"You single-handedly paralyzed over 20 men?" Xiao actually sounded surprised.
They'd previously returned the young girl back to her family, and Xiao had made it just in time for dinner at the tea shop owned by Aether's friends in Inazuma city.
"You say that like you're shocked I'm capable of that." Vena huffed out, now nervous talking about it once Xiao had returned, half expecting to receive a worried lecture.
"Of course I am, that's incredibly impressive."
Vena felt her face flush with heat, still not used to Xiao complimenting her, especially not in public.
Aether shot the girl a glance, laughing silently at her expression when he sent her a wink, all which Xiao had missed since he was too busy digging into the Almond Tofu Vena had made for him when he'd returned.
"Especially since you haven't played around much with your new electro powers yet... that's amazing."
"T-thank you." Vena muttered shyly, shoving a spoonful of the soup she'd made for her and Aether into her mouth as the butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
You'd think she'd be less shy when it comes to him after the night before-
Oh god, no- don't think about it.
"Also, I know you're in a great mood and I'd hate to ruin that, but-"
Those were the last words Vena wanted to hear from her best friend.
Almost immediately, she silently placed her nearly empty bowl of soup back down on her mat, her expression now blank as she searched his worried eyes.
"So, you know Scaramouche has the Shogun's gnosis..."
Where is he going with this?
Anxiously, she gave him a nod, feeling her throat tighten at the mention of the harbinger's name, knowing nothing but dread ensued.
"Well, according to Childe... they've lost contact with him ever since."
Her gaze drifted down into the broth of her soup bowl, her mind wandering to the conclusion.
"They think he went rogue." Vena spoke it matter of factly, not even as a question.
She didn't need to speak about the elephant in the room. Obviously that meant now not even Childe could keep tabs on him, and he very well could be even more unhinged than he previously was.
And to top it all off, he now held an Archon's gnosis, and he was possibly the most equip to access its full power seeing as how he was the Shogun's first ever test puppet.
"Lovely." Vena exhaled deeply, knowing that was quite possibly some of the worst news she could have received.
"So I'm guessing you're both going to be even more down my throat about my safety and keeping me locked away in Xiao's realm?" She snorted, hoping laughing about the matter would make her feel better.
"As much as I want to, no." Xiao finally spoke up from beside her, now lifting his gaze to meet her surprised eyes as she looked over to him.
"I know you'd be safer that way... but I didn't save you from him just to make you my own prisoner."
That hit deep. Deeper than Vena wanted it to. It was genuine, and beautiful, and heartwarming, but also filled her with anxiety. She knew he was afraid for her safety still, but regardless of that fear, he wanted her to live her life and make her own choices, to have her freedom. He choose to push aside his fears and worries for her, proving just how deeply he truly cared.
Amber eyes searched her own softly with such a gentle adoration for her.
There was love in his eyes. A gentle kindness she'd never seen before from anyone. His gaze held emotion now as well, at least whenever he looked at her. Maybe others couldn't see it, but she did, and it almost brought her to tears.
No one had ever cared so much for her or considered her feelings like he did.
"Thank you.." Vena whispered softly as she leaned over to rest her head against his shoulder, trying to advert her eyes so maybe he wouldn't assume she was choking back happy tears again.
By now, she didn't know how he didn't view her as weak or too overly emotional. She felt as though she was always either happy crying or really crying about something, it was hard for her to control.
Xiao simply exhaled with a smug little smirk on his face, giving his head a shake.
She already knew what he was going to say- surely something to the effect of how she always thanked him for such "trivial" matters, for things she shouldn't thank him for because to him, they were normal. They were things people should just do for one another out of respect or love, not that he wasn't appreciative of her constant thanks, of course.
It felt good to be appreciated, obviously.
"So, we've also been talking,"
Oh geez, that sentence could lead anywhere, and she couldn't ignore how it made her heart race. Especially after the news they'd just dropped about a super-Harbinger now on the loose who was more than likely completely unhinged, but there's more?
"How about that vacation? I was thinking Mondstadt and go check in on our old friends? We haven't been back in a while~" Aether sang out melodically, as if he really needed to convince her.
Cerulean eyes lit up brightly, practically sparkling at the idea, also thankful it wasn't any more bad news.
"YES! And I can finally ask Albedo and Sucrose about some of their potions! They know way more about the flora local to Mondstadt and there's so much they could reach me- and then I could improve my herbal remedies and-"
"Okay, okay, it's settled then. We can head out in a few days." Aether quickly decided to interrupt the girl before she proceeded to ramble on and on about her herbs and medicines for the next few hours, although still quite pleased by her excitement.
"You're coming too, right?" Vena had almost instantly turned to Xiao, her eyes practically sparkling up at him with an almost child-like excitement.
"Of course." Xiao smirked softly down at her, his heart picking up its beat at her reaction, her happiness always bringing him happiness as well.
It was like an infection, so contagious to him, and he was more than willing to be consumed by it.
She knew he would have to leave any time he sensed dark energy, being one of the only few who could cleanse it, but knowing he would accompany her anywhere always made her happy regardless.
—————————————————————-
"You really are two kindred souls, you see?"
The voice caused Vena to nearly jump out of her skin as she spun around on her heels to face whoever thought it would be a fantastic idea to sneak up on her.
Her guard lowered immediately once she'd met the gold orbs of an old friend, her eyebrows now knitting together in subtle confusion.
"Zhongli? What are you doing on the docks?" She figured it was a weird place to run into him.
Sure, this was Liyue harbor, but all the times she'd seen him before were always near the funeral parlor or the shops that served tea, never on the ship side of the city.
After all, he was a former archon, so was it really so odd to say he'd caught wind of her return to the city and he'd gone out of his way to find her?
"Wait, two kindred souls..? Who?" His words confused her, not the least bit surprising though considering he did always have a rather cryptic way of speaking in riddles.
The older man simply gazed on at her with a smile, knowing it wouldn't be long before she pieced it together anyway, so he chose to remain silent.
Her eyebrows simply raised a few moments later, finally assuming what he was referring to as he let out a hardy laugh.
"Xiao and I? You think so?" Vena crossed her arms at this, staring at him skeptically as she tried to figure out what way he could exactly mean by that.
She was a traveler from another world, just like Aether. What did she possibly have in common with Xiao? Not that she had to be at all, but she was curious what he was getting at. He'd clearly gone out of his way to find her, just to speak such an odd sentence and then not even explain.
"I ran into Aether on the street, he told me you'd be here while waiting for him to pick up a few things for your trip."
So he answers that, but leaves me hanging on the philosophers statement? Seems he hasn't changed while we were away.
Vena's gaze drifted out toward the open sea, pondering the sentence in her head over and over as her muscles relaxed to the sound of the water beneath her feet.
But Xiao was a Adeptus, an ever vigilant guardian who unlike the others, had refused to succumb to the darkness he restlessly cleansed every day for centuries.
She definitely didn't compare to his level of persistence and determination. Obviously not his combat prowess or nimble speed either.
"Your pasts."
Again, azure eyes turned to lock onto his own, now met with a frown instead of that gentle curiosity from before.
"I would never compare my past to his level of suffering. Xiao has dealt with much worse than I have." Vena continued to frown, still unsure of what he was getting at even after having him lay it out on the table for her.
"Not comparing, Vena. Take a deeper look at the similarities. Hence- two kindred spirits." Zhongli gave another deep laugh, not thinking she of all people would be this dense to the topic.
"At what, our mutual suffering? Are you trying to say we wound up together because of our mutual affinity for being tormented?" Vena couldn't help but laugh now, hoping she wasn't right.
Zhongli gave a shake of his head at that, coming to stand beside her now to watch the waves crash together with her.
"You just love to see the youth struggle, don't you?" The purple haired girl rested a hand on her hip with a playful roll of her eyes.
"Not everything has a deeper meaning, Vena. Some things should just be taken at face-value."
Great, now he's giving me a psychology lesson?
"Philosophy, psychology, what's next? Better skip mathematics, old man, I didn't fair so well with that subject back in school." She playfully joked with the older man, evoking another chuckle from him as he clasped his hands together behind his back.
Although, even at face-value, he wasn't entirely wrong. Maybe her and Xiao actually were a tad similar, hence him calling them kindred souls. They understood each other on a deeper level than anyone else could.
"Take care of him for me."
Before she could even process what he'd said, he'd already turned away and swiftly left back towards the inner city, leaving her alone with her mouth agape.
He must see him like a son, with everything they'd been through together. Morax did give Xiao his name, after all.
"Of course."
———————————————————————
"Please tell me Rosaria didn't convince you to get drunk with her again." A teasing voice reached her ears, signaling that the party was now over.
Aether had gone to look for Albedo and Sucrose once they'd arrived at Mondstadt, and Vena had decided to check in on Diluc at the bar.
Except much to Aether's dismay, she also happened to run into Rosaria there, who had definitely convinced Vena to get flat out wasted the last time she was here.
Rosaria looked away as he spoke, not confirming or denying his claims as the corner of her lip tilted upwards before she took another sip of her drink.
"Nooooooo~ We just had one drink." Vena struggled to keep her voice steady, raising her hand up and putting her fingers together to form an 'okay' like symbol.
"Just one teeny tiny drink." Her blue eyes squinted as she let out a giggle, Rosaria clearly being far superior at handling her alcohol while Vena remained the lightest weight that had ever stepped into Diluc's bar.
"I tried to stop her." That very same red-head called over to Aether from behind his bar, giving him a shrug once Aether had turned to meet his old friend's gaze.
"She said just one, and I only gave her one." Diluc continued with a deep exhale and a shake of his head, but a smirk hinted at his lips as well, honestly just glad to see happier than she usually was.
She'd been through a lot, and as somewhat of a father figure, he just wanted Aether and Vena to find happiness and get whatever they wanted out of life. It brought a smile to his face to at least see her letting loose a bit now, even if the alcohol may have been helping a bit.
"What am I gonna do with you?" Aether gave a playful roll of his eyes and a shake of his head once he'd turned back to look at her.
"Well, Albedo already left for Dragonspine, so I guess we're going on another little trip once you've sobered up."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
WHAT IN THE 2.4-
AHHH HAPPY XIAO DAY!! Good luck to everyone wishing on our favorite Anemo boy today!! Whether you're wishing for him for the first time, going for constellations, jade spear or just happy to see our boy finally get the love & attention he deserves, I wish you the BEST POSSIBLE LUCK IMAGINABLE!! Let me know with a comment if you pull him! As always, thank you guys all for the love & support here, I cannot BELIEVE this story is almost at 50k ASSFGHJKL ♡
Also I'll be streaming my Xiao pulls on Twitch @/Vexciee if anyone wants to stop by & watch me get like 4 Qiqi's 😂😭 I have over 500 wishes that I plan to spend on him (& maybe I'll get 1 copy of Shenhe, I haven't decided yet AHH)