a Cecilia and the Stars, in the Name of You and I.
On the edge of the cliff did the Reignbow land, sneaking off away from the Divine's plan.
They look around the landscape, a Bard had invited Them to come to this edge the last time They went on a date. Curious, where must He be? He doesn't usually show up late.
The Reignbow steadies Themselves as the full weight of Their form touches the soft grass. Considering the very bit of vegetation on this cliff, They feel as if the residents of Mondstadt, and possibly even surrounding cities, may be able to see Them. Though, they wouldn't be able to see anything other than pure light⸺surely it won't be a problem.
...
They're already wincing at the thought of people coming to this cliff because of said light.
They snap out of Their thoughts and look down, there's a small area to sit. On Their last dates with the bard and from Their observations from above, They'd usually see a couple sit a little front from here and stargaze, it almost felt like they were always here together.
They awkwardly sit down, folding Their legs in and letting Their wheels dim for a moment. Once comfortable, They look out to the Stars, it isn't everyday that They get to be the one gazing on at Them from below. Even with how long it's been, the scenery brings a sense of familiarity.
A gentle wind flows through Their hair, causing Them to slightly jump in Their seat. Though immediately returning back to reality and letting out a chuckle, They look back and see that The Bard is already here.
"You're here, Lan." The Bard says, a big grin on His face.
[...and You're late, Venti.] The Reignbow mutters, supressing a snicker.
Venti's eyes widen and mouth opens in mock offense, "Late? Am I really so late when I've been in the breeze, as in," He snaps His fingers then opens His arms out, "everywhere?" He leans forward, to the point both their noses are almost touching, causing Lan to lean back slightly. He then moves away, "in fact, You are the one who's late!" He adds, pointing at Lan.
Lan turns Their head away slightly, side eyeing Venti with a hint of a pout on Their face. [Well, even if You were this whole time. It's not like You were in a tangible form,] They argue, crossing Their arms as an annoyed⸺but nevertheless smitten⸺smile comes to Their face. [I was⸺in a tangible form⸺here first, No arguments.] They add, a laugh threatening to destroy the appearance They're giving the other.
"Oh? and whose place is this?" Venti argues back, deciding to sit on the ground next to Lan so He can 'argue better'⸺They both know this isn't the case. "Think You can boss around Your host?" He leans in.
[I just think You should've treated Your visitor better instead of,] Lan supresses a snicker, seeing how Venti is leaning in, [arguing with Them, No?] They lean in also.
"Guess who started the argument?" Venti leans closer.
[Guess who wasn't here before I was?] Lan leans closer too.
"I already told You I was here before You!" again.
[Not visibly.] again.
"Don't tell Me what I can't do in My place!" and again.
[I'm not!] and again.
Until Their lips are just barely touching each others, they can feel each others breaths, their eyes on one another, How their bodies are slightly shaking at the proximity⸺especially Lan's.
Their form slightly brightens up and They pull away, causing Venti to let out a quiet "Hey!" of surprise and immediately move forward, grabbing onto Their arms and making Them let out a sound of surprise. Lan turns back to see that Venti is right in front of Them, the same proximity as before.
"You don't get to pull away," Venti mutters, and before Lan could even process Their words, pulls Them into a kiss. Lan freezes up at the sudden contact, Their form glowing even brighter the more They become flushed. Their eyes close, letting Their body flush into Venti's⸺as does Venti's body with Theirs.
Once they part, Lan is⸺somehow⸺glowing brighter than any star in the universe, Their mouth slightly opened as Their hands rest on Venti's waist. Looking incredibly silly, Venti let's out a⸺mostly⸺supressed chuckle, not even hiding that He's relishing the others condition.
"Guess I won, huh?"
[...Shut it.]
Venti laughs, leaning against Lan as They cross Their arms and let out a firm huff⸺obviously mortified. "Really now? You're gonna be like that with me?" He teases, turning around so He can see Them easier.
Lan only lets out another huff, Their hand itching to cover Their face with Their crown again. "You're being petty," Venti adds, still laughing. "and You know that doesn't work on Me, I've seen you all too soft already."
Lan whines and looks back at Venti, who is looking at Them with too much of a cheeky grin on His face. [Fine, you win.] They mutter, gently flicking Venti's forehead as They do; a satisfied smile coming to Their face as Venti lets out a noise of surprise; then placing a little kiss on His forehead after.
Lan relaxes back, freeing Their arms again as Venti leans against Them, idly playing with Their hair. [How've things been lately?] They mutter as They look up into the Stars, Their eyes then move towards Venti, seeing how the Moonlight bathes Him, immediately turning away before They get too bright for Their liking, again.
"Just, the usual, another day of songs, and maybe another few days of getting drunk silly at Angel's Share. You know Me enough to know, don't You?" Venti mutters with a small chuckle, continuing to play with Lan's hair.
...Yeah, They've both known each other for quite some time, to be completely honest, longer than both of Them were expecting considering the circumstances. Despite that, nobody in Teyvat seems to know what⸺or who, Lan is.
Well, except for Alice. But rest assured, She said She'll help Venti keep it a secret.
"⸺I did get into a bit of a slip up, though." Venti adds with a nervous laugh, covering His mouth as Lan's head turns to Him almost immediately. [W- What kind? Are you okay?] Lan asks, concerned as to what Venti could've gotten Himself into. The Bard's always up to something, why wouldn't They be worried?
"You've heard about Diluc, right?" Venti asks, pausing His idle play to look at Lan clearly, to which They nod. "Y'see, awhile back I got drunk silly at Angel's Share and started blabbering about You...?" Venti pauses, seeing how Lan's eyes widen in surprise, "and I was loud enough to the point He maybe heard Me?" He adds, letting out a choked out noise in His mouth.
"But⸺He doesn't know it's you!" He adds, patting Lan's arm for extra reassurance. "I've made myself as careful as can be about the two of us, I promise."
[...I trust you.] Lan mutters, now slightly relaxed from the whole revelation. The two of them have always sworn to keep their relationship between them both⸺well, them and the Flint Emperor⸺and to make it known when ready. Still, it continues to wrack both of them at the thought of getting found out, and neither of them are exactly, subtle, in their appearance...
Stars⸺At some point Lan tried to come around using a more 'appropriate' form, that of a mortal's, only to get more eyes on Them and asked more questions. So the two of them decided to ditch the idea entirely.
Even with the amount of situations both of them have gotten into just for the sake of being together, it doesn't stop either of them from wanting.
"...I'm glad, How've things been with You and," Venti pauses and gestures to somewhere in Lan's body, "Sui?" He adds. It didn't really take long for Him to find out about the Flint Emperor, not when They leave different coloured flames in comparison to Lan⸺that Venti just so happened to notice when Lan came down on one of their dates.
[I mean, I can't do much of what I want outside there, if I can even do anything at all.] Lan mutters, looking down at Their hands as They idly fidget. [Just a Hunt after another, a Fleeting streak of My finger across the stars after another,] They turn somber, [Suiyang has been fine though, They're sleeping at the moment, They've been the only person keeping Me in check when I'm out there.] looking at Their hands as They remember something.
Lan let's out a quiet chuckle, then turns to Venti, [I got something for you, though.] They say with a faint smile, causing Him to perk up in surprise. He lets go of the hold He has on Lan's hair and moves back a little, letting Them take a more comfortable position.
Now that they're facing each other, Lan brings Their hands out and opens them, revealing a bunch of stars in Their palms. [Since We can't see each other often, I thought I'd give these to you so you can have something of Me,] They pause, [That aren't fragments of My arrows, of course.] They add with a quiet chuckle, knowing that the other has made it His mission to collect every fragment that so happens to fall onto Teyvat.
"Well, someone has to make sure they don't fall in to the wrong hands." Venti winks, before reaching out behind Him. "I was actually going to give You something too," He says with a giggle, pulling out a Cecilia from behind Him like it's magic. "I know it gets lonely out there, so maybe this'll lessen it just the slightest bit." He adds, smiling up at Them.
Lan chuckles at the sight of the flower in front of Them, [We think quite alike.] They mutter. [Though, I'm not quite sure how We can hold onto them. These stars aren't exactly the strongest, and We don't exactly know how long the Cecilia can hold up in space.] They add, tilting Their head to the side in question.
That causes Venti to bring a hand to His chin, thinking about it too. Despite their alike minds, it seems like they don't think far ahead much when they're together. Then an idea pops into Venti's mind, snapping His fingers as Lan looks at Him in surprise.
"We could put them in each others hair!" He exclaims, He's always had an enjoyment for idly playing with Lan's hair when they're together, and it's not like Lan is any different with His.
"That way, we won't have to worry about having to hold onto them at all times, and they'll always be close to us!" He adds again, standing up like He's discovered something brilliant, causing Lan to laugh at His enthusiasm.
[I don't see why We couldn't.] Lan mutters, watching as Venti sits back down. Looking into each others eyes again as they hold their gifts.
"Should we take turns then?" Venti giggles out.
[There doesn't seem to be another way that's more convenient.] Lan chuckles in return.
The two of them spend the next moments decorating each others hair. Lan carefully placing the stars onto Venti's hair, placing some of the bigger ones at the end of His braids⸺giving the look that they were tied by stars. All while Venti carefully ties up the Cecilia on itself, picking off the leaves on its stem to put them back on when He's done.
Once Lan's done, Venti carefully sits on Lan's equine back and takes a part of Their hair, pulling it back and through the hoop He made with the Cecilia. He then moves it so it's close to the roots, and ties up the flower⸺so that it stays secure. He lets out a quiet laugh at the sight, clearly satisfied with what His little craft.
He gets off of Lan and waits to see Their reaction, all while looking at the stars placed on His braids. They shine so nicely under the moonlight, and aren't really much of a problem too⸺maybe a little distracting if He stands where the light can shine on Him, but He's too happy to even think about it,
And that happiness is contagious, Lan moves Their hand up toward the ponytail and feels the Cecilia tied up around it, Their eyes close immediately as a smile comes to Their face⸺happiness barely contained and threatening to spill out at any moment. It's so close to Them, closer than They'd thought Venti would put it. Even though They can't see it always, They're able to feel it.
"Do you like it?" Venti mutters, supressing His giggles as He looks back at Lan again.
Lan⸺who is trying so hard to keep Themselves in control⸺can only nod, which causes Venti to giggle even more.
They both scoot closer to each other, looking into each others eyes and relishing in the gifts. Lan swallows up Their laughter and cups Venti's cheek, [This is a wonderful gift.] They mutter with contentment. Venti returns this, leaning in to Lan as They cup His cheek, "Yours is wonderful too." His voice is soft, and His eyes are nothing but softer as they look into Lan's.
They stay like that for a moment or two, before Lan closes the distance between them in a soft, lingering kiss. Venti let's out a noise of surprise at the contact, His hands scrambling onto Lan's waist.
Lan pulls away, and is nothing more but satisfied at the condition of Venti's face⸺cheeks flushed red, eyes widened and mouth slightly opened. They clear out Their throat to get His attention, chuckling at how He jumps a little in His place.
[Guess it's a tie, hm?] Lan leans in.
"Whatever makes My Sun happy." Venti grumbles, pulling Himself closer to Lan to the point Their foreheads touch.
"I love you."
[...I love you too.]
The two of them lean in for another kiss, and continue their date just like usual.
With a new gift that'll forever be held by them, Until the Universe eats upon itself in the end.