A Little Girl and a Boy in his Late Teens
Venti leads Diluc inside. Venti tries to be quiet, and he succeeds, but Katheryne notices them, turning her attention away from the lavishly dressed couple. The couple turns, both of their faces lighting up.
"Barbados!" The woman calls, making Venti flinch, but only slightly. Not enough for anyone but Diluc, who's standing right next to him, to notice.
Venti puts on his best smile a second later. "Mom, Dad, is everything okay?" The sentence doesn't even leave Venti's mouth all the way before his parents run over to them.
"We can't find Beur, Do you know where she is?" Venti frowns at his mothers words. So does Diluc. Who's Beur? Was it Nahida? Or one of Venti's other siblings? Either way, if the famous Sustainers of Heavenly Principles were worried, then it must be REALLY bad.
Even Venti looks worried. "I'm actually looking for her too. You don't know where she is?" Both of the Sustainers of Heavenly Principles shake their heads, a frown placed on everyone's face. "Does Katheryne know?"
Venti's parents shake their heads again before turning to Diluc. "Who is this?" Venti's father asks, and Diluc can't tell if it's a positive thing he's been noticed. Venti flinches again, only slightly.
"This is a friend. He's helping me look." Diluc notices how Venti doesn't say his name, so Diluc takes it as an opportunity to introduce himself.
"I'm Diluc, Diluc Ragnvindr." Diluc holds his hand out, only to have Venti's mother grasp his hand tightly. There's tears in her eyes. She's been crying, Diluc realizes. It makes Diluc smile a bit, though not by much. She must really care for all of her children.
"I'm Haven, and this is my husband Prince. Thank you for helping look for our Beur." Prince nods at his wife before smiling a bit himself.
"Did you say Ragnvindr?" Diluc nods, nerves suddenly getting to him. "I knew your father, I am truly sorry for your loss." Though it makes sense, it makes Diluc's heart clench. But there's no pity in Prince's eyes, just understanding and something else Diluc can't place.
Diluc knows that Venti is looking at him with a shocked expression, but he can't bear to look. "Thank you, sir." Prince smiles some more before turning to his wife. Haven lets go of Diluc's hands, turning to Venti.
"Do you want to split up? I think it will be a faster way to look for her." Venti nods, smiling at his mother. It makes Diluc a little bit jealous. Haven starts to walk away, not waiting for Prince to follow her.
"So, um, where should we look?" Diluc asks, watching Haven and Prince enter the elevator. Venti only sighs, looking at the floor.
"Just...give me a moment." Diluc nods, though he doesn't understand. Venti's parents seem to love him a lot, even if the conversation was about his sister. "They're probably going to check with Nahida's friends again, though I doubt that she's with them."
"Why do they call you Barbados? And Nahida Beur?" Diluc knows he shouldn't ask, just like he doesn't want Venti to ask about his father, though he knows that he'll ask anyway. Venti looks up at him, looking at Diluc's face for a moment before answering.
"They're our first names, besides, you know how parents can get." Venti forces out a small laugh, looking away from Diluc. But Diluc only frowns.
"No, I don't." Venti looks up at Diluc again with a mix of shock and curiosity. "I mean, my dad called me by nicknames all the time." Venti frowns, looking like he wants to ask what Diluc knows he's been wanting to ask.
"What happened to him?" Venti's voice is quiet as they start to walk out of the building. "You don't have to answer," Venti says hurriedly when Diluc is silent. They stop walking for a millisecond as Diluc tries to gather himself.
"There was a car crash."
"Oh."
Diluc can feel his chest get tighter. It takes a great effort to breathe. But he's okay, Venti is here. But Diluc doesn't know why that comforts him so much. He doesn't know Venti. At least not as much as he would want to.
Venti chooses not to apologize, deciding from the look on Diluc's face that he didn't need that. They start walking again, taking long strides to leave. They needed to find Nahida, and Wanderer.
"Where do we go?" Diluc asks, not knowing where Venti is leading him. Venti smiles a bit, thinking of his sister's favorite places.
"We'll check The Geo Dragon first, though I'm sure they already called Zhongli." Diluc nods, jogging a little to keep up with Venti. For someone with such short legs, he really did walk fast. When Diluc and Venti match strides, there's a smile on both of their faces.
Diluc met Venti's parents, and it went well.
Venti didn't look down or have pity on Diluc. He just...understood somehow.
/////
"Hey, Zhongli!" Venti calls when he sees his brother waiting outside the door of his tea shop. Zhongli nods, acknowledging Venti's presence. "Have you seen Nahida?" Zhongli shakes his head before looking at both Diluc and Venti.
"No, I've been teaching all day. Why are the two of you hanging out?" Zhongli side eyes Diluc, making him regret coming along, just a little bit.
"We're looking for someone else too, but we'll see you later?" Venti turns to leave only for Zhongli to stop them.
"Have you eaten, Barbados?" He asks, once again, making Venti flinch slightly at his name. Though it's softer this time, Diluc only notices because he knows what he's looking for now. He would have to ask Venti why he hated his name so much. But he would ask later when they weren't in front of Venti's family.
Venti looks up to Diluc, waiting to see if Diluc would answer. So he does, Diluc looks one of his teachers, no, Venti's brother, in the eyes. "No, we haven't."
Venti frowns, making a slightly sour face. Zhongli nods, opening the door for the two boys. Diluc heads in first, leaving Venti to follow.
Diluc can tell that Venti doesn't want to be there, and he's sure that Zhongli can tell too. But no one mentions it, Zhongli only goes behind the counter and into the small room in the back, coming out seconds later with two sandwiches.
At first, he doesn't leave behind the counter, walking over to a small fridge and grabbing three bottles of water.
Venti and Diluc can tell that there's something else Zhongli wants to ask, but whether or not he'll ask, that's a different story. But the question chews at the inside of Zhongli's cheek, a surprising thought to Venti, who's seldom seen Zhongli have any emotions after what happened to his soulmate.
Zhongli had really brightened up when Childe had entered his life, but there was still an edge of emptiness that followed the Archon. Venti would be surprised if his brother had ever gotten back to his old self, he was getting there with the help of Childe, which made Venti grateful for the ginger.
Zhongli clears his throat, giving Venti a pointed look. Sighing, Venti picks up the sandwich, taking a small bite. They sit like this for several minutes. Venti taking small bites of the sandwich while Zhongli glares at him. They both ignore Diluc, seeming to send each other secret looks.
Diluc doesn't even try to start a conversation. Instead, he waits for Venti to finish eating, though he doesn't move to touch his sandwich.
When Venti finishes, Zhongli stands, taking the trash and throwing it away."Barbados?"
Venti nods, looking at Diluc instead of his brother. Venti looks like he wants to run, like he would rather be strapped to train tracks than have this conversation. After what feels like an eternity, no more than a minute, Venti looks at Zhongli, silently urging him to continue.
Though out of the two of them, Zhongli looks far more uncomfortable with the situation. He's not doing anything out of the ordinary, but the way the air feels thick is enough to cut with a dull knife.
Zhongli hesitates, looking at his younger brother brother. "Are you being safe?" The question confuses Diluc, but Venti looks offended. Venti shakes his head, sighing. "I have condoms if you need them."
"I'm not sleeping with him!" Venti almost shouts, finally letting Diluc in on the conversation. Zhongli thought they were sleeping together? The accusation makes Diluc's stomach turn. He's not upset at the idea of sleeping with Venti, which is a thought he would have to deal with later, but the idea of sex just makes him uncomfortable.
Diluc looks down, embarrassed. And something in Venti breaks a little at Diluc's reaction. Did it really make Diluc that uncomfortable? Venti had no plans of sleeping with Diluc, but the idea that it made Diluc upset made his heart break. Something he would have to deal with later, but right now he had to set Zhongli straight.
"Oh," Is all Zhongli says, frowning. Venti gives him a deadly look; like he would actually physically harm his brother if he continued. But at the same time, he hoped that Zhongli would apologize. "I seem to have misread the situation."
"Yeah, you did." Diluc almost flinches at how Venti's voice sounds, real anger is not something he's seen from Venti yet. "If you're done prying into what is or is not happening in my love life, We have to find Nahida."
Venti stands, but he doesn't wait for Diluc before he starts walking away. Diluc grabs the sandwich and his back before scurrying after Venti, not daring to look Zhongli in the eye.
When they make it out the door, Venti sighs a deep sigh. It shakes his entire body, from his shoes to his shoulders. "I'm sorry." The apology is forced, Diluc and Venti both know it. "I can look for them myself if you want."
It takes Diluc a moment to answer, still reeling after the interaction. "No, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting that." Diluc looks at Venti for only a moment before staring intently at the ground. "Where should we look next?"
Venti doesn't answer at first, he just starts walking. Taking a deep breath. "I think I need to collect my head for a moment." Diluc nods, understanding. Though it makes both the boys even more upset. Did the idea really bother them so much? Yes, though for different reasons.
They keep walking, Venti leading the way, both of them looking at the ground. They're almost to the destination in Venti's mind before Diluc speaks. "I'm not grossed out by the idea of sleeping with you."
This makes Venti stop dead in his tracks. He looks at Diluc, shock clearly written on his face. "I just don't like sex, it's not you." Venti nods, looking back at the ground.
"I understand, to be honest, I figured, which is why I got so upset."Now it's Diluc's turn to nod.
"Does he do that often?" Diluc asks though he knows he shouldn't. Deep down he knows the answer with hurt him a lot more than it should.
"Yeah, he does. Ei too. I'm kinda known for looking for my soulmate in self-destructive ways." Venti flinches as he says it, thinking back to the numerous times he felt sick after the fact. Those people were using him, and he was using them too, he guesses. So that makes it okay, right?
Diluc nods, also thinking back to his past. Though he thinks back to very different circumstances. "I think I'm afraid of finding my soul mate," Diluc admits, looking at the back of Venti's head as they start to walk again.
Venti nods again, understanding. Though he's constantly talking about it, he hopes he doesn't find his soul mate, not yet. And definitely not in the way he's been looking so far.
"We're here," Venti says, making Diluc look past Venti and at the numerous ramps, poles, and stairs.
It's a skate park, he realizes. And not so far off in the distance, they see two people in blue and green clothing. A little girl and a boy in his late teens.