#mun chichi

Sight. Still a little blurry with sleep, thus you instinctively rubbed your eyes to try and wake up further. Blinking once more, you sat up, the rest of your senses catching up and allowing you to appreciate the sounds around you as well: birds chirping, the breeze whistling tunes of adoration and longing, a nearby creek, the soft melody of strings being plucked delicately. The scent of wet dirt, fresh mint, a nearby rock that had been under the sun for hours now, apples, ripe and sweet.

Where in the world were you?

As a newborn fawn, you held onto the rough edge of another rock to pick yourself up and stand on your feet, looking around you, but before you got to take a good look, the wind picks up, what was a gentle breath now felt almost like the beginning of a hurricane, having to hold onto your new solid pal to not trip for the few seconds it lasts. Once it is over, you're back to sitting on the grass, huffing to yourself, even crossing your arms in confusion and a bit of frustration, but before you can go ahead and try to get up again, the soft melody nearby comes to a stop and a soft giggle replaces it.

"What's got you so upset, dear one?" you hear someone coo, and… Isn't that voice familiar? You're sent once more into a frenzy to look around you to find the source of the voice, the force of the elements being so gracious as to allow you this freedom this time, and get as a reward the sight of a young man… Floating down? Was he floating?

Soft cheeks are flushed as he smiles, stepping down gracefully on the patch of flowers right in front of you, and you're sure you're gawking at him.

"Oh? Speechless now? It was said you could be shy but I didn't expect their grace to be this quiet."

"What."

Blink blink. Oh this was a dream. That's the only logical explanation.

"Ah… Huh! Am I referring to you in a wrong way? I apologize if that's the case!" he quickly comes down to kneel by your side, giving you the biggest puppy eyes you have seen in your entire life. Cute…

"No, no, that's not it. I… You're Venti. Like. You're Venti and you're right in front of me", you tried to explain, not exactly doing a great job at really making the other understand what you meant, given by the way he tilts his head to the side.

"Well, yes! I'm Venti! Venti the bard, but you may call me however you wish!" he excitedly giggles, seemingly ecstatic that you even knew his name. "Oh, we have waited for your return for so long! We need to let everyone know so we can properly celebrate, there will be feasts and festivals and balls and parties, all of it to welcome you here—!"

"I'm gonna be fully honest with you", you interrupted him, only half guilty when he looks back at you clearly embarrassed with how into it he got. "I have no idea what you're talking about, and all that sounds exhausting…" you admit, leaning back on your hands behind you.

"Mm… Then we can stay a bit longer here and I can explain it all to you! It's not strange for you to not remember it all, even I have my memory problems after a long nap, I'm sure it's the same for you, given how long you were away…" he shrugs, deciding to come closer, pretty much flopping onto the grass by your side, short of snuggling up to you.

Normally it would've been… Weird, this whole thing was extremely weird, but you knew him, in some sort of way, and that familiarity felt safer than anything else right now. Not to mention a strange sense of longing within you, of being lost for so long just to be found yet again, like coming back home after a bad trip that went on for too much time and you finally could forget about unknown pillows as you sank into your very own.

Huh! Weird!

"I guess there's no harm in staying, then. I could use an explanation or two…" with that, you allow your body to rest back as well, turning your head just enough to watch Venti's peaceful expression through the long grass leaves.

Usually being one to have a little more finesse, it's almost uncharacteristic of you to carelessly throw the keys on the counter on your way into the kitchen, kicking your shoes off while getting a glass of water, and dripping almost a quarter of it in yourself, seeking to relieve your poor heated skin, it almost felt like steam escaped your pores as the cool water made contact with it.

You were totally gonna die.

You don't have much more time to wallow in your own vaporized pity after finishing your water when you hear footsteps approach you, followed by gentle arms wrapping around your waist.

"Hah, someone just got out of the oven?" the voice belonging to those arms teases gently, true concern behind the joke, and you place the glass on the sink to turn around. Ah, there he is. Just looking at your beloved could make you feel so much better...

"I'm cooked... Absolutely roasted, fried even", you whine, dropping your head forward and resting your forehead on his shoulder. He chuckles softly, more feeling the vibration of his chest than hearing it, and a hand comes up to pet at your hair.

"My poor angel... You look exhausted", he doesn't need to point it out but you agree with him with another whine nonetheless. You stay there for a couple minutes, you simply resting all of your weight onto him and Kaeya silently holding you up.

"... Can we please go to bed? I wanna get all these dumb clothes off..." you complain pulling away just enough to look up at him, where you find a smug smirk. Oh no.

"Oho? I thought you were overheated?" he teases some more, even going ahead and wiggling his eyebrows at you, making you groan and roll your eyes while he giggled.

"You're such a child... I just wanna lie down and be one with the soft cold sheets."

"Whatever my liege desires it shall be, then", and with that, he's picking you up in his arms and carrying you towards the bedroom. Normally you would have squeaked, maybe even complained and fought back while you both died of laughter, but you truly were so exhausted that there was no energy to fight left in your poor aching body, leaving you to simply groan and hug him, allowing yourself to be walked around like a sack of potatoes.

It doesn't take more than a minute for you to arrive to the comfort of your bedroom, the air cooler than the rest of the house a clear sign that Kaeya had been working away on the paperwork you could see on the desk opposite to the bed, only getting up to go greet you like a puppy longing for its owner to come home and zooming to the door as soon as the keys were taken out of your pocket.

Gently, as if you were but a porcelain doll, Kaeya placed you down onto the bed and kissed your forehead before pulling away to look for more comfortable clothes for the both of you, opting for just loose cotton shirts and pajama shorts, not like either of you really had to go out for the rest of the day.

Kaeya made a point to make his free hours as sacred as possible when it came to you, no paperwork, no extra hours or patrolling or anything. If your days off concurred, you had a silent agreement to spend it with the other always, unless truly pressing matters outside of your power pulled you appart.

Now dressed in the most comfortable and fresh clothes you had, you sigh happily and fall back onto the mattress, crawling up onto the center of it while listening to your beloved's harmonious laugh. Once in place, you curl up under the light bedsheets and purr as the cold fabric envelopes your body, slowly lowering its temperature, it almost feels like you're fizzling...

The knight gets in behind you only a second after, leaving his vision just on the bedside table to be able to make use of it and cool down the entire area of the bed some more, knowing you needed it before he could wrap his arms around you.

"There you go, darling... Is that better?" he coos softly, leaving the tiniest kisses along your shoulder and making you shiver.

"Mmhm... Comfy... Thank you, Kae..." you mumble, reaching for your favorite plushie and hugging it close to your chest.

"Of course... Anything for you, my dear", he speaks soft and low, his cool breath brushing against your neck just barely, making you shiver, but... It's even comforting, lulling you into a relaxed and even vulnerable state of mind.

Usually you're the one to do this for Kaeya, pamper and even baby him until he's a mushy little thing without a single thought in his head. Be it for coping purposes or simply to make him feel loved, or even in more intimate situations, you were always happy to take care of him, take control of the situation and let him feel safe and cared for, it was the default you liked to keep and he was more than happy, despite his initial reluctance about not needing to get babied (a lie).

All this was to say that he rarely ever got the chance to do the same for you. He treasured the occasions where you truly needed to let your guard down and be the one to get taken care of, and, even rarer still, you allowed yourself to even do so. He always had his way of caring for you, not leaving a moment of doubt in your heart that he absolutely adored you with all he was, but there was something special in these occasions.

"Look at you... Already so sleepy, mm?" he coos again, so so softly. A hand is caressing up and down your arm, his other arm coming up and fitting like jigsaw pieces under your head as another pillow, and you curl up back against his chest.

"Mmhm... Tired... But better..." you babble back. It was as if all the exhaustion of the day was finally catching up to you, closing your eyes and struggling to stay awake some more to be a bit longer with him.

"Ah, I'm glad, my sweet angel... My poor baby had a very long day, so much to do, and in this heat!" he clicks his tongue, as if reprimanding the entire universe for giving you a hard time. "But it's alright... You're here now, finally home, in my arms... Safe and comfy."

"Safe 'n comfy..." you repeat back, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.

"Mhm, that's right... Let's get some rest, my little dove", he proposes, kissing the back of your neck, making you shiver. Cold...

"Mmkay... So sleepie already... G'night..." it's all you can reply with, sleep clinging to you and making youe consciousness swirl around already. He chuckles softly, kissing along your shoulder some more.