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𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 "𝐰𝐨𝐰, 𝐠𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞"...?
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❥ 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘕𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭
❥ 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦
❥ 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘺: 𝘈𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵
❥ 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦: 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦
❥ 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘛𝘣𝘩 𝘐 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘨
❥ 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 1406
╰──➤ 𝙂𝙊𝘿 𝙈𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝙃𝘼𝙏𝙀 𝙈𝙀
all your life, you'd been dying to get a vision. you didn't mind what element, though you had a preference for anemo since you were from mondstadt and you enjoyed the cool breeze of the city. there were so many things you aspired to do once you got one, and you did everything you could in order for you to be considered worthy. you went around mondstadt, constantly asking people if they needed help. you took commissions for the adventurers' guild to help lighten their workload, and you even assisted the acting grand master with her duties on multiple occasions! even when you weren't in mondstadt, you were always conscious of everyone and any issues they might've been experiencing.
and yet, nineteen years into life, you still hadn't gotten one. of course, that didn't mean you'd give up hope. after all, there was still plenty of life to be lived, right? still, with all the times you'd helped others out of life-or-death scenarios, you thought you'd at least get some bit of recognition.
"i'm so tired," you whined, slamming your head down on the tavern's counter.
"if you're not going to drink, please leave," diluc sighed as he cleaned a perfectly see-through wine glass.
"no, i'm waiting for venti," you huffed, resting your arms on the counter as well. "he should be here any minute-"
suddenly, the door was kicked open and a cheerful bard waltzed into the establishment. your head perked up and you looked over to see venti taking a seat on the stool beside you. you gasped as your eyes lit up.
"venti!" you chirped.
your best friend. he was an anemo user, which made you jealous to no end, but you still loved him and his company. on multiple occasions, you'd rant to him about your frustrations and how envious you were that he got a vision.
and each time, it made him feel worse.
diluc groaned in annoyance, "do you have the mora to pay?"
"actually, i do! i've been saving," venti smirked, enjoying the redhead's irked glare. "the usual, please~."
"wow, how long have you been saving on tips?" you asked, raising your eyebrows at the bag of mora the bard threw onto the counter.
"...ehe."
"months, huh?" you snickered. "so lame. saving all that mora just to spend it on wine."
"it's worth it!" he argued. "i can barely function without dandelion wine!"
"that's called withdrawal," you giggled, propping your elbow up and using your palm to support your head. "i worry for you, y'know. why do you drink so much, anyway?"
"because it's delicious," he grinned as diluc set down his drink. "you should taste it this time. what's the point of coming with me if you won't have anything to drink?"
he was ignoring the fact that you weren't old enough to drink legally, but you didn't comment on it. he shouldn't have been allowed to drink either, but he told you he made a deal with diluc. the details? you had no clue.
"i only come here to spend time with you," you smiled as he took a large swig of wine.
he let out a hum of satisfaction, "i appreciate it, my dear y/n~."
"oh god, don't call me that," you laughed. "i might get the wrong idea."
"ehe!" he winked, downing the rest of the alcohol. "ahh, this might even taste better than how i remember!"
"and now it's gone."
"not for long. oh, diluc!" he sang, holding up his cup.
"fine," the man grumbled, stealing the mug away to refill it.
"your alcoholism knows no bounds," you commented. "i would really appreciate it if you'd give me the actual reason why you drink so much, though."
"i already did-"
you rolled your eyes, "i've been your best friend for two years, venti. do you really think i can't tell when you're lying?"
"i-"
he cut himself off and muttered something under his breath, but you weren't able to hear him. you would've asked him about it, but you knew he'd only respond with a giggle in an attempt to avoid the question. you sighed.
━✿━
"what the hell, venti?!" you whined as you ran up to the windrise tree, where your dear friend was resting under its branches.
"what did i do?" he asked, though the smirk on his face told you he already knew.
your eyebrow twitched and you huffed in frustration as you sat beside him, "you left me back there! diluc almost got me... you're lucky you had a vision to get away, i swear."
"ehe... apologies," he said. "he wouldn't have caused you much trouble anyway, though. i was the one who didn't pay the full amount!"
"i guess," you sighed. "whatever. you said you had something to tell me, right? what is it?"
he suddenly went quiet, causing you concern. you glanced over and noticed him twiddling his thumbs, staring at his feet. your chest grew heavier, as if a boulder was weighing on it. you waited for him to speak, but it took about ten minutes and you were half asleep by the time he finally said something.
"...y/n, this is important, so i need you to listen closely," he stated. it didn't seem like he had just downed at least five cups of wine, and that was always something which confused you. he never acted drunk until he was almost thirty glasses in.
"okay, what is it?" you asked, blinking away the sleepiness you previously had.
he exhaled and closed his eyes, too nervous to look at you, "you might hate me."
you furrowed your eyebrows and let out a dry laugh, "i don't think i could ever hate you, venti. it's fine, just tell me."
you wouldn't say that if you knew what i'm about to tell you, he thought.
"...i'm barbatos."
you went silent and stared at him with a perplexed gaze. he seemed very serious about what he was saying, but he was the god of anemo? really? the alcoholic bard? without a word, you stood up and approached the statue of the seven, looking up at it to find any resemblance to your dear friend.
"how didn't i see that before...?" you whispered to yourself.
as if a tsunami crashed onto you, you realized what this meant. your best friend was the very god who'd continued refusing to give you a blessing like so many other people in mondstadt. he was the one who saw with his own eyes how much effort you were putting in to obtain a vision and he ignored it. he noticed the changed look in your eyes and mentally prepared himself for a hurricane of emotion.
"y/n..." he called quietly, standing up to meet your eye level. he wanted to reach out and embrace you, but he knew you would've pushed him away.
you looked back at him with wide eyes, still in shock, "why didn't you tell me?"
"y/n, i-"
"why didn't you tell me?!" you cried, shutting your eyes and clenching your fists as they dangled at your sides.
"...i was afraid how you'd react."
"of course you were," you scoffed, choking back a sob as tears pricked your eyes. "you're afraid of everything."
he wasn't sure how to respond, so he only looked down with shame. he wouldn't deny your words, whether they were true or not. he didn't want you to be more upset.
"do other people know?" you demanded.
"...yes."
"you told other people before me," you exhaled. "how am i supposed to react to this? i don't know if i should be more angry you didn't trust me, or that you don't think i'm worthy of a vision even though i've done everything i possibly can! you know how many times i've almost died!"
"y/n-"
"don't talk to me!" you sobbed, turning around and beginning to walk away. "and don't follow me, either!"
"let me explain, please-!"
you halted in your tracks, surprised by the desperation in his voice. he hoped you'd turn to him and listen to what he had to say, but instead, you continued walking. he called after you again, but this only prompted you to run. eventually, you disappeared from view and venti's legs buckled. he crashed to the ground, wondering how that seemed to happen so quickly. one minute, you were with him and smiling at him.
then the next, you were gone.