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Kaeya’s lips barely ghosts Venti’s when his lover pulls back.

For a split second, the moonlight illuminates Venti’s turquoise eyes, wide as Cider lake and deeper than Khaenri’ah, before they relax, and Venti laughs nervously.

“I must have had more to drink than I thought,” he says, his breath smelling faintly of alcohol.

Alcohol, Kaeya muses, is how they got here.

They started, as much of Mondstadt does, at the taverns. Kaeya, with his title in the Knights of Favonius, has never been a stranger to Venti. Though he had his own matters to attend to at the time, the knight was keenly aware of the strange bard in green who helped alleviate the Stormterror Crisis with the Acting Grand Master, a traveller from unknown origins, and a midnight vigilante.

Angel’s Share is a regular gathering place for at least two of the aforementioned. True to the city’s moniker of Song and Wine, the atmosphere within was filled with both the liveliness of ballads and the crisp scent of drink. Venti skipped around the tavern with his lyre, hopping on tables as he sung, occasionally cheekily receiving a drink in return when he leaves for the next. That this Mondstadt folksong is a bit mellow for a bar, is what Kaeya was thinking when Venti finally makes his way over to where the other is drinking alone.

Angel’s Share has started to empty by that point. Elsewhere, patrons are making there way home. Venti sits on the table and leans down close to Kaeya, singing in a language Kaeya doesn’t understand.

“Die Leute, die hier um uns steh'n
Wollen dir und mir kein Gut.
Ich aber frage nicht danach
Und trag einen festen Mut.”

Kaeya, fixated on the artist in front of him, his own eyes half-lidded and face flustered from drink. Venti laughs, takes a sip from the glass in Kaeya’s hands, and kisses him on the mouth, cocktail on his lips. There is a daring look in the bard’s eyes, and Kaeya humours them both. He lowers his voice and whispers invitingly that his place is empty if the other has nowhere else to go.

They slept together that night.

Tonight is a ghost of the same night those weeks ago. Neither of them had drank a lot this time.

But Kaeya gets the message, so teases with a smug smile, “We can save it til your breath smells better,” and Venti’s giggles relaxes a degree.

“And what if it never does?” Venti shoots right back, “To give up such a heavenly drink as Mondstadt’s cider, for the fleeting sweetness of kisses!”

“My, are the sinful talents of my silver tongue not temptation enough?”

Venti hums and leans in, pressing his nose to Kaeya’s. This close, if he so chooses, Kaeya could steal a kiss, and prove it to Venti. This close, if he tilts his head just the right way, their lips would touch again and he could prove to himself...

He supposes this is why he likes Venti — the carefree bard isn’t afraid to corner the less-than-savoury parts of him.

“Tales of the Cavalry Captain’s talents have been sung far and wide.”

Kaeya chuckles and tilts his head a different way, angled so that his lips brush against Venti’s nose as he pulls back.

“Boyfriends these days don’t even know how to treat a man, sleeping with me without so much a kiss,” Kaeya says with a sly grin.

Venti’s eyes light up at the challenge, “Hey wait a second, who was it that passed up an opportunity to steal one?”

“Surely it was the one who should have kissed me instead of being a tease?”

“A tease you say! I could never.” Venti throws his head back and laughs at his own blatant lie.

Verily, the whimsical nature of the other does have Kaeya sometimes wondering how serious they are. A tavern meeting barely a week ago, after Venti had personally sung Kaeya another serenade then returning to his room together to taste what the other had to offer, Kaeya had reached over and brushed a strand of hair out of Venti’s face.

Can I love you?

Venti’s eyes widened. Reflected the moonlight through the windows, as he breathed, I want you too.

They didn’t sleep the rest of that night. Instead, they laid in bed and stared into each other’s eyes, trying not to watch as their futures reach for one another.

Between them, dialogue is like looking glass. A word or a sentence is not the single object it appears at first glance. Look a little closer, and the rest around it is revealed. As long as the substance and context is known, the whole image is contained. Kaeya is very familiar with hidden messages in his line of work, while Venti sings about the past in songs which no one is completely sure are metaphorical or allegorical or both.

Tonight is a ghost of the same conversation those days ago.

Though tonight it is cut short. Kaeya shakes his head with a small chuckle, then gets up and starts taking off his outfit. It’s nearing midnight, and as all knights do, he ought to rise early tomorrow. Venti does not, but fortunately he also doesn’t disrupt Kaeya’s own sleep too much.

He looks back at Venti, still perched in front of his mirror. Their eyes meet and Kaeya does not ask what makes this kiss different.

———

Officially, Kaeya is the cavalry captain of the Knights of Favonius. Unofficially, he is the spymaster, interrogator, negotiator all in one...as well as the cavalry captain. This is to say that he is exceptionally patient when it comes to waiting for the right time, moment, instant, to do things. Exceptionally patient lying in wait until the target appears. Exceptionally patient with letting a key word slip under just the right circumstance to jog the suspect’s memory. Exceptionally patient wearing his opponent down until they can do nothing but agree with his demands. And exceptionally patient with a spooked horse needing hours reassurance that Kaeya will not leave him alone with that scary shadow threatening his horsely field of view with insurmountable fear, their bond as certain as their mutual trust and respect.

It is also why he is so patient for Venti to come around to their relationship

Unrelated to this, Kaeya is also very familiar with the lip loosening effects of alcohol. Whether it be to get an “old friend” chatting about the latest incident, or commiserating with a coworker after a patrol gone wrong, he always knows when and how to suggest grabbing a drink together for prosperity.

Venti drinks plenty without his encouragement.

He’s decided long ago that this does not actually bother him in their relationship. Despite how much he drinks, Venti remains surprisingly responsible and considerate — almost as if drink doesn’t affect him unless he wants it to, which is a rather useful skill for a spy’s partner to have. Sometimes, often, Kaeya wishes he too was so composed when he’s truly drunk.

(Then again, he’s also seen Venti toss himself into his own anemo tornado when drunk so he may be giving drunk Venti too much credit here.)

(Hey, a man can be multifaceted.)

At times, it can be hard for Kaeya to turn off the ‘spy’ part of his brain, having been raised as one since childhood. There is no reason for him to keep track of his boyfriend at all hours of the day, but he finds himself connecting the dots regardless — there’s no shows going on at any of the taverns so Venti won’t be there, the streets are quiet today therefore Venti would take the opportunity for adventure and inspiration, and the skies are windy which means Venti is likely on Starsnatch Cliff amid the swirling scents of cecelias.

A day this windy, it’s not a terrible idea to make sure there aren’t any foolish adventurers without a glider hiking on such a tall cliff.

As usual, Venti never looks more at peace with the world than he does when he’s surrounded by wind (contrast with how he never looks more at peace with himself than he does when he’s sitting on the palm of the statue of Barbatos). As Kaeya makes his way up the hill, he sees a couple of squirrels and birds scatter from where Venti sits.

“Don’t mind me, just a knight on patrol passing by.”

His boyfriend turns and looks back at him, laughing a bit. “Being a knight sounds like hard work if you have to travel to such scenic views, so far from Mondstadt City.”

“Perhaps a trusted contact told me of a bard out here all alone,” Kaeya says as he sits down next to his boyfriend, “and as a member of the Knight of Favonius, it’s part of my duty to see to it that all Mondstadters are taken care of.”

“Truly the Frostwind Swordman, Cavallery Captain, Sir Kaeya of the Knights of Favonius, has earned his reputation as one of Mondstadt’s most fearless and dependable of knights. Putting his very job, no, his very life, on the line to see to a bard forsaken in the wilderness!”

“My, don’t you have a sweet tongue.”

“I certainly hope so, after the nectar it’s tasted...” Venti says with purpose.

“Oh? If I had known what it would net me, I would have picked up this wet drink from the bar sooner,” Kaeya flirts back without a beat.

Venti makes a show of gasping. “How scandalous!” Then glances left and right, before leaning up close to Kaeya with a grin. “But if you’re so thirsty, we’re all alone up here.”

He has to admit, it’s a delightfully bold move that he likes from Venti. Maybe another day they can enjoy the cool wind on their heated skin together, but unfortunately, Kaeya still has standards for himself on the job. Watching out for careless hikers was already a tenuous enough excuse already. “Hey now, what do you take my professionalism for?” When Venti pouts, he chuckles and adds, “How about I make myself available after work instead?”

“Then, I’ll be waiting to come by your place tonight.”

This time Kaeya smirks at Venti. “You? Waiting to come? Now that would be a first.”

“One of us should! I spend all night keeping you on the edge, it’s a lot of work you know!”

“Is that right? You seem to enjoy it a lot.”

(Venti freeing himself from between Kaeya’s legs for a breath. A combination of spit and Kaeya’s slick drips from his chin, but Venti doesn’t seem to mind the mess. Rather, he wears a proud grin as he licks his lips. His eyes seem to glow.)

“Of course I do! Making you enjoy yourself is sweeter than any wine.”

(He looks up at Kaeya pleadingly. A dreamy smile on his face when Kaeya gives his hair an affectionate tousle, before returning to servicing the Khaenri’ahian native.)

This far up, they can’t see their reflection in the calm waves below.

On days as nice as this, Kaeya can be convinced by the legends which say that Mondstadt’s gentle climate and fertile lands are a blessing from the Anemo Archon. The clouds drift like thoughts overhead, where the sun is barely reaching its midday peak. The last of the morning fog clears over the distant sea. Amid the familiar breeze, Kaeya’s finds his mind wandering back to where his past rests; dormant but not forgotten. Is it too, where his future lies? It’s tempting to instead think of a future where he lies with Venti.

From the corner of his eye, he can see said man staring intently past him, brows furled and lips tight. When he notices Kaeya looking towards him, Venti’s smile is all gentle and pleasant once more. But he isn’t quite able to hide crinkles in his eye that makes him look much older than everyone thinks he is.

(Legends say, there’s an island far out to the right of Starsnatch Cliff, holding secrets of Teyvat’s past and all but forgotten to time. Not that Kaeya’s ever thought about ice-bridging to it before.)

“What a beautiful day,” Venti sighs, laying down in the grass. The wind whips his hair around.

Letting his eyes close, Kaeya can agree with the sentiment. He lets the breeze wash over him, and tries to quiet his mind. A part of him marvels at how at-ease Venti is able to make him feel just by being near him. It feels like a contradiction. No one embodies Mondstadt more than Venti does, singing about everything and only singing about freedom. It’s hard to describe how at-odds that is with Kaeya’s very being, but Venti has a talent for being nothing but accepting to all.

It’s hard to imagine Venti to be lonely.

Next to Venti, Kaeya does not feel the loneliness that has encompassed him since he was brought to Mondstadt. He does not feel distant, he can forget his purpose, and he can let go the pits in his very being which weighs on him each time he receives Mondstadt’s overflowing kindness. He reaches over and twines one of Venti’s braids around his finger, admiring the unearthly teal. Venti opens an eye, smiling cordially at Kaeya.

(One stormy night, Kaeya kept his distance as his adopted father died. The same stormy night, he drew his sword on a grieving brother, and for that he received his Vision.)

(As it always does, cryo’s chill catches up to him.)

“I would have never thought the wind to be so stagnant,” Kaeya says lightly.

Venti blinks lazily and stretches, before fixing his gaze on Kaeya. Kaeya steels himself at how seen he feels. “I think it’s nice to enjoy the moment.”

“Of course,” Kaeya appeases, “All work no play makes for a boring day. But I can’t help feel there’s more to the adventure if we keep moving.”

Venti’s not as hard to read as those who’ve tried would say, it’s a matter of how one looks. The wispy strands of unbraided hair stills along with the wind. It takes him a few seconds to raise himself up in a series of stilted movements, yet his easy-going smile is plastered on his face throughout. When he looks back at Kaeya, there is no hint of apprehension in his eyes. Kaeya wouldn’t be able to fault anyone for not knowing what they’re not seeing. It’s by design, of course, because Venti chirps as cheerful as ever, “Let’s start heading back to Mondstadt so we’ll be at your place in time for evening!” and he hops off the cliff and opens his glider as the wind picks up again.

(Each time watching Venti glide, he can say with confidence that the only reason Amber is gliding champion of Modnstadt is because Venti does not take part in the competition. He maneuvers though the air with ease enough that one could mistake the wings as a part of his own body.)

Still unfolding his own glider, Kaeya can already see how the rest of the day plays out: he returns to patrol Mondstadt City, while Venti trails behind perusing the bustle of the streets. He’d stop to inspect a shopkeeper’s apples, or entertain kids on the street, or critique another bard’s song. By the time Kaeya’s finished his day’s assignments and looking to retire for the night, it’s possible Venti might still be in Dawn Winery buying the two of them a drink. As much as Kaeya enjoys a good dandelion wine with his boyfriend, he also looks forward to the days where he comes home to Venti already there. Those have been more frequent as of late.

From down on the beach, Venti hollers and Kaeya shakes his head back to the present. He equips his wings, and jumps.

(Kaeya is only as skilled with a glider as any Mondstadter should be. But when Venti’s there, he can pretend the smoothness of the wind running over his glider wings is all his own skill.)

“For the one that wanted to keep moving you sure took your sweet time up there,” Venti complains once Kaeya lands, then laughs. Kaeya chuckles too.

“Alright, I’ll admit it. A slow breeze can sometimes be pleasant.”

Venti hums, comforted, and they start making their way back to the city.

———

The next day, Kaeya is surprised hear coming from Angel's Share in the midafternoon, the telltale liveliness of a tavern performance. Walking through the small streets of Mondstadt, he notices first the distant sounds of music and hollers from the tavern, rising and falling like a gust of wind, with the signature boisterousness of Mondstadt’s taverns. Then, peculiar, as he makes his way to the open window at the back of the tavern, the energy changes and the cheers quiet down. Soon he’s able to makeout the last lyrics of this new song.

“Feather dove, feather dove, so long since you've been home,
It fell while you were gone, your people scattered ash,
All except your lover he was once there too,
Step forward to each other you’re a thousand miles apart.”

It’s not about Khaenrei’ah — its people would not associate themselves with Mondstadt’s doves and feathers. He can give other reasons too: Kaeya wasn’t gone when it was destroyed given he hadn’t been born at all, many of its people still exist either cursed with immortality or into hilichurls, and there is no way Venti the bard was present at the destruction so long ago.

It’s this curious reading into the tragic love song that Kaeya is reflecting on when he makes his way to the open window at the back of the tavern, stopping to take in the scene. The audience has turned a degree melancholy as the final chords resonate in the wooden room. Counter to the typical carefree image he puts up, every aspect of Venti’s performances from melody to bodily expressions is seeped in a forlorn quality, transporting both himself and his audience into the story he’s telling.

The illusion doesn’t break until the last notes dissipate and the bard is opening his eyes to their present time again. Immediately, his eyes catch Kaeya’s, and Venti springs back to life, bowing left and right to loud applause, before hopping off stage, grabbing a bottle of drink from the bartending Charles (his payment for the performance, no doubt), then vaulting over the counter to meet Kaeya at the open window.

(Charles gives a half-hearted protest, sighs, and turns back to his work. He continues casting the occasional glance to make sure the bard isn’t trying to nab anything.)

“Kaeya, my knight in shining armour! Fancy seeing you here! Did your contacts throughout Mondstadt tip you off to the impromptu performance by yours truly?”

“On the contrary. I’m on my regular patrols around Mondstadt to make sure there’s no trouble.” He gives an exaggerated sigh. “It’s an awfully slow day. You’re the most interesting thing I’ve encountered.”

Venti laughs, a sweet and charming sound. “In that case, care to share a drink on the job?” He waves the bottle he’s holding.

“If you insist; exercising my freedom to drink on the job is part of my duty as a Mondstadter.”

“That it is!” Venti cheers, taking a drink then passing Kaeya the bottle. Before Kaeya can take a sip, Venti’s kissing him on the lips, more forceful than he normally does, the wine in Venti’s own mouth finding its way into Kaeya’s. As sudden as the kiss itself, Venti jerks back and his boisterous cheer immediately morphs into a sheepish grin. “Well— now that you already have wine in your mouth, you have no choice but to drink!”

“Aren’t you a terrible influence on my integrity,” Kaeya says, earning a laugh out of his boyfriend.

Yet Kaeya doesn’t miss this repeat the other night, the way Venti’s gotten skiddish over kisses that used to be so casual. He also doesn’t ask. Everyone’s got their own secrets. He takes a drink and reorients himself to the present moment, their interaction framed by the open window.

“It’s alright. Like I said, nothing interesting going on today, apart from you and that song you were singing.”

“Hm, you heard it.” There’s no notes of surprise in his voice. The words are light, airy, and innocent. “Let’s see...it’s a nursery rhyme that would have been popular during Old Mondstadt, back when the people were planning a revolt against the tyrant god. Ah, rather depressing, isn’t it? If you had told me you were coming by I would have sung something more romantic.”

Art is another code which rests on a shared pretense between artist and its audience. Kaeya is a spy and hence no stranger to double meanings. Neither is he to the way Venti would mention historical events as casually as if he knew them firsthand. He looks over the bottle he’s holding, angles it so that he sees his boyfriend’s face on the glass.

“Being the last holder of the past and forced to choose between either staying there, or moving on to love a new life. There’s something romantic about that, wouldn’t you say?”

“You tell me.” Venti’s wide-eyed and attentive as he waits for Kaeya to answer. A leering glare would have been less accusatory.

(Charles remains at the counter, taking and giving the patrons’ drink orders less than a meter behind them. A conversation discussing whether rat poison taste better to rats than to humans is taking place at a table in the corner of the tavern.)

“It would be rude to read more into the piece than the artist had put there himself. I only hear a song of two people standing on opposite ends of a cataclysmic event.”

“Lauding your poetry talents right in front of the bard, how shameless of you!”

Kaeya chuckles. “Since you’re the bard, entertain me: how would you rewrite the song?”

He takes another sip before passing the bottle back to Venti. Venti snatches it and takes a long, gurgling drink (at least a third of the bottle in one go; even as a seasoned drinker himself Kaeya is impressed). He puts the bottle down. Opens his mouth. Closes it. Takes another drink, musing with the bottle to his lips. Pulls himself back into the tavern.

“Whoever wrote song had no reason to insist the existence of the lover to be above the others.” All of a sudden, Venti slams the bottle against the window sill. Though his mouth is still upturned, his lips are pulled taunt and he’s frowning. “In fact, the song is terrible and no one should have written it at all!”

“I would have never thought you to perform a song you didn’t even like.” Kaeya quirks a brow at the placement of the two characters.

But as quickly as it was there, the contempt is gone and replaced by the usual frivolousness. “The audience knowing that there’s songs I don’t like would do terrible things to my reputation as a bard. My job is rife with keeping secrets.”

(One day Venti appeared in Mondstadt proclaiming himself as Mondstadt’ Favourite Bard for three years in a row. Though he has the talent to back it up, in Kaeya’s decade of working for the Knight of Favonius, he has never found any mention of such a person.)

Kaeya chuckles. “The secrecy certainly forces one to make many difficult choices. Loyalty to your art, or to your job.”

“Indeed... Ah, thank the Anemo Archon Mondstadt is the city of wine and drink, a delightful remedy to the choices too big to make.” Venti’s gaze is unfocused somewhere off in the distance as he takes another sip.

In the glass image of the window, Kaeya too watches the people of Mondstadt go about their day, making their way to destinations unknown. The sun is starting to set and there isn’t a cloud in sight. A mild breeze runs through his hair, gracing into the tavern and tossing Venti’s bangs out of his face.

At times, Kaeya can agree: the lazy, idyllic city had a way of charming all with it.

“Times like that, are good for appreciating the smaller choice.” Kaeya toys with the idea finding a table with his boyfriend. “Such as you play for.”

“Maybe it is,” Venti refocuses on Kaeya in front of him and invites, “The tavern’s filling up again. Care to join me for a drink?”

With his patrol long-since over, Kaeya agrees.

———

As it often happens after a few days of idle wandering, the next week is busy beyond compare.

It starts with an encrypted message intercepted by a knight after battling an Abyss Mage. The news of Abyss Mages sending covert messages was enough to put the knights of Mondstadt on high alert for another coordinated attack, and the situation was not helped by a string of Hilichurl attacks on a common trade route. Making matters worse, those attacks had scattered a shipment of processed mist flower, causing a slime infestation in the area which forced the road to be closed off completely, leading to a slew of opportunistic treasure hoarders.

Sending his men to deal with monsters and taking care of the aftermath is regular work for Kaeya. So is decoding the occasional intelligence. In addition to both of those tasks, he also spends much of his time managing the network of spies and informants under him. Put altogether, he’s been busy enough he hasn’t shown up outside of either the Knight of Favonius headquarter or his house in nearly a week, and spends all his free time in his office puzzling over the encrypted message.

(He’s already ran through the common ciphers: shift, substitution, vignere. The letter frequency is mostly even, apart from missing the letters w, j, x, and q, which that doesn’t say much for a missive short enough to written on a torn half-page.)

(Perhaps this is something Venti would be able to help with— Kaeya shakes the thought away; this is top-secret Knight of Favonius matters and Venti is merely a bard.)

Ensuring that all greater threats are thwarted before they come is demanding yet necessary work for keeping Mondstadt safe, which only makes the current disruption especially infuriating. As Kaeya stands at attention in the office of the (vastly overworked) Acting Grandmaster Jean, he’s certainly sympathetic towards how regretfully she requests a quick favour — all the other knights are busy and there is no one else to ask, Hertha is preoccupied managing the aftermath of the hilichurl attack and even Amber has a team scouting—

He interrupts her before she twists her tongue apologizing. “Hey it’s no trouble at all,” said with his signature good-natured smile, “Leave it to me, I’ll get it resolved in no time.”

“Thank goodness. I’m sorry to ask this of—”

“Don’t work yourself too hard,” he waves as he leaves the office. Behind him, Jean sighs amid the shuffling of papers.

There is a cacophony coming from the market district fountain.

Being the City of Ballads and Breeze, music is constantly floating on the air. It’s the signature of Mondstadt’s atmosphere, a constant reminder of the life-loving god that watches over them.

The sounds Kaeya currently hears cannot be classified as music — it is off-tune, ear-grating, and lacks any semblance of beats or rhythm. It sounds like two people trying to play the worst sounds they can over each other; Klee’s bombing games are more melodic.

As he gets closer to the source of the noise, he sees Venti standing on top of the fountain at the head of the market district, singing loud and cheerfully off-key. Standing in front of the fountain is Six-Fingered José, strumming angrily and inflamed at the rival bard drowning out his own tunes. The gathered crowd starts dispersing at the sight of Kaeya making his way over, the knight not bothering to keep the scowl off his face — dealing with such petty matters is his least favourite part of his job on better days.

Just before the two bards notice him, Kaeya puts on a fake cheer and he calls out, “Hey-yo! What’s the commotion going on here?”

“Ah, the honourable Sir Kaeya, Knights of Favonius’ most respected—”

“That bard is attacking me and stealing my audience,” José cuts in, “He’s been at it all day! Sir Kaeya, sir, you must do something about him.”

“Whoa whoa, settle down. Let’s all have a civil talk.” Venti floats down from the fountain, landing as light as a feather. (His clothes are completely dry). Both bards turn their attention to Kaeya, no doubt eager to share their side of the matter. All the faster to get this over with. Kaeya turns to José. “One at a time, please.”

“It’s exactly as I said,” José says, “I’m making my honest living as a story teller, performing in front of the fountain like any bard is allowed to. I’m in the middle of telling a great story about a hero knight with a secret, who —”

“Is the story of your song really relevant?” Venti mutters flatly.

“—finds out that this secret is the key to the future: it can lead his people to light or to dark. He and a wandering bard falls in love, the bard with his own secrets—”

Kaeya coughs. “The situation at hand, please.”

“Oh, excuse me, I can’t help getting into telling my tales. As I was saying, I’m in the middle of a great story when this other bard,” he points an accusatory finger at Venti, who raises his own hands in mock innocence, “When he walks to the front of my audience and stares at me. He continues to walk up to where I’m performing and starts his own song two meters away. He stole my show!”

“Is that it?”

“That’s it, Kaeya Sir. That’s what’s going on here.”

He holds back a sigh and turns to Venti. “How about you?”

“I was also being a humble bard, doing my bard-ly duties of spreading joy and inspiration to the people of Mondstadt. I thought to myself, ‘What’s a popular spot full of people? Of course, the market fountain!’” (It’s a favourite spot of the rich owner of the Cat Tails, Margret, and the occasional person who tosses in a coin for a wish. The current commotion has attracted more people than the fountain has seen in ages.) “And I start performing as any bard is free to.” He strums his lyre. “So here we stand now, waiting for an honourable knight such as yourself to make a fair and righteous judgment on who to take away.”

It’s a purposely odd proposal, when everyone knows the Knights of Favonious rarely dishes out actual punishments to rule breakers. In place of using his power to govern, Lord Barbatos — and Mondstadt that follows him — encourages collective problem solving. If Kaeya was being professional, he would mediate the two bards to a compromise themselves. If he was in a better mood, he would be professional.

Instead, he privately lets himself be relieved that José is dimmer than an abandoned tavern at night.

“That’s right! Sir Kaeya, you are a knight and an upholder of order and justice in Mondstadt. Tell this bard to go somewhere else.”

(And thus he can be ignored.)

The meaningful glance Venti is giving Kaeya pleads an obvious desire, and he can’t say he’s a fan of the round-about way Venti is intruding in his busy week. It’s not the time for this, Venti should know, but what they also both know is that Venti has Kaeya pressed here amid the public.

Two can play a game of inconvenience.

Kaeya looks downwards into the rippling water of the fountain, as if in amusement over the suggestion. Venti’s distorted reflection looks back at him, expecting.

“I don’t see how my position as a knight plays into this,” he says lightly, purposely. “I’m acting as any other passerby who wants everyone to enjoy themselves would.”

He’s been patient for Venti to come around to their relationship. The theme continues to stand between the two of them, a taunt string to be plucked.

Amid the water, there’s confusion on Venti’s face. Then, understanding dawns as to what his lover’s getting at and his lips tighten into a forced smile.

“If Sir Kaeya here wants to have this discussion let’s hear his thoughts,” Venti says. “I think it’s undeniable that his position as a captain of the knights influences us, such as, by exaggerating our righteousness to gain his favour.”

José scratches his head. “W-well, I wouldn’t say—”

“That’s ridiculous,” Kaeya says with a derisive wave. “We all know each other. My job as a knight barely matters here, what could there be to appeal to?”

“The Knights of Favonius! Established by The Falcon Of The West, the First Grandmaster Vennessa herself, with the help of Lord Barbatos. How honorable a title, compared to us lowly bards!”

“Hey!” José interjects again, “Us bards are the upholders of Mondstadt’s culture, how dare you talk down other bards like that! You don’t des—”

“Now now,” Kaeya cuts the other off, “Let’s keep this on topic. José’s right, bards have their own pride.” He raises his head.

“And what can pride do against the might of a knight!” Venti grins, self-satisfied. “The arbitrators of justice and righteousness! The upholders of Mondstadt’s very society, why, without the Knights of Favonius, Mondstadt is but a single misstep away from falling back into oppression and tyranny, for they guide Mondstadt’s citizens into being the upstanding people they are.”

It’s a hard point to refute because Kaeya does know Mondstadt’s history: as much as the common populous was involved, there’s no denying that the main reason the city was rebuilt so fast after the fall of the aristocracy was thanks to the combined efforts of Barbatos and Vennessa, who would later ascend to Celestia. In Kaeya’s informed opinion, Acting Grandmaster Jean is the only knight who could potentially come close to that coveted mantle nowadays, but that’s not what their argument is about.

“I can assure you that Mondstadt’s knights frequent the taverns as much as anyone else. I’d hope no one calls me for duty while I’m in the middle of a drink.” He doesn’t mention that if asked, he would return to duty at once.

He knows also that Venti’s only letting that point go unsaid.

“It directs our very values,” Venti says, gesturing in the direction of the Knights of Favonius headquarters (and, incidentally, the direction of the church), “With all that prestige and power behind the rule, the authority of the knights is built into the foundations of Mondstadt.”

“Well, now that I think about it…” José considers, “Maybe Sir Kaeya isn’t the most impartial judge. He tossed me some Mora for a song the other day.”

(Six-fingered José, who likes to hang out in Angel’s Share at night, is always curiously absent whenever Venti’s performing.)

“Ah hate to be the bearer of the news, but all the other knights are busy. I’m all that you’ve got, and I’d hate to disappoint Acting Grand Master Jean by leaving with this unresolved.” Kaeya flashes a disarming grin. “I promise to be impartial.”

“Ah, but you bring an excellent point!” Venti says with his head pointed at José, then looks back to Kaeya. “In a city with as rich a history as Mondstadt, every exchange and connection is filled to the brim with Mondstadt’s culture.”

“If that’s so, my apologies.” Kaeya struggles to hide his sarcasm behind a smile, “I didn’t know that the audience also had a say in how the knight and the wandering bard should talk to each other.”

“Ah! If you’re talking about my tale—”

“It’s the heart of songwriting! A song’s tale leads the characters in all they do and what they say. Hey, how do you expect to understand the characters fully when I know more of the song than you do?”

“Whose to say that a song tells everything?” Kaeya dismisses. “Perhaps the wandering bard keeps his secrets closer to himself than his song. A secret such as, waiting for the knight to make a move before they leave.” Venti closes his eyes for a second too long, and Kaeya moves on as if that last sentence didn’t come out of his mouth. “Besides, if the bard has issues with the operations of the knights, you’re free to write a slanderous song.”

Venti takes the redirection, huffing, “I’ve written plenty! The church never appreciates it.”

(José, still trying to face both of them in their conversation, “I thought the church only cares about worshipping Lord Barbatos.”)

“Well, what do I know, I’m only a mere bard,” Venti continues, “Looking to a knight such as you to uphold order with your greater experience, in the dark when it come to what you could make of me!”

“Do you have an issue the knight and the wandering bard’s involvement?” Though the roles are still switched, the pretenses is getting frustrating in the inability to get a straight answer out of his boyfriend.

(“Where did you get that— ah let me sing my song again — ”)

“Maybe you should.” Venti shoots back, taking a daring step towards Kaeya.

“And what can you do about the fact I don’t?” Kaeya resists the urge to further shorten the distance between them.

“You should,” the other’s voice cracks. There’s an angry pout on his face as he doesn’t meet Kaeya’s eyes. “With all that I am… Why don’t you get it?”

“You don’t either. My title as a knight doesn’t force anyone in Teyvat to listen to me, to say nothing of the other nations.” The argument doesn’t sound very strong to Kaeya either.

“I…don’t think I get it either,” the increasingly distant voice mumbles, “I’ll go find somewhere else to sing.”

They both stop. Turn to José who is still standing there, increasingly baffled and uncomfortable. Venti looks away, one hand still grasping his lyre the other sheepishly rubbing his neck. Kaeya coughs out a sound of surprise and clears his throat.

“That’s right, José, sincerest apologies for my conduct. It wasn’t very proper for a Knight of Favonius to get distracted debating...hm,the literary arts.” He mimes thinking over the situation. “I’d say Venti was the one at fault for intruding on your performance. I’ll see to it that he doesn’t do it again.”

José lets out an audible sigh of relief. “Thank Barbatos! Sir Kaeya, you have my greatest gratitude.”

“Well, if Sir Kaeya says so, I accept that you were here first,” Venti huffs towards José, then shouts “Play some good song for your audience!” as he follows behind Kaeya. Once they’re out of sight a block away, Kaeya stops and turns towards Venti, who leans his head against the taller’s chest and whines, prior argument seemingly forgotten.

“It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.”

“Venti. If this is your way of getting my attention...next time, come to the Knight of Favonius headquarters. You know where my office is, and Jean will let you in any time.”

He wants to say something about the conversation they just had and placent both their unease. Thinks about saying something.

Venti pulls away, looking vaguely uncomfortable. “Ah, I feel a bit bad about making José see all that. Hm, I’m sure he’ll get over it, and continue singing his uninspired songs.” He then casts Kaeya a cheeky grin. “They’re still better than when you handed in a definition of a hilichurl phrase as a poem, ehe.”

While Kaeya ponders this hint to his troubles, Venti is already gone into the wind.

———

Finally, two weeks later, most of the Knight’s concerns have been resolved. At the first opportunity Kaeya heads straight for the tavern, ready to drink the exhaustion away.

Unsurprisingly, Venti’s hint helped: the cipher was vignere, as Kaeya had assumed, but both the key and the message was hilichurian transcribed phonetically into Teyvatian script with a substitution cipher, resulting in the missing letters. There’s worries to be had about the attack on Mondstadt the messages is discussing, as well as the Abyss Order operating on high enough intelligence to be encoding hilichurian, but for tonight Kaeya only wants to let go with his boyfriend.

A tension disperses in said boyfriend’s face, already at the tavern, when he sees Kaeya ordering at the bar. A dandelion wine, Kaeya asks for. Venti’s favourite.

They pass a bottle back and forth, and Kaeya can’t stop the words falling out of his mouth. “Let me look out for you, ah, come on, let me. Let me hold you— you live in a tree,” he laughs, fingers combing Venti’s radiant hair out of his soft features. “Well, that’s what my intelligence network tells me, and they’ve never wrong.”

(That he invites Venti with no pretense is to say that he pleads.)

(Venti’s eyes are too clear when he slurs out a yes.)

(Only to the tree part, he snorts, giggles.)

(It’s for sure the sole reason Venti goes with him even when they leave the tavern.)

Kaeya has not drank this much since that first faithful invitation.

They manage to stumble into his room and immediately Kaeya presses into Venti with a clumsy kiss.

“I miss this,” Venti breaths, eyes closed, definitely drunk if he’s admitting it aloud. The tingling on Kaeya’s lips feels electric.

(He’s not quite sure if Venti kisses back, but if they both miss it and his boyfriend doesn’t pull back, he pretends that’s permission enough.)

Venti is short and light as a feather, and soon the force of their making out has Kaeya pushing his lover against his bed. His tongue runs against the inside of the bard’s open mouth, an effervescent taste of breeze still potent from earlier in the night. Venti bends until his body slackens and he’s collapsed on the blankets. Right before Kaeya also falls over, he catches himself with arms on either side of the divinity under him.

For the first time in ages that first night together is recalled — after the months together Venti is as much his teasing nature and hidden wits as he is his physical self — looking at the ethereal being, whose eyes are half-lidded as he appreciates Kaeya’s chest through the layers of his outfit.

As if puppetted by desire alone, Venti lifts himself up, pulling at the clasps of Kaeya’s outfit with his teeth, fingers fumbling further straps and zippers. Kaeya puts his own hands on his boyfriend’s, caressing his soft skin, and helps Venti undress him.

The layers come off one by one. Once Kaeya’s shirt is sliding off his shoulders, Venti latches his mouth on to his boyfriend’s chest, tongue teasing closer towards his nipples. Kaeya folds over and buries himself in the crook of his lover’s neck, breath hitching through a blissful exhale. It’s precisely the sort of relaxation he needs right now, the kind that forces him to let him mind go blank and strain his focus solely on the soft sucking of his sensitive nub.

Below him, Venti has carefully shifted so that he has room to start taking off his own layers. His head is angled so that a cheek is pressed adorably into Kaeya’s pecs, and Kaeya gives in to the overwhelming affection bubbling within his chest in the form of kisses and light nibbles on the soft skin of his boyfriend’s neck.

(He’d never think of the other as fragile, but Venti does prefer pleasure over pain, and it pleases Kaeya too to give.)

By the time Venti is reaching for Kaeya’s pants, he’s got most of his own outfit off. The cape, corset, and hat has been tossed haphazardly on Kaeya’s bed, while his shorts and stockings are wrapped around his feet, and Kaeya steps over them to press his own knee between Venti’s legs. The gentle vibrations of Venti moaning into his stomach as he starts trailing lower, sliding off the bed to kneel on the ground, has Kaeya buckling his hips in restrained desperation.

(Though Kaeya enjoys both giving and receiving, this position is rather familiar between the two of them.)

(Venti says he has no preference.)

It’s an exercise in restraint, focus, relaxation, and endurance all at once. Kaeya doesn’t urge or beg — not that there’s any shame in it, only that it’s no fun when the other gives in — and forces his impatient heart to count the seconds until his pants are being slid off past his hips.

It’s something only Venti, the carefree and brazen bard, could do to him so effortlessly, and so satisfying to them both. Kaeya seeps himself in the inkling of what’s to come, keeps his thoughts from wandering too far from the moment. Venti’s tongue circles around his labia for what feels like an eternity. With each lick, Kaeya runs his fingers through the other’s soft black hair, pulling him closer while keeping them apart.

“I love you.”

Venti’s eyes flicker up from where his nose is buried in Kaeya’s pubic hair. “What do you want this time?”

“Anything you’d like.”

“Then I want to give what you want.”

“That’s alright,” Kaeya exhales. His fingers barely shake as they trace down Venti’s cheek, seeing his lover through the haze. “Let’s do what you want tonight. After I-- I left you all alone for two weeks. Anything you want, I deserve.” He laughs, too fuzzy to be present.

Venti slows and pulls away. He backs up towards the center of the bed, an wide-eyed gaze directed at Kaeya above him.

“What you deserve? If I ask you to use me and ignore my protests...”

“I won’t even protest,” Kaeya mutters, leaning down to nuzzle in Venti’s neck. “I’ll take anything to have you.”

The air in the room stills. The winds outside pick up, before tossing the bedroom’s window open and filling the room with a teasing gale. It blows Venti’s braids behind his ears, illuminating his deity so softly and subtly as to be a trick of the light.

(Teal tattoos on his chest and legs are on full display, making no pretense of hiding them now.)

“Come on then!” Venti’s playfulness is so misplaced it could only be a taunt. As the situation forces clarity like cold water into Kaeya, the fact also becomes clear that Venti knows he misheard on purpose. “Overpower and take me for yourself. ”

(The knight doesn’t move.)

(He figures out what Venti’s playing at right before the words are out of the fool’s mouth.)

“Ah, you’ve been a spy for long enough,” Venti lilts, “Don’t tell me you’ve never used your power over a target to make them do your bidding. Or, even, never unintentionally hurt anyone you care about, with the secrets you hold!”

Kaeya flinches back at once, as if he touched something ice-hot.

With that, Venti dissolves from under a reeling Kaeya, re-establishing himself now at the foot of the bed. He puts his outfit back on, piece by piece, with greater concentration than Kaeya has ever seen — his tights a leg up at a time, then pulls up his shorts kneeling on the bed. He fetches over and laces up his corset, weaving the lacing between each pair of holes. A swirl of anemo brings his cape over that he promptly clips on and fixes the bow. By the time Venti gets around to inserting the flowers under his hat, Kaeya has resolved back into the present, and looks over to image of the two of them both, reflected in the mirror. As their eyes meet within, for a split second Kaeya sees fear in his god.

And then Venti disappears in a flash of teal.

———

At the best of times, it can be hard for Kaeya to turn off the ‘spy’ part of his brain. At the worst of times, he immediately knows where to find Venti: sitting on the outstretched hands of the Barbatos Statue, a drink in hand. The Sisters of the church yells at anyone who dares climb up but Venti remains the sole exception; as if granted a divine seat by anemo itself.

It’s late enough that Kaeya can also sneak up without much commotion. As he nears the top, he hears the sound of a bottle being placed down, then silence fills the remainder of his trip.

Gliding from such a height is second nature to any Mondstadter. Kaeya’s heart still flutters if he looks down.

“You’ve known for a long time, haven’t you.”

Kaeya walks up to the edge, and Venti moves over for him to sit.

“Whatever it is you could be referring to, I’m sure I have no business in it.”

Venti smiles like he has a joking retort, before his face takes on a more serious expression. “It is if we love each other.”

Kaeya nearly cracks a smirk before thinking better of it. “Then you’ve also known for a long time.”

Even if they never talked. Kaeya doesn’t talk about his past on principle, and Venti prides himself as a story teller of other’s deeds.

The silence between them feels like a knife’s edge.

Then Kaeya unclips his vision from his belt and tosses it at Venti. “I believe you already know how I got this gift from the gods.”

It’s an obvious test: admit to knowing Kaeya’s pain in receiving his Mondstadt vision, or deflect and show he’s still not serious about the relationship. Venti, full of secrets and surprises, unclips and tosses his own vision to Kaeya.

“I lost my first friend that day,” he says.

(It’s got anemo energy within, but careful inspection with his elemental sight indicates that the glass ball in his hands only holds residue energy from Venti himself.)

(Figures a spirit of anemo would be their own power source.)

“When could that have been?” Kaeya asks, voice too casual for what he’s waiting to hear. It earns him a contemplative hum from Venti.

“About three thousand years ago.” A calculating side-eye, before he adds, “Before the creation and fall of Khanrei’ah.”

This time, Kaeya freezes within. Because, this time, in this relationship with Venti, there are no secrets let for his offense. Everything about Mondstadt, about Kaeya, and Diluc, secrets Kaeya himself can’t even conceive of and secrets Kaeya always assumed he would have taken to his grave, Venti has long carried within too, hidden from Kaeya who owns them.

It’s terrifying.

And the terror must show in his face because Venti’s own expression is stricken, conflicted between being unable to tear away from seeing into Kaeya, and trying to be anywhere but here.

Before Venti could teleport away again, Kaeya grabs him. Venti, with great effort, meets Kaeya’s eyes

“This doesn’t have to change anything.”

“No.” Venti stares into Kaeya’s very soul as Kaeya stares back just as deep. “Everything’s already changed the instant we felt for each other.”

"We don't have to know everything about each other."

Venti's gaze flickers up for the briefest of moments. "I want to be able to tell you anything."

Kaeya doesn't need to follow his glance to know he was looking at the island in the sky.

"Ah, but you don't have to," Kaeya finishes quickly for him, then chuckles. "Hey, as you said, I'm a spy. I understand the importance of keeping secrets for the job, even if that job is being a simple bard."

“I'll have you know that I'm a really hard working bard, who won Mondstadt's Most Beloved Bard three years in a row; that takes effort you know!”

Kaeya laughs, and Venti grins, but it soon turns rueful. They’ve been together for months, yet still sit here both dancing around the open secrets. It’s too easy to see, a year from now, Venti still pulling away immediately after kissing. Five years from now, Kaeya feeling sick to his stomach over what they do together where no one can see. Ten years from now, they turn away from the other’s reflection on the dresser mirror.

Kaeya goes to his grave never having said a fully honest word in his life, and Venti lives with the same regret for the rest of time.

They sit on Barbatos’ open hands, tethering between sky and abyss, both overwhelmingly vast and unknown. Straddling the looking glass into a kaleidoscope of filled with every fragment of their lives, every choice made and unmade reflecting back at each other.

His relationship with his sworn brother has long since shattered from sharp secrets that remained unsaid.

This relationship must face something different. If he makes that decision, Venti would too. That much Kaeya knows when he opens his mouth.

“I know — ”

“I know.”

“ — that you’re the anemo archon Barbatos.”

There’s a long pause as he watches Venti process the words they both know. His reflection is as opaque and unreadable as any other of Venti’s carefree smiles. All Kaeya has is the trust that the god meets him.

(A god as fallible as a human.)

“That you were sent here as a spy for K’hanreiah.”

(The glass between them shatters.)

With secrets laid out bare, they turn to face each other, sombre and tender and tense all at once.

“Why...why did you tell me to overcome you?”

Venti cocks his head. “Can’t you figure it out?”

“Why not share your own words?”

He closes his eyes. “All the people of Mondstadt, I love with all that I am, and I know they love me just as much back. As Venti, they treat me as any other bard, making me earn my drinks and kicking me out of taverns. As Barbatos, could they refute me at all?”

“Khaenrei’ah doesn’t believe in gods.”

“Puppet strings shouldn’t be worshipped.” When Venti looks at him he tips his head as if he has more to say. Kaeya already knows what he would ask, because Kaeya also asks himself where in Teyvat his beliefs actually lie.

In all honesty, he doesn’t have an answer.

(Venti knows that too. Of course he would, holding himself back with every hesitation, while Kaeya kept his own berth from what the other’s reasons may be. Venti’s always been good at cornering his unsavoury parts, and once again Kaeya can’t say he hates it. He only proved Venti right tonight using a refutation that was nought but submission.)

“I wonder, if you did pray to a certain Anemo Archon... What do you pray for, Kaeya?”

“It’s not very Khanreih’an for me to pray, now is it?” Venti clips Kaeya’s vision back onto his belt. Kaeya concedes with a half chuckle. “If I must, then a certain midnight vigilante could use some better days.”

“I think he’d like the same for you.”

They’re not words Kaeya can believe without setting the past to rights, but neither are they unwelcome. He lets the unfamiliar fancy swirl, before putting it aside for when the time comes. Venti lets him drift, then brings him back softly, closely, with, “Maybe I’d like that for you too.”

It’s even less the right time for those words, so Kaeya lets his mind wander away, to a certain incongruity instead. Every kiss shared and missed with his boyfriend plays itself back in his memories, winding back to that first hazy night they shared. “If you knew your doubts, why did you say yes?”

“I didn’t say yes...” Venti stops. Looks mortified. “Oh. I didn’t say no either.” Before a new regret could consume Kaeya, Venti continues, “Oh, no, no I wanted to mean ‘yes’. I wanted it and I wanted you. I really should have told you the truth earlier.”

“Maybe you should have, but don’t carry the fault by yourself. I could have confronted you earlier.” Kaeya tries to cut the tension with a laugh. “It’s quite obvious, especially among Acting Grandmaster Jean.”

“Ah, she and Diluc have both known for a while, and so soon after I woke up. The Knights of Favonious have always been brilliant.” Venti beams with pride. He sits up, leans forward towards the distance where Kaeya can just make out the distinguished oak tree that stands tall amidst the fields.

“I have all the time in the world,” Venti says into the night. “The people I met and love have died and all that’s left is for me is to tell their stories. Someday, you’ll be a part of history preserved in song too.” He sighs, looks back down. “But because of that, you don’t have the years to wait for me to come around to us.”

“Your first friend,” Kaeya passes Venti’s vision back to him. “Did you lose him during the Old Mondstadt Rebellion?”

Venti looks back at the face of the statue when he answers, smiling longingly. “Perceptive as always, Kaeya. He didn’t get to see the world he fought so fiercely for.” He turns back to Mondstadt. “I’m glad Gunnhildr and Vennessa were able to see the legacy they created for Mondstadt’s people.”

“It’s a unique legacy, I’d say. Mondstadt is too trusting of everyone they welcome.” To finally give that compliment is the first true freedom Kaeya can claim. Venti leans himself on Kaeya’s shoulder, fully content.

“Someday, they’ll be proven right.”

They let the words settle over the both of them, like stars in the sky.

Placed upon Mondstadt by everyone who came before them in stories and songs, Kaeya traces in his view the path from where Khanrei’ah rests deep below ground, across watched domains, until reaching the distinguished lands that surround a lasting manor. A single white moon hangs suspended above them, before the constellations that spell out their fates.

In this moment, he couldn’t choose to be anywhere else.

“Kaeya...I love you.”

“I love you too, Venti.”

Then, on top the statue they kiss, a long and deep exchange. As the touch of their lips soften and dissolve, a gentle breeze blows from behind. Venti, floating like the god he is, matches pace with Kaeya as he glides down, all the way until they touch the ground again.

They return to Kaeya’s room together, encompassed by Mondstadt’s ever-constant warm breeze.