..." Xingqiu quietly ate the cheesecake dessert I made for him. At this point, I feel like their second mom.
"My, my. Your cooking is exquisite, my lady. I could be eating this all day and never feel full."
"Aw, thanks. Although I doubt my cooking is actually that great. Hey, do you want this, Albedo?" I cheekily held up a carrot to him.
"Eugh, no, no, my lady. No thank you." He had a look of disgust looking at the orange vegetable. He actually looked like he was almost going to puke.
"Haha, I'm just teasing you." Insert him having the most disappointed face of all.
"Teasing me with the thing I hate most?!" He pouted.
"Nah, you only hate it because your personality swapped with Xingxing."
"Please don't do it again, my lady. I cannot bear to see that devil of a plant."
"Ehe."
"More wine, please!" Xiao raised his cup.
"No problem." Diluc poured him another glass, as he himself, too drank another glass of wine.
Lunch went smoothly.
...
"That was nice! I'm so full now..." I sighed, when a heavy thought hit me in the gut. "Wait..."
I eyes the uneaten Almond Tofu that sat at one corner of the table. I made it especially for someone, not Xiao.
"Is something wrong, my lady?" Albedo asked.
"Someone is missing." He followed the direction of my gaze towards the perfectly untouched tofu dessert.
"Oh. Where is he?"
"Hm? Where's who?" Diluc chimed into our conversation.
"Where is Venti?"
...
The sun was about to set. We were still looking for our beloved Anemo Archon as to where he may be.
"Anemo Archon? Anemo Archon?" Razor shouted out, as he searched in his homeland Wolvendom, which wasn't too far from the winery. It was a real risk to go out with their personality swapped like this but...
All the more reason to find Venti back. Where could he be?
"Venti? Ventilation!" I called out, in hopes of an answer from the wind, or something.
"Barbatos?" Our cries scared the birds from their trees. One hopes that one of those trees will have the windborne bard hidden in it.
This was like a whole search to the missing person 911 operation. And to think all this started because of one simple device Albedo made.
What if his plan was to have this happen all along...?
...
Side Switch: Venti
"Anemo Archon? Anemo Archon?"
I keep hearing them shout. Why are they all looking for me?
"Venti? Ventilation!" My ears perked at the familiar, melodic voice of her. I looked towards the direction of that beautiful voice.
"...(Y/N)."
She is looking for me too. I thought that... She didn't care for me if she picked a mere adeptus over myself, an archon.
And yet here she is. Looking for me.
I sighed, as I ignored their calls. The only thing tempting me to reveal myself was (Y/N)'s voice. But, I need some alone time.
I gazed back upon the beautiful vibrant colours of the sky as the birds flew back to their homes. I have to go back too. But not now.
I continued to sit at my hiding spot, that none of them thought to search.
...
Side Switch: (Y/N)
"Oh my Lord..." I fell onto the couch. All that searching made me tired. We encountered some hilichurls on the way too, but Déjà vu, a certain someone prevented me from fighting again.
It was actually Xingqiu this time, but his Rain Swords instead of the elevator.
"All tired out, my lady?"
"Look at me and tell me if I am." I glared at him.
"Oh yeah, (Y/N)!" A pair of arms hugged me from behind.
"Oh, what-"
"We haven't got to spend time together yet!" I turned my head to see my favourite adeptus, Xiao.
"Oh yeah..."
"You must be worn out from the search, right? Let's go back to our room..." He sneaked his hands to my waist, about to lift me up from the couch, from behind might I add.
"Hold it."
"Hm?" Xiao had a passive aggressive type glare towards the person who stopped him.
"We still have dinner..." Xingqiu eyed Xiao coldly. It was obviously an excuse for him not to take me away.
"Dinner? I think I'd be too drunk by then to chit chat my my favourite person, now would I?"
"Cut down on the alcohol." He simply said. "Or..."
"Or?" The teal haired male asked back.
"Or would you prefer (Y/N) with me and you with your beloved wine?"
"Hm... I love them both... Not a chance I'd let you." Xiao hugged me closer.
"Guys, calm down, I need to make dinner, no?" I nervously laughed, desperately trying to get myself out this situation.
"(Y/N), no need to worry about dinner. I've had the maids prepare it as we were out looking for Barbatos." Diluc told me.
"What?"
This man just wants to see me suffer, doesn't he.
"Dinner!" Adelinde called out.
-*...*-
Time skip of the dinner because, let's be honest, I can't write characters with consistent dialogue, and you want me to write a dinner scene?
-*...*-
"So full..." I patted my stomach.
"The cooking wasn't as enjoyable as my lady's, unfortunately." Albedo wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.
"Oh (Y/N)~!" Oh dear, not now. I just finished my food.
"Yes, Xiao?" I took a deep breath in.
"I kept myself sober all for you! Now we can hang out in our room! The maid's wine didn't taste as nice anyway..." He lifted me up bridal style.
"Woah woah put me down- I've just finished dinner-"
And he sped up the stairs. Say goodbye to Dawn Winery, say hello hospital once something happens the the food in my stomach, I forgot what it was called, I think it started with an 'a'.
(For real, someone help me, I forgot what it was called and Google isn't helping.)
...
"Damn it. Why is it that (Y/N) is always stripped away from me?!" The blonde haired male shouted, to no one specifically. He was on the verge of snapping his sword in half, seeing as his beloved has left without him knowing, again.
"I'll bet it's that alchemist again. Next time I see him, I'm gonna..." He quickly took a deep breath before exhaling all his anger.
"It's already night time. When is that girl coming back?"
...
"An intruder? Interesting! Tell me more." Xiao sat on the edge of the bed as I lay down. Apparently as I was gone, he'd prepared plushies for me. How nice. It just so happen that I'm cuddling one right now.
"It became a crime scene real fast, so Diluc and Kaeya went to investigate. We went to check on them after the room tour, to see what they found."
"Mhm?" He nodded expectantly.
"You won't believe what they found." I told him, and at this point, stars were in his eyes.
"What did they find? Tell me!"
"Aha, if you insist. Actually they found... Absolutely nothing." I told him rather anti-climatictically.
"Aww, all that build up for nothing..."
"But then that's when we thought: What if someone here is trying to cover up for the intruder? Better yet, what if we just questioned the intruder, but they were lying?" I said dramatically.
"Ooh, you have my attention back!"
"And then Razor said he was hungry, so we went to have lunch." I smiled.
"Aw."
"It was fun though! Felt like I was a detective for a moment." I patted the plush's head.
"And I was left out." He gazed out the window.
"...Is something wrong?"
"...No. I was just reminded by the sky that we should sleep now. The Kamera should be fixed by tomorrow, I believe." He turned back to look at me, with a cheeky grin on his face.
"What's that grin for?"
"Ehe, nothing..." He went to turn of the lamp that brightened the room. Then he hopped on the bed, hugging me tightly, facing me.
"What-"
"Hush. Sleep... I want you to sleep, okay?" He smiled softly.
I had nothing I could say except, HOLY CHRIST, IM SLEEPING WITH XIAO.
"That's right... Drift to sleep... Have sweet dreams, the dreams I never had... Goodnight..."
His voice lulled me into soft slumber...
...
"Mmm... Mmhmm..." A voice hummed in the middle of the night. The tune sounded so familiar, like... Dream aria.
It woke me up.
Xiao was no longer in front of me. Instead I felt a pair of arms hugging me from behind.
"Mmhmm... Mmmm..." The humming continued, now joined with the faint sound of a lyre.
I tried to escape Xiao's grasp without waking him up. Since he was unconscious, his grip wasn't tough to get out of. I almost rolled off the bed, but thankfully I got off safe and soun-
"...Hm...? (Y/N)? Where are you going?" He asked. The jig is up.
"Um, to the bathroom?"
"Oh, okay... Please come back soon..." He slowly drifted back to sleep. I wonder if he was having nightmares...
But either way, that was close. What did I want to do again?
Oh yes, investigate the sound. There is only one person I know who owns a lyre and plays dream aria. He must be close by!
I walked out the room. Time to dodge anyone I come across ninja style.
I closed the door softly...
"(Y/N)?" Someone whispered.
"What the fu-" I hung onto the doorknob for my dear life. I turned to the voice.
"Oh, it's you, Kaeya. I thought it was a ghost for a second there." I patted my chest in relief.
"Why are you up now?" He asked.
"Oh, uh... I need to go to the bathroom." I lied, walking past him towards the music.
"...Really?"
"You don't trust me?" I stopped.
"I want to. But the bathroom is that way." I turned back to him to see that he's pointing to the opposite direction. Crap.
"Oh, it seems I forgot, hehe..." I nervously walked to where he pointed to.
"Be real here. You heard the music too, didn't you?" He stared at me for an answer.
"...You got me." I put my hands up.
"I'll take you there."
"What? Take me where?"
"Take you to where he is." He replied.
"You know where he is?"
He smiled, "I always did. I just kept it a secret."
"What?!" I whisper shouted. You're telling me that the time we were looking for Venti he was faking the 'where is he' thing?!
"Quiet...Follow me."
I nodded and simply followed him silently. He led me to a window at the end of the hallway.
"A window?"
"Yes, climb out onto the roof. You'll find him there."
"He was there this whole time?!" I whisper shouted again, in surprise. What kind of idiots we were not even looking here, then already looking all the way to Wolvendom.
"Just go. You want to see him, don't you?"
"Okay, okay." I quietly and carefully put a leg through the window. Soon I've climbed my way outside.
"Oh, and, goodnight." I waved.
"Goodnight to you too." He waved back, as I continued to climb my way up the rooftop. The music was getting clearer now.
"Mmmhm... Mm..." He hummed as he strummed the magical lyre in his hands.
"Venti..." I said, hoping to get his attention.
"...!" He jumped in shock, and turned to see me.
"(Y/N)." I saw sadness in his eyes as he said my name. A genuine sadness you wouldn't usually see Venti in, but...
"You know we were all looking for you, right?" I walked over and sat next to him.
"I know." He looked away from me and to the bright moon.
"Why did you hide?"
He looked down to his lyre.
"I was afraid."
"Afraid of?"
"Afraid of reality." My heart jumped when I suddenly heard sobs from him. The moonlight reflected off his pearl like tears. He was crying...
"V-Venti!" I patted his back. He embraced me into a tight hug.
"*Sniff* I-I... I feel... So lonely... *Sniff* When you're not here..." He sobbed into my shoulder.
"*Sniff* W-When you picked X-Xiao over me... *Sniff* It felt like... It felt like...!" I rubbed his back to comfort him.
"I-It felt like... I would then be lonely forever..."
"H-Hey. You're crying over me picking who to be roommates with. Don't you think that's kind of... Childish?" I tried lightening the mood.
"*Sniff*...Yeah. How immature of me, being a respected archon, yet acting like a child. You right..." He never let go of the hug.
"How... Childish..."
Soon, his breathing was the only thing that could be heard. No more sniffles, no more sobs. Just the quiet snores of the Anemo Archon.
Oh, Sucrose. Please fix that damn Kamera soon.
...
"Eh? (Y/N)? Where are you~?" A certain adeptus asked in a sing song tone. His beloved has gone missing.
"(Y/N)'s not here...?"
He went outside to ask the rest of the people.
"What do you mean (Y/N) is missing?! Wasn't she sleeping with you?" Albedo asked.
"I don't know. The last time I saw her was in the middle of the night. She said she was going to the toilet." Xiao explained.
"But... Bennett's there now. If something happened to her, he'd know." Xingqiu said.
"(Y/N)...Gone...?" Razor asked worriedly.
"First it was Venti, now it's (Y/N). I wonder what happened...?" Diluc glanced towards Kaeya.
"You're looking at me for...?" Kaeya crossed his hands.
"Huh? Do you have anything to do with this, my liege?" Albedo asked.
"Kaeya...Kidnapped (Y/N)?!" Razor glared at the blue haired man.
"Cool off your heads now. I'll tell you what happened." Kaeya calmly looked at them.
"You better, Mr. Kaeya." Xiao said.
"(Y/N) is simply sleeping on the rooftop right now, along with Venti."
Those words shook the cores of everyone standing in that very room.
"What?!"
...
"...Wake up, birdie." A voice called me awake.
As soon as I opened my eyes, blinding sunlight shot into my eyes. It was morning. But sunlight wasn't the only thing present. A certain wind god sat beside me, waiting for me to get up.
"Venti?"
He smiled.
"Good morning."
Seeing him alright now, it made me smiled too.
"Good morning to you too, Barbatos."
Venti brought out an apple, as he munched on his own, and handed it to me.
"Breakfast."
Of course, I accepted. It's good to eat fruits once in a while.
It was peacefully quiet. Sitting on a roof, eating an apple, watching the sunrise, seeing people work from above. It felt different from normal town life.
Well, it was peaceful untill I heard the stomps of footsteps from underneath, as voices started to call my name.
"(Y/N)! We know you're up there!"
"Oh."
Suddenly, Venti grabbed my arm.
"Let's...Scare them a bit, shall we?" I stared a bit, and nodded.
With the flick of a finger and the power of Anemo, Venti teleported you both away, as Bennett climbed up the roof.
"Where are they?" He asked. Slowly, the others climbed up too.
"(Y/N)? Venti?"
"Mr. Kaeya, you didn't just lie to us, right?" Xiao looked at him. And to his surprise, Kaeya looked just as confused.
"...(Y/N)?"
"(Y/N)'s not here! Venti too!"
I watched their confusion and surprise with Venti from a tree just nearby the building. I snickered.
Then I saw familiar locks of teal hair walk below the tree we sat on.
"... Sucrose?" I quietly asked.
Said female's ears twitched, as she looked up the tree. Her ears were sensitive enough to hear me.
"Eh? (Y/N) and the bard! What are you doing here...?"
"Hehe, scaring the rest of them." I replied, pointing to the rooftop.
"Nooo! Calm down, Master Diluc!" Bennett shouted, as the red haired male attempted to throw Kaeya off the roof. It's okay he must have a wind glider I think.
"...Oh dear." Sucrose said. "I think...You should go back and stop this."
...
We opened the door.
"(Y/N)! And Venti! And Sucrose!" Bennett pointed at us. It felt like yesterday morning a bit.
"Where have you been, (Y/N)? Master Diluc nearly killed Kaeya because you were gone!"
I laughed, "Well. What's more important is that Sucrose is here."
Sucrose nervously waved at the crowd.
"You've fixed the Kamera, my liege? As I expected from my apprentice." Albedo said.
Sucrose noticed her teacher acting strange. She must be thinking, 'What in the world happened here?'
"Oh, yes. E-Everyone, please stand in line so I can take a picture..." She held the device up to her eye.
As everyone lined up, a bright flash covered the room for a split second.
"..." I looked at them expectantly.
"...I don't...Feel quite well..." Xiao said, clutching his stomach. Must be the alchohol intake from last night. He can't eat anything besides Almond Tofu after all.
"Ehh, where...Is my wine?" Venti asked, kneeling down on the floor.
"Ah! Looks like they're all back to normal." Sucrose said.
"Yes! I'm okay now!" Bennett pumped his fist in the air.
"Razor...Feels nice!" He smiled.
"Good job, Sucrose." Albedo complemented.
"It's all with the help of your blueprints, sir!" Sucrose bowed her head.
"That all fine and well, my liege. Well, I guess I'll head back to Liyue! I'll be sure to write a story about this experience." Xingqiu smiled.
"Though I'm still curious, bard. What happened yesterday?" Diluc asked.
"Hm? You're asking me? Well..."
Venti began to explain how after his salty outburst, he went to the soon to be Bennett and Razor's room. He stayed there until everyone was about to enter.
He had to think quick, so he took a conveniently placed flashlight and shone it at whoever was about to come in to blind them, and he fled out the window onto the roof.
Then he said how I comforted him last night, and we both slept there.
And when everyone came on the roof, he teleported us away to prank everyone. Basically, the true mastermind of everything.
"That was...A real experience."
After all goodbyes were said, I headed back to Mondstadt, oblivious to the anger I caused for a certain someone.
...
"(Y/N)! Where the hell were you and what the hell happened?!" Aether shouted, nearly on the verge of slicing someone in half with his sword.
"Uh oh..." I'm in for it now.
...
Event Chapter: You're Just Like Him!
Act 2
Complete!
...
...
I'm so sorry this took so long, I had to energy recharge my motivation, and I'M BACK.
Thank you for reading!