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The soft breeze that carried the familiar scent of windwheel asters, stars, and the recent addition of sakura bloom stirred the archon from his drunken stupor. Lumine is back from Inazuma and invited him to spend a long-missed time together under Windrise's famous oak tree. The fingers that were mindlessly strumming the lyre were put to a halt, and his aqua green eyes sparkled at the sight of the starborne traveler.
"Ah, my friend! I see you've brought offerings." Venti beamed.
"It's basic courtesy to give a friend a souvenir from a place you've traveled." The golden-haired traveler chuckled and found space to sit beside the bard. "As soon as I saw this luxurious-looking sake, I thought of you."
"Truly this one is blessed to have such a devout follower. This gift you bestow, I shall gladly devour." Venti dramatically raised his hand atop her head as if to bless her, before deftly going for the bottle of sake in her hands.
The traveler grinned mischievously as she quickly avoided his hands. She placed the bottle up high and inspected it before popping the bottle open, the soft grainy aroma of the alcohol wafted her nose. She glanced at her right and giggled at the sight of her salivating friend. "This bottle was originally gifted to me by Thoma, a new friend I've made in Inazuma. Drinks like this are meant to be shared after all."
"Alas, a gift as great as this comes with a price attached. Pray tell, my dear Lumine, what troubles you?"
"Can't I just want to share this beautiful drink with you and get wasted together?" Two small porcelain cups were summoned from her spatial bag. Another gift from Ayaka. As if the princess hasn't already given her so much, but she insisted, and Lumine didn't mind the favors dancing back and forth.
"Unlike you, I can handle my alcohol. Still, delicacies such as this must be relished with care." Venti took one of the cups that Lumine poured sake with. Together their cups clinked and partook the drink, the alcohol relieving their throats. It was gone in an instant, and it left them wanting more.
“So, traveler, how was Inazuma?” Venti asked, offering his cup to her.
Lumine smiled and poured another round for them both. This time she just took a sip instead of gulping it in one go. “It’s beautiful. Truly. The scenery there blew me away. It was like visiting a fairy tale land, only it kept trying to kill me with the constant electric shocks and thunder strikes.”
They chuckled together. “A fitting description. I can already imagine Paimon's incessant screams."
"If I wasn't busy fighting for my life, I was mostly dying from laughter because of Paimon's multiple failures. Paimon got upset with all my laughing and mocking though, so I had to compensate her. Mora, difficult to earn but easily squandered." Lumine sighed.
The bard grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ehe. If there's anything me and Paimon share similarities with, it's burning through your wallet."
"At least you're self-aware. As I've heard, just this bottle alone costs thousands of mora." She stared at the clear liquid and poured herself some more. "Will this be enough to pay for a time together with you?"
"My, what forward words you've uttered dear traveler. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were soliciting me for… certain endeavors."
"I-" Lumine's face warmed and the sake sputtered from her lips at his innuendo. She quickly composed herself and glared at the sly smirk that formed at the bard's face. "Is that possible then? Will you be finally willing to accept my affections?"
It was Venti's turn to blush, but he dismissed it with a laugh and gulped down his alcohol. "So, what ails you so greatly to have traveled back a great distance just for my company? Speak, for I am here to listen."
Disappointment was written all over the traveler's face, but nonetheless, she shrugged and drank the liquid courage. With all that's happened, confiding her problems to an archon seemed unwise, but Venti was the one she trusts most. It took a few moments of silence and some pouring of alcohol before she finally spoke.
"Venti… You know about my brother and what happened five hundred years ago. Zhongli knows too. I know you can't divulge it, I'm not here to pry your secrets. I just, I feel lost. After encountering him with the Abyss Order and also having almost died at the hands of the Electro Archon, it made me wonder if my brother has grown so apart that he no longer cares for me."
Lumine coming to him to vent was nothing new. They found comfort in each other's company, and while unspoken, they've shown trust in each other through actions more often than words. With all the time they spent together, he could sense the heavy burdens that plague the traveler. He stays quiet and lets her continue.
"I mean, he's become the Prince of the Abyss. The enemy of mankind. I have no idea what happened for the past five hundred years here in Teyvat, or what happened to him during the time I was asleep. For years we have jumped from one world to another to find a new home, yet here I am now. Stranded. My brother on a mission that somehow superseded our original. He speaks of destiny, of us having time… But! But what if I had died back then? I have been in death's door multiple times! What if we don't have time? Will I really ever be able to reunite with him again? In fact, does he even care if we reunite or not?"
Tears of frustration fell from Lumine's eyes. Venti placed his hand over her balled fist, the anemo energy brushing Lumine gently.
"You are more capable than you think, Lumine. I'm sure your brother trusts in your strength."
"But what if my strength fails?" Her golden eyes quivered in fear. "I feel my power returning but it is still far from enough. I almost died at the hands of the Electro Archon. I felt powerless. How am I supposed to reach this supposed end of the road without my brother? The one who always had my back? I feared no battle as long as he was by my side, and now I have to get used to fighting alone. Dying alone…"
Venti protested. Both of his hands now cradle hers, warmth suffusing her. "That's not true! You are never alone, Lumine. Wherever you go, the wind is always with you. The friends you've made along the way are with you too. You are loved dearly. I also suspect that your brother keeps an eye on you and protects you from unseen danger."
He knew her feelings all too well. They were the same sentiments he always tried to run away from, yet knows it is not something easily escaped. Being an immortal was both a blessing and a curse. In his thousands of years of existence, he knew that losing his loved ones to the passage of time is inevitable. But they are never truly gone. For he weaves the tales of his friends in odes and ballads, his songs serve to keep them alive in his heart and in the hearts of the people of Teyvat. Venti wishes for the starborne traveler's tales to be so numerous that he could keep on singing her new tales forever.
"Venti… As much as I despise the absence of my brother, I also fear what his plans are. He is my home, but I have come to love the people of Teyvat and see Mondstadt as my second home. I know that there are many things unknown to me, hence why I strive to uncover it. But unlike my brother, I have been asleep the entire time he was traveling around Teyvat. Did he feel what I feel now? I wasn't there for him when he probably needed it most." The tears she had desperately fought back began to burst like a floodgate. Her hands desperately squeezed his, searching for comfort. "I'm scared, Venti. Scared of the changes in him. Scared that he's no longer the Aether I know and love. Scared that he has come to hate me and has abandoned me. Tell me, is this his punishment? Of being the weaker sibling? Of leaving him alone when he was suffering for who knows how long? Or does he simply no longer have a need for me?"
Lumine wailed. Her negative thoughts overwhelmed her, breaking her down. The pain and guilt she desperately tried to bottle exploded. She thought pressing on with her goal of meeting all the Archons would give her the answer. But now she's unsure if she can take the truth. She has only been to three nations so far, and yet here she is, weak and pathetic. Inazuma was so beautiful, but it also showed her the sadness behind its beauty. She was no idiot. She could piece things together and see that the Electro Archon's obsession with eternity was due to losing those she cherished. If such a powerful being changed so much over the course of five hundred years, then her brother would be no exception no matter how much she wants to deny it.
The traveler cried and cried. It went on for what seemed to be an eternity, yet the tears never ceased coming. The bard removed his hands from hers, causing Lumine to open her eyes and stare at him in surprise. The playful smirk that he always wore was gone, and was instead replaced by an unfathomable sadness. The skies in his eyes were bleary. A squeezing pain ached her heart, and as she was about to apologize, she was immediately wrapped around his arms. His head laid rest upon her shoulder, and she could feel his warm tears against her skin. Warmth welled up Lumine, and she couldn't resist crying once again. She struggled to get her apology across as she kept hiccuping. Throughout her tumbled attempts of speaking, Venti patted and caressed her back, whispering soft words of reassurance.
"It's alright Lumine. You have nothing to apologize for. I'm sorry I can't tell you the answers you seek, nor can I reunite you with your twin. I'm sorry that despite being a god, I'm too weak to help. Yet it's my selfish desire that hopes my company is enough. That this might ease your pain." He whispers so softly that if it weren't for their close proximity, Lumine might have missed it. "Words will never be enough to convey how important you've become. You are a friend I dearly cherish and wish to never let go. Your strength isn't just your skill in combat and the elemental powers you wield, it's also the warmth and kindness you extend upon those you meet. That sense of adventure as free as the wind; a will as solid as the earth to keep on fighting against insurmountable odds; and a resolve so powerful, so resounding its strikes can be heard amongst all nations. It is what draws others to you. What draws me to you. You are beautiful, and you are strong. But please never forget that when you feel your strength is lacking, you can always come home to us."
Lumine hugged him tight, silent except for their breathing and her occasional sniffles and hiccups. She did her best to clear her thoughts and calmed herself down by the scent of cecilias and alcohol perpetually permeating on the bard.
Time seemed to never pass, and Venti never let go of his grasp on her. She was the one to break the embrace, but it seemed like there's an unspoken agreement of disappointment in their parting. Lumine cracked a small smile and fixed her gaze firmly at him. Her first sight of Mondstadt reflected in his eyes; the lush, verdant trees of the Whispering Woods below, the expansive blue sky, and a city amidst the lake further. It was a stark difference to the chaotic destruction she witnessed first in Teyvat. The person in front of her once again reaffirmed his place in her heart. Like a leaf carried away by the wind, so too were her worries. She couldn't help but reach out to him, her hand carressing his braided hair.
"Venti. Thank you."
"You are welcome, dear Lumine. You are always welcome." He leaned into her hand and smiled a gentle smile.
"Does this mean you'll travel with me now?" Her eyes lit up in hope, something the god felt pain in squashing.
"I will, but not right now. I'm sorry. I have made a promise to myself. This time, I will stay by my people's side."
"I understand." She let out a sigh, but then grinned widely. "I'm not giving up though! Both in having you as a traveling companion, and as a romantic companion."
Venti poured more sake straight in his mouth, facing away from the traveler. No matter how many times she teased him, he still couldn't get used to it. It has been so long since the anemo archon felt a strong connection with someone new. While some of the tether of his long friendships stood against the blows of time, it couldn't fully resist and had its colors faded like wind against sails. The starborne traveler's presence in his life is a welcome surprise, and he wishes for their friendship to last. Though with all her traveling and the unwelcome faces around her, like a certain Fatui Harbinger, he's beginning to lose his patience. If he isn't careful, he'll abandon reason and immediately jump at the opportunity to stay by her side. He would also be able to keep her away from bugs, like that certain Fatui Harbinger.
"Hey! Don't hog all the alcohol for yourself!" Lumine grabbed the bottle and drank it all up. She giggled, her lips lingering on the mouth of the bottle.
"Wha-- No fair! I thought that was your payment after getting all that snot in me."
Lumine wiped her shoulder and smeared it on Venti's face. "That was your snot in me too by the way."
"Yuck!" Venti's face scrunched and he quickly tried to wipe his face with his cloak, even though his tears on her shoulder had long been dry and Lumine's hand wasn't wet with his snot at all.
The traveler laughed, her face becoming uncharacteristically red, probably already drunk. "Let's race to Angel's Share. Loser pays for the bill."
"Deal." They both shook their hands, determination in their eyes. Neither one wants to lose.
"Readysetgo!" Lumine shouted before darting off first. Venti quickly followed, their laughter spreading across the empty night road of Mondstadt. Lumine lost due to having to stop to vomit, but thankfully she had stocked up on mora and was able to pay Venti's massive bill.
The pain and guilt remained, but like a cool gust of wind in a hot summer's day, she felt her burden lighten from being able to cry and be comforted by the one she trusted most. In the deepest of her heart, she considers Venti her new home.