WITH LOVE / XIAOVEN

eighteen.

authors note: this chapter is er... not my favorite to write but yknow it has to be done! but uh just a warning beforehand that xiao in this chapter literally has a breakdown and he does defend his mom during it so if u dont wanna see that please dont read this chapter T___T 

uh and also bc ive been getting comments (that r now deleted) on both wattpad and ao3 that r accusing me romanticizing r/pe uh i just want 2 address it?? uhm im literally a victim of csa- the same as xiao. please do not accuse of me such things when its such an awful thing to experience especially as a child, if i see any more comments accusing me of romanticizing it, i will be blocking u ty <3 

anyways how do we feel abt the 2.1 livestream? im not rolling 4 anyone mainly bc i dont care abt new characters (which is sad 2 me bc i didnt roll 4 anyone this update either... i miss seeing the gold star.. im in pain) and im just waiting for the hu tao, ganyu, nd albedo reruns (maybe xiaos too.. imma try to get c1 since i alrdy have him LOL) but also scara!! very excited to see him :3 i hate saying this but why does he sound like me im crying can he not.... 

ANYWAYS ENJOY LOL

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it's silent as the two men are sat in the van as jean drives them to what could possibly be their impending doom. the music is low and all that's heard through the car is the soft breaths of everyone. venti glances over to xiao, who is scrolling on his phone absentmindedly, trying to pass the time in his own personal hell. as he scrolls, venti sees him scratch at his nails, the area around his cuticle dry and bloodied even though only hours before his nails were fine and well, clean.

"hey," venti says, leaning over to look over to xiao, whose head peeked up from his phone, "we'll be fine, alright? i don't think zhongli is that harsh."

venti knows jean can hear them speaking by the way she makes eye contact with venti in the rear view mirror and she promptly heightens the upbeat, bubblegum pop song playing from the radio. venti smiles softly at her and even if it's just for a moment, he can see her stoic expression on her face falter for a second to return a smile.

"i'm scared," xiao admits, he averts his gaze not looking at venti. he never liked to share his emotions only out of the fact that he did not want venti to pity him but now was not the time for that.

"i am scared and afraid that our love will only end up being taken away. this is the only love i have ever experienced and i do not want it to end- it's the type of love that you only read about in books, i don't ever want it to end."

venti nods, "me too but the most that we can hope for is that we don't y'know.. get separated. i think that's the last thing i'd ever want."

xiao nods, looking up towards the rear view mirror to see jean staring at them through the mirror. she quickly clears her throat once she sees they are both looking at her, "well, to zhongli's office, we go."

the two men walk to zhonglis office with jean walking up ahead of them. the two dread what is about to happen but once they enter they are met with zhongli who is sitting calmly at a desk with stacks of paper neatly put aside.

the men both stand in front of him, greeting him quietly before he speaks.

"i will make this quick since i suppose you two have already made up your mind about who is leaving, yes?" he asks but venti frowns, confusion written on his face.

"er... no. we were actually hoping that we could stay together and in the group if that's possible?"

zhongli looks at venti with no expression on his face before he grabs one of the stacks of paper on his desk before he pulls a highlighter out, highlighting a few lines.