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liviavanrouge · 3 months ago

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Flower Secret Prologue: Sudden Flowers

Venti popped his head into a house, a wide grin on his face as he tiptoed through, heading straight to the kitchen.

"Hehehehe!" He casted a quick glance around then opened the fridge.

"I KNEW IT, VENTI!!!!"

A laugh of surprise came from him and he turned around, hands innocently behind his back. Dala gave him a look, tapping her foot with arms crossed over her chest.

"WOW, Dala! You've gotten so prettier in one day!"Venti comments doing his best to get himself out of trouble.

Silence followed, Dala raising a brow at him, uncrossing her arms and placing a hand on her hip. "Your thighs have gotten plushy"Venti compliments. Red spread across the girls cheeks, her eyes widening.

"VENTI, YOU SOUND LIKE A PERV!" Laughter erupted from him, ducking down as she swung a fist at him. Dala gave him a small grin, the sound of someone else coming downstairs getting their attention.

"What's going on?"Ganyu yawned a white haired male with gray bangs following behind her.

Dala and Venti stared at her then started laughing, startling their friend. Venti leaned against the girl next to him, pointing at the male behind Ganyu.

Ganyu turned and gasped in surprise, her face turning red as the laughter of her friends continued to fill the air. "Jinxo!" Jinxo smiled in amusement as she pushed him back upstairs.

"I see you got yourself a man, Ganyu! How'd you bag this one?"Venti teased grinning at her. Ganyu pointed a firm finger at him, pushing her boyfriend back up the stairs.

"You both better get dressed! Yoimiya's party is today!"

Dala gasped and quickly hurried to the stairs. Freezing on the fourth step, her attention went to Venti. "I poured out all your alcohol, specifically the ones that drunken you up."

Venti gasped and threw the fridge open, rummaging around as she went up stairs. "DALA YOU MONSTER!!" An evil cackle came upstairs, causing him to laugh.

Summer was nearly over and the group had been having a blast with each other. Well, with everyone's idea except Venti's who suggested they all try the alcohol he brought..stole...from Diluc.

Yun Jin and Yanfei both threw a Karaoke Swimming party at a pool they both convinced Osi and Lingya to lend to them.

Ganyu got them tickets to a concert through Jinxo, who seemed to be her boyfriend now. They all got to see Navia perform with Adiva that day and to say it was a blast since a proposal had occurred at the end of it.

Lumine, with the help of her siblings, threw a small get together where she tried to play matchmaker with a few of them that night.

It was Yoimiya's turn and she was throwing a party with her younger brother, Yulis, which is gonna end with a large firework show.

Then it was Dala's turn some time afterwards and Venti had a sneaking suspicion of what kind of party she was gonna be throwing when the time came.

Venti was snapped out of his thoughts when Dala's phone started to ring. An unknown number popped up onto the screen. "Unknown number? Who's this?"Venti mumbles.

His hand grabbed her phone, answering the call only for a familiar voice to ring through. "Dala? Is this Dala?"

IT WAS XIAO!!?

Venti immediately hung up without thinking, his eyes widening when he realized what he did. "OH NOOOOO!"Venti yells his eyes wide.

He face palmed, sighing at his stupidity. He could have set them up together since Xiao and his buddies were coming to Yoimiya's party as well since Ganyu invited them due to being good friends and family with Xiao.

Xianyun, Ganyu's mother, was close with Zhongli with the two seeing each other as family. Their kids hung out, treating each other like cousins and referring to each other as such.

A knock came from the front door, Jinxo coming down the stairs to open it.

Venti peeked around the corner, noticing black hair with purple highlights. "Hey Murkus." "Is Big sis Ganyu here?"

Jinxo turned around, heading to the stairs. "GANYU!! Your little brother, Murkus, is here!"

Running feet immediately followed the call, Ganyu smiling as she hurried down the stairs, heading over to her little brother. Murkus grunted when she hugged him, looking unamused.

"Mother Xianyun is letting me come out of homeschooling." Venti perked up, having met Xianyun a few times but he could most certainly tell that she was the most protective of her only son for some reason.

"VENTI!! Come here!" That was Lumine, who must've just woken up due to some of the commotion.

Venti hurriedly came up the stairs, narrowly avoiding Murkus who was allowed to come in for a quick chat. The group lived in the house together but Yoimiya wasn't here due to her finishing preparation for the party and Venti who stayed in the dorms alongside a boy named Rexo, who is his roommate.

He walked through the hall, heading to Lumine's room. "RAH!" A girly scream came from him, Lumine clapping as she laughed and walked away. Dala cackled from her spot on the bed, putting her hair up in a bun with a braid around it. Yun Jin turned away as she giggled, trying to muffle it at the sight of Venti's expression.

“LUMINE!”Venti yells laughing. Lumine fell onto her bed, giggling as Venti stepped into the room. He tossed a pillow at her, hitting her right in the face. Yun Jin smacked him with one outside the head, laughter coming from her.

Yanfei opened her eyes, letting out a yawn and looked over curiously. Dala coughed, hitting her chest, smiling at Venti.

Venti had been the one who brought them all together, well, accidentally. He had gotten drunk one time and started singing silly songs in front of them which made them all laugh and they brought him back to his dorm room. The next day he approached them and thanked them for helping him out.

They didn’t see him after that day they became friends until they found him hanging by his cape in a tree. It took them an hour to get him down due to several plans failing. The final time they attempted to get him down, the branch broke and it sent them all falling to the ground, landing in a pile on top of each other.

It was something they laughed about to this day and teased Venti about whenever he tried to bring up something embarrassing about them. “Venti remember that time you were in the tree-“Yanfei asks as she started getting ready.

“Okay! Okay!”Venti laughed waving his hands, stopping them from exposing him further. Dala giggled in amusement then perked up when she noticed her phone in his hand.

“Venti why do you have my phone?”Dala asks curiously, lowering her hands from her hair and tilting her head to the side. A chuckle came from him, nervously passing her back her property. He watched her go through her phone then give him a deadpan look.

“Who called?”Dala demands placing a hand on her hip. “No idea, didn’t recognize the voice, sounded like a guy though”Venti lies, sticking his tongue out at her slightly chuckling. A sigh and an eye roll followed which made him breathe a mental sigh of relief.

Had she found out he hung up on someone she knew, even if she didn’t know them for a long time, she’d have wrungh his neck out and stuffed him in a box, shipping him off to Snezhnaya.

He would prefer to not be shipped off to Snezhnaya where he’d probably freeze to death due to how cold it could be. “Wait, where’s Ganyu?”Yanfei asks looking at them all.

~~~~~~~

Xiao stared at his phone, his friends staring at him since he had been watching it since Dala had hung up on him. “I don’t think she’s gonna call back”Aether comments scratching his cheek looking a bit worried.

A sigh came in response, Xiao leaning back, rubbing his head. He had wanted to talk to her to see if she was really coming, Ganyu had given him her number but he didn’t expect her to hang up as soon as she heard his voice.

He couldn’t lie and say that it didn’t hurt him a little bit. “So, Xiao, what are you gonna do now?”Childe asks. He threw Childe a glare, wondering how in the name of Morax did he become friends with the ginger haired idiot.

“Pantalone invited us to his son’s birthday party! Kuki Shinobu, his babysitter, is going for sure! She loves that kid”Childe chuckles smiling at them all. Scara rolled his eyes in response, already dealing with the upcoming birthday of his little brother, Durin with Nina’s birthday following not too long after that. His mother, Ei, had nearly the rest of the week full, aside from today in which Yoimiya was throwing a party.

Albedo stayed silent, working on an experiment with his twin sister, Goldina. Xiao didn’t know how he became friends with these too. All he remembered was that when he was picking up Xayda after picking up Mei and Gem at Teyvat Elementary, she had came running out of her class with a girl named Klee in which both claimed to be the others best friend.

Albedo had made his way over with his sisters, Goldina, Minata and Elizia alongside his brothers Duron and Dorian. Out of all the siblings, Elizia was the only one who was biologically related to Klee, having the same mom and dad as her.

Childe came next and Xiao nearly beat him to a pulp if it weren’t for two of the males siblings being with him. Teucer and Crystal. Crystal was adopted, having been found by Childe but Teucer was related to Childe by blood.

And due to their younger siblings, Childe thought they were suddenly friends. It was the same story with Scara because Childe had dragged him to join the group due to him being an elder brother with two sisters and two brothers. Nina, Chelsa, Durin and Zaggis.

The story with Aether being his friend was a little funny since the boy had fallen on top of him and he met Aether's two sisters and brother, Lumine, Atlas and Luna. Atlas seemed to despise him though with a passion. It was very different from Luna who would hide behind Aether whenever he visited them all.

And Lumine, he didn't see her around that much due to her hanging with her friends but she was nice from what he's told sometimes.

"I'm leaving, I'll meet you guys at the party."

Scara rose to his feet, making his way to the door of Albedo's place. Childe leapt up and over the couch, shielding the door with his body. "And where do you think you're going now?"Childe grinned.

"Why is that any of your business"Scars demands crossing his arms over his chest. "I saw your phone light up, who's name is Pol with a heart behind it?"Childe smirked.

Xiao perked up when Albedo suddenly decided to hide his phone. "If he's teasing about what we call our girlfriends, I'd rather not let him see what Rumi is nicknamed as on my phone"Albedo mumbles Goldina wheezing beside him as she laughed.

"Honestly are you really nitpicking what I call my girlfriend now, move out of the way"Scara huffed.

Childe grinned at him, looking amused. "Aww Kuni's got a girlfriend!"Childe laughed smiling at him.

"And I'm gonna text Lilla your location if you don't move"Scara threatens pulling his phone back out.

"HOW DO YOU HAVE THAT WITCHES NUMBER!!?" Scara dodged Childe's hands, smirking at him smugly.

They all knew he was terrified of two top things.

1. His girlfriend, Dove

2. Lilla, who seemed to have Childe on her hit list in red

"IF ARLECCHINO'S ELDEST FINDS ME, I'M DONE FOR!!"

Xiao looked up, trying to remember Lilla from what Childe had said about her. Yet, then again, Childe might have been exaggerating.

His phone lit up, his eyes wide at the sight of the alarm. "XAYDA! MEI, GEM!" He shot up having forgotten he had to be out the door BEFORE the alarm since the three had been going to this place for kids to play at and they got out early today.

Albedo suddenly shot up, his eyes wide. "Klee! Elizia!" Goldina leapt up as well, looking alert now.

Scara scoffed, looking unamused as he watched them quickly get ready. "I was already about to leave, Polaris grabbed my siblings for me, if this dunce hadn't blocked the door I'd be on my way!"Scara grumbled looking irritated.

"Well now we go together-" Childe grabbed Scara's arm and snagged him out after him, rushing down the street with the others "-CRYSTAL, TEUCER! I'M COMING!!"

Xiao hurried out only to bump into someone and perked up. "Ganyu?" Ganyu blinked twice in surprise, Murkus and another guy standing with her.

Yoimiya looked up and smiled wide when her friends came. "Guys!" Yoimiya waved to them all, her little brother crouched beside her. Yulis waved to them, holding a few unlit sparklers.

"Hi...Yoimiya...friends.."Yulis greets standing up and walking over. He held out sparklers, smiling up at them.

"Thank you, Yulis!"Venti chuckles patting his head. Yulis nodded then turned around as a few more people came over.

Baizhu waved in greeting, making his way over with his wife beside him, their two kids running around.

Ming ran around with Qiqi, holding her younger sisters hand. Both waved around sparklers. "Ah, that's Childe's little sister"Venti asks gesturing towards Ming.

"She is"Baizhu nods looking at Ming relieved to see her actually smiling and having fun.

"And you're....Gaming! Right?" Gaming nodded to Venti, then looked away, pointing over to a brown haired child.

"That's my little sister, Gilda!" Gilda ran after Ming and Qiqi, laughing as she held her sparkler.

"My Dad and I found her and we adopted her, she's the best little sister!"Gaming chuckles.

"Big brother Gaaaaming!" Gaming laughed and ran over to Gilda, heading to see what she needed from him. "Coming Gigi!"

Baizhu flashed a small smile toward the woman beside her, causing her to gently poke his cheek in a teasing way.

Yanfei turned to the smiling woman, giving her a quick wave, "Hi Ms Shuli! It's so nice to see you again!"

Shuli nodded in greeting, turning fully to face her. "You as well Yanfei, I hope those remedies I always give you for your friends have helped"Shuli chuckles.

"Oh they do! Sorry about them always refusing to come see you"Yanfei grinned.

"Wait, she's the nurse for the girls!"Venti demands looking stunned.

"Yeah she is but sometimes the smell of medicine gets to be too much"Lumine replies.

"Ms, my heart is purple, my arms are inside out-"Venti started. Dala slapped him outside the head, giving him a firm look. Yun Jin giggled but gave Venti a warning poke to the arm.

Baizhu smiles at Venti, sending chills down the boys back. "HEY BOYS!!"Yoimiya calls. Everyone's attention diverted away, finding Aether making his way over.

Dala waved to the boy, knowing him pretty well due to Lumine and because she has a few classes with him. He would bring her a cup of coffee and accompany her when she went to eat at a cafe.

"Dala, you look great!"Aether greets nodding to her outfit.

A small laugh came from her having put this together last minute due to the pillow war Venti had started. She had a white dress and a blue bow along with some accessories and threw it all together.

"Dala! Hey!!"

Mika waved, walking over with his little sister and a girl with tawny red hair. "Mika, hello! Oh and you must be Arlene! The girl that stole his heart"Dala greets the two, beaming at them.

Arlene laughed, smiling, "I wouldn't say I stole his heart, he kinda stole mines at first with how cute he is." Mika rubbed the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

"Here, be careful." Dala looked past the two, noticing one of Aether's friends.

Xiao, right? Was that his name, she hadn't seen up around much due to her just sticking with her friends.

Xiao nodded, crouched down in front of a young boy, showing him how to hold the sparkler. Yoimiya lit the sparkler, smiling as the boy ran off to join the other kids.

"Hello everyone." Rosaria made her way over, Razor and Mayla with her. A young boy clung to Rosaria's outfit, walking close to her, his cheek squished against her side.

Razor grabbed Mayla's hand, running off with his partner to set off smaller fireworks.

"Is this safe?"Rosaria asks, gingerly placing a hand on the child's back, glancing down at him.

"Yep, the adults will handle the bigger fireworks, the middle and high school kids can set off the smaller ones with an adults supervision"Yoimiya nods gesturing to Baizhu who kept an eye on the kids.

"And the little babies get sparklers!"Yoimiya adds offering the shy boy a sparkler.

"It's okay, Calliux, go ahead"Rosaria reassures placing a hand on the boys head.

Calliux reached out, taking the sparkler, his eyes lighting up when Yoimiya lit the tip.

He smiled wide, walking away to join Vixo and the others as more people began to arrive.

Dala looked around then turned and walked away, heading down a small hill to the lake below. She sat by the edge, staring at the water.

"Hey..."

Xiao stood there when she turned around, his eyes intently locked on her. He sat down, looking out towards the water. "Large crowds are too much for you, I'm guessing?"

She forced out a laugh, hugging her knees to her chest. The sound of child laughter came behind them, running feet echoing as the kids played.

"Did I startle you earlier?"

Her gaze landed on the male, looking surprised by his question. Was he talking about just now or something else that she wasn't aware of.

"....what do you mean?"Dala questions blinking twice.

The tip of Xiao's ears turned red, his index finger tapping against his knee. "Ah, you hung up on me when I called you earlier."

Dala gasped, her eyes widening, sitting up straight as the pieces clicked together finally. "VENTIIII!!"

Xiao looked at her, startled with how loud she suddenly got. "Venti?"Xiao mutters frowning now.

"He answered my phone and must've hung up on you when he heard your voice"Dala explains flopping backwards, not wanting to deal with it till she gets home.

Xiao chuckles, getting her attention. A small laugh came from her as she sat up and shook out her hair.

Xiao's hand suddenly reached up, gently plucking out a few leaves and small blades of grass that he came across. He leaned back to get a better view, dusting off the back of her dress.

Dala watched him silently, doing her best to hide how impressed she was with how well he was able to dust everything off and fix her hair. He must have a little sister or two if that was the case. She's seen this a lot with some people and ended up finding out later that they have little sisters.

Xiao looked at her, staring intently for a moment before quickly looking away.

"Xiao!?" Xiao looked back immediately, an alert look on his face at the tiny voice. "Ah, I gotta go, that's one of my sisters."

Bingo. She hit the bullseye, he has sisters.

She stood up, dusting off some of the grass. "I'll come with, I know Yun Jin is gonna start worrying if I'm missing for too long"Dala insists.

Xiao nodded then reached over, helping her dust the grass off her bottom. He froze and snatched his hand away. "Sorry"Xiao mutters heading up the hill.

She followed him, nearly falling over if it wasn't for him grabbing her hand and pulling her after him.

Xiao pulled her up the rest of the way, diverted his gaze and waved down two little girls who made a beeline for him.

"XIAO!!" Both leapt onto him, laughter coming from them.

"Hey Mei, Hey Xayda"Xiao greets letting them both hug him and mess with his hair. "There's ice cream, Mom and Dad said we can get some if you say yes!"Mei beamed.

"Oh and Murkus arrived!"Xayda adds looking up at him. "Oh, there's a flower stand too!"Mei adds that making Xiao look down at her.

Xiao nodded, letting the two girls climb off him before rising to his feet. "I'll see you later Dala"Xiao waved walking away.

She waved, chuckling with how patient he looked with his sisters. "That was absolutely adorable."

Her gaze diverted away from the leaving Xiao, looking around at some of the guests that were running about or relaxing.

Diluc kneeled down, helping a blue haired boy light his sparkler as Kaeya ran after a laughing boy calling out the name Vixo and for him to slow down.

Rosaria stood near Calliux, lighting a small firework for him then both quickly moving back.

Aether and Lumine sat nearby with Atlas and Luna, the four of them sharing some food between them.

Mika smiled as he and Arlene helped Lizzila light up a small firework, Jean and her husband, Kasuke, watching them all with smiles on their faces.

Lyney grinned, his girlfriend sitting beside him as he did magic tricks for the younger kids.

Freminet carried a boy on his shoulders, both looking around for some of the food, perking up when a stern looking woman and a smiling black haired man waved them down.

"Yoimiya really knows how to throw a party for everyone to enjoy"Dala chuckles enjoying the looks of joy that was going around. Her eyes darted to the sky, watching a large firework go off, getting everyone's attention.

"Hey."

Aether sat beside her, smiling as he offered her a candy apple. "I'm good"Dala says beckoning for him to eat it. A chuckle came in response and Aether turned away, giving it to Luna.

He turned back to her. "Luna loves candy apples"Aether smiled. "Well then, she has good taste"Dala comments nudging his arm with her elbow.

A yawn came from her, now wishing she took a nap before she came to this party. "The kids are more awake than you"Aether jokes.

"Ha, Ha! Very funny"Dala teased poking his cheek. Another yawn came from her, feeling her head drop.

Aether perked up, feeling a weight on his shoulder and looked down, finding Dala fast asleep. "I'll take you to Yun Jin"Aether grinned lifting her up, her head against his chest.

Xiao stares with wide eyes, stepping towards them but stopping when he remembered he had his sisters to watch while Zhongli and Yue got some rest.

His eyes narrowed as he looked down, a small sigh coming from him.

Yun Jin smiled at Aether giving him a quick thanks, holding Dala close with Ganyu's help.

"We got it from here"Yun Jin promised Ganyu carrying Dala to the car.

"Oh she fell asleep, that's a shame"Yoimiya says concerned. "But I'm glad we still got to have this party!"Yoimiya adds getting a bright smile from her friends.

"Agreed, I'm going to head back to my sister's and brother, have a goodnight you guys." Aether waved as he made his way back to his waiting siblings.

Xiao looked away then looked back when he heard Childe's terrified yells and the sound of Scara laughing deviously.

Childe ran from an auburn haired girl, the two dodging people. Lynette ran after them with two other girls, calling out the name Lilla.

Alhaitham pulled his wife out of the way, Childe bolting past with Lilla hot on his tail.

Xiao stared, now seeing why Childe's stories seemed so exaggerated now. His friend really was surviving a war with an enemy soldier intent on bringing him to his death.

"Xiao, are you gonna get flowers for your lady friend?"Mei asks looking up at him.

He looked at her, instinctively using a napkin to clean the ice cream off her mouth before answering, "Do you think she'd like flowers?"

Mei nodded, smiling wide. "Dad gets Mom flowers whenever he comes home!"Mei beamed.

"Calliux says his dad, Capitano, brings flowers when they visit his mother's stone"Xayda adds.

Xiao shushed Xayda, shaking his head as a silent reminder to not talk about that incident.

"Sorry"Xayda mumbles glancing around worriedly.

Xiao looked at the flower stand then stood up, making his way over to Lyney's girlfriend, Mila, who was arranging a few flowers.

"Hey Mila"Xiao greets, getting her attention. Mila turned and flashed him a bright smile, "Xiao, hello!"

"Where's Lyney?"Xiao asks since he's always seen Lyney with Mila a lot. Mila pointed to Lyney who was with Lilla and several others, having ice cream together.

"His parents got everyone ice cream, he brought me mine, I finished it and continued with my flowers"Mila explains to Xiao, looking back at her flowers. Xiao nodded, looking over each of the flowers.

"Uh..do you have any recommendations for one sided liking...?"Xiao sighs looking away so she doesn't see his face.

"You mean something like unrequited love?"Mila pries trying to get more info, a smirk on her face. "Do you have a crush?"

Xiao's ears turned pink at the tips, Mila slapping a hand on the stand counter and pointing at him, "AHA, YOU DO!!"

He shushed her, giving her a look. "You have a one sided crush on someone?" Ganyu stood there, Jinxo standing halfway behind her. Xiao glared at Jinxo, not finding him worthy enough of Ganyu and her love.

"Wait, is it Dala?"Ganyu gasped lifting a hand. She gasped and clapped twice, before pointing at him when a look of pure shock flashed across his face. "I knew it! I saw you sitting with her by the lake at the bottom of the hill!"

Xiao groaned, wondering how this went from a simple question to two girls knowing about what was going on.

Mila was gonna pry further until he dropped everything and Ganyu was gonna play matchmaker most definitely now that she knows. Had it been Venti, he wouldn't be surprised but this was his cousin, not Venti, so it was gonna be a surprise around every corner.

"Here!" Blue roses made him perk up. Mila gave him a quick wink, a wide grin on her face. "I can deliver them to her!"Ganyu offers.

"Me and Jinxo are gonna head home." Mila passed the flowers to Ganyu before Xiao could even protest, a sigh coming from him.

"Just...don't tell her they're from me..yet"Xiao grumbled. Ganyu gave him a thumbs up and walked away with Jinxo at her side. Xiao swatted Jinxo's hand with a stick when he noticed where the male was reaching, both glaring at each other.

Mila laughed, burying her face into her arms. "Milaaaa~" Lyney came over, placing his hat on the girl's head. Xiao quickly walked away, not wanting to interrupt their lovey-dovey time.

Freminet walked past, holding the hand of a white haired girl wearing an overly fancy outfit that one normally wouldn't wear at a fireworks party.

"Even he got a girlfriend"Xiao mutters having gotten to know Freminet due to Childe swiping the boy and bringing him over for hangouts.

.......now he sees why Lilla wants to kill Childe and now he is all for it too. He'd be pissed too if someone kept snatching his siblings.

A yawn from Mei caught his eye, a small smile appearing on his face.

"Albedo, Goldina!" The twins simultaneously looked at him, Xiao making his way over. "Me and my siblings are gonna head home"Xiao informs them, gesturing to a yawning Gem and Mei.

Albedo nodded, "See you later then, we're going to Scara's place tomorrow."

Xiao gave a swift nod of understanding, taking his leave from the conversation.

Shinobu stood with Pantalone who carried a sleeping Leif in his arms. "Thanks for taking him while I was busy"Pantalone said as Xiao made his way past the two.

"It was my pleasure!"Shinobu smiled gently touching Leif's hand.

Jean carried a sleeping boy to her and Kasuke's car, gently humming as she set him down in the middle seat.

Barbara stepped into the car from the other side, Kasuke closing the door for her.

"Xiao, can I have a piggyback ride?"Mei asks him, lifting her hands.

Murkus picked Mei up, carrying her in his arms. "I'm heading home too, parties aren't much of my thing." The boy glanced back and huffed.

Shenhe made her way over as well, having only came because she was encouraged to socialize a bit more.

"Let's go"Murkus insists, carrying Mei in one arm and Shuyu on his back.

Xiao walked with them, only stopping to give Xayda a piggyback ride on his back when she got tired.

"So....who were the flowers for?"Shenhe asks causing Xiao's ears to turn red. Murkus cackled, careful to not be too loud since Mei and Shuyu were asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dala opened her eyes and yawned as she sat up. Blue roses immediately caught her attention, Ganyu walking in with a vase that held the flowers. "I put them in water for you!"Ganyu says as she sets the vase down.

Silence followed as she stared at the vase, wondering who brought her flowers. Her friends would but they would've given them to her immediately.

The look on Ganyu's face also gave away that she knew exactly who got these flowers. She looked too happy for them to be a gift from a friend.

"Does someone you know like me or something?"Dala questions crossing her arms.

Ganyu only grinned in response to her question and made her way out of the room.

"Maybe...the guy you talked to last night seemed to really like you, he was a little embarrassing"Ganyu teased walking out of view.

Dala stared after her in shock, her eyes wide. She looked at the flowers, her eyes narrowed at them.

Were these from Aether?

@queen-of-twisted @albedomestic-airline

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liviavanrouge · 3 months ago

Text

Flower Secret Ch 1: Back to Collage

A girly scream filled the air when Lumine popped out of nowhere, scaring Venti once again.

Yun Jin laughed, covering her mouth with one hand. "It won't happen again!"Venti swore pointing firmly at them all.

That was a lie, it was gonna happen again. No matter how many times Lumine would scare him, he always fell for her tricks.

Today, was the last day they were gonna have fun before collage tomorrow, since tonight Dala was throwing a slumber party for everyone, having invited Xiao and the others as well.

Dala came in, wearing a bird onesie, a wide smile on her face. "Well~"Dala giggles. Cheers came from her friends, followed by a round of applause.

Yun Jin giggled, wearing a wolf onesie, with Yoimiya sitting beside her wearing a kitty onesie. "It suits you Dala!"Yoimiya beamed giving her a thumbs up.

Ganyu smiled, wearing matching snow leopard onesies with Jinxo, who was fast asleep with his head in her lap. "Reminds me of a certain boy...."Ganyu says trailing off at the end with a small grin.

Lumine chuckles, wearing a bear onesie, shaking her bottom which had a little tail in the back. "Lumine!"Venti laughs wearing a dragon onesie.

Yanfei clapped, cheering Lumine on, wearing her deer onesie. Ringing came from the front door, the group hurrying out. Yanfei and Yun Jin hurried to the kitchen to grab the snacks while Ganyu and Jinxo set up some of the games.

Dala opened the front door, beaming. "Hey guys!" Xiao stared at her, his face turning red as his eyes scanned her onesie. "A-A green bird?"Xiao mumbles.

"Ganyu picked it out for me"Dala grinned. Xiao looked sharply past her at his cousin, finding Ganyu giving him a mischievous look. He sighed, burying his face in his hands.

"It's nice to see you, Dala"Aether greets popping out from behind Xiao. Childe waved chuckling, Albedo standing with his twin sister, both carrying a few bags filled with more snacks and games.

"Thanks for inviting us"Scara sighed. A white haired girl with green markings and highlights beamed as she popped out from behind Scara. "Yeah thank you!"

Dala stared at the girl confused, looking curious. "This is my cousin, Nina, who my mom also says I treat like a sister.."Scara grumbled.

"I had to bring her with me since Aunt Nahida is busy"Scara adds Nina leaning against him with a beaming smile.

Dala chuckled and stepped aside, letting the boys and Nina come in. "Hey Xiao"Ganyu greets. Xiao and Jinxo glared daggers at each other, scowls on their faces.

"Should we watch a movie or play a game! Oh maybe share some gossip!"Childe grinned getting an amused look from Goldina.

"I say we share some gossip, I need the latest juice to fill my cup!"Goldina suggests Albedo giving her a faint smile.

"Well, I'll start!"Yun Jin smiled. "I've been seeing someone." Gasps rippled around, all eyes now on Yun Jin.

Never before had she shown much interest in finding someone, now all of a sudden she was revealing that she was dating someone.

"WHO IS IT!?"

A giggle came from her as she took out her phone, showing them her lockscreen which was of her kissing the cheek of a green haired male with blue highlights, leading to the tips of his hair which were shaded the same color blue. A pair of cold teal eyes making Lumine gasp.

"YOU'RE DATING XIYANG!?"Lumine yells grabbing her hair, looking as if Yin Jin just revealed she was dating Jeff the Killer. "DO YOU KNOW HOW VIOLENT THAT GUY IS!?"

Yun Jin blinked, looking confused. "Violent? But he's so sweet." Childe gave a nervous laugh, clearly sharing an entirely different opinion. "Xiyang has gotten in trouble for previous beatings"Childe explains looking somewhat reluctant to reveal such info.

"He beat the crap out of someone yesterday too, they said someone stopped him by dumping a bowl of water on his head"Xiao adds tapping his foot.

"That was me."

All eyes went back to Yun Jin alarmed. "I did it to cool him down since my words weren't getting through to him"Yun Jin says a small embarrassed smile on her face.

"What part of DANGEROUS do you not understand!?"Lumine sighed pressing a hand to her forehead, looking worried now.

"But...he's really sweet..maybe it's because you guys have only ever seen his violent side"Yun Jin frowned resting her chin on her pillow.

"Oh I got something!"Venti beamed lifting his hand.

Everyone looked at him, hoping in unison that it wasn't something silly as usual.

"I adopted a child!"

Silence followed, Venti smiling brightly at them all. "His name is Avios, he's my son and I love him so much!"Venti beamed.

"You are crazy"Xiao says narrowing his eyes at the wine drinker. Venti giggled in response, sticking his tongue out slightly, looking cheeky.

"I'll go next!"Ganyu offers, lifting her hand. Xiao looked at her, noticing the cheeky glint in her eyes. "One of us here has a crush on someone else and if there's anymore, CONFESS NOW!"Ganyu says.

Aether glanced at Dala then looked up, rubbing the back of his head as his cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"I like Yoimiya..."

All eyes went to Goldina, finding her avoiding eye contact with them all. Everyone looked at Yoimiya finding her looking nervous, her cheeks turning red.

"Aha, I didn't know that!"Yoimiya chuckled rubbing the back of her neck, looking embarrassed and a little flustered.

"I've uh...liked you since the first year..sorry if I've made you uncomfortable.."Goldina mutters.

"Oh no! Yoimiya you better leap at this chance, I've seen your diary!"Venti interrupts quickly.

"VENTI, YOU SON OF A-"Yoimiya gasped looking flustered. Quickly, she cut herself off from the last word but everyone present already knew what she was gonna say.

"Diary? What's this about your diary?"Scara asks now suddenly interested in the convo. "Oh, she confessed her undying feelings for Goldina in that book!"Venti tattled, a wide grin on his face.

"VENTI, YOU REALLY DID- GOD DAMNIT!" Yoimiya grabbed the boys hat and tossed it across the room, sending him hurrying after it since it was a gift from Dane.

Scara cackled, a grin on his face as he watched the chaos unfold. Nina fell asleep beside him, her head falling on his shoulder causing the male to sigh as he laid her down and placed a blanket over her.

"Well?"Dala grinned looking at the two girls. Yoimiya stood up and made her way over to Goldina, Albedo scooting away smirking slightly. She plopped down in Goldina's lap, looking somewhat shy.

Laughter followed, Goldina chuckling as she patted Yoimiya's back. She wrapped her arms around the girls waist, pulling her close.

"You're welcome!"Venti chuckles. Two pillows hit him right in the face, laughter following as he fell over.

"Anybody else?"Ganyu asks them all, giving Xiao a pointed look.

Xiao shook his head as subtly as he could make it, his eyes wide when his cousins stare got more intense, silently urging him to speak up. A sigh came from him as he moved to speak.

"I like Dala..."

Aether scratched his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed. Dala stiffened, a flustered look on her face. Ganyu gasped quietly, looking between them with an alarmed look.

"I know we haven't spoken much, Dala, but I would like to take you out....on a date..if you'd let me." Xiao stared at Aether with a look of pure disbelief, lowering his blanket.

"Sure!" Xiao's gaze darted to the girl sitting by the TV, Childe glancing at him then taking a double look when he noticed how hard he was scowling.

"G-Great! I'll text you the date, time and location"Aether smiled. An eager nod came from Dala, Ganyu looking at Xiao noticing his expression.

"I..think I should head home"Xiao mumbles standing up, Aether looking at him.

"Weren't you the one most eager to come, why are you leaving now?"Scara demands, a look of suspicion on his face.

"I promised Xayda something"Xiao huffs, purposefully kicking Aether in the ankle as he walked past.

"Then I'm coming with you"Scara says, Albedo helping put Nina on his back so he can carry her easier. "Gotta get her to my place since she's asleep"Scara adds making his way over.

"Xiao..."Dala says, starting to stand up. He sighed and gave her a small wave, stepping out after Scara.

"What....just happened?"Yun Jin asks surprised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xiao opened the door to his place, slamming it shut behind him. He grabbed his hair, pacing around.

"Xiao?"

Zhongli stood there, his arms crossed over his chest. "You're back from the slumber party earlier than you said you'd be...four hours earlier."

Xiao released his death grip on his hair and sighed, calming himself. "I started feeling uncomfortable"Xiao mutters.

"Or is it because you didn't have the will power to confess your feelings to Dala"Yue asks making her way over, placing her hands on her hips.

Xiao glanced between them, wondering how long they knew about his crush on her. More so, how did they know he failed with Dala already. "Xiao, Ganyu called us"Zhongli informs him, sighing.

"I understand your reluctance but how long will you allow something like this to drag on?"Yue asks as she crosses her arms over her chest. "I'm starting to worry that you're gonna let this be a common thing"

Now he was being nagged, before Menogias and the others died in the crash, he had heard his parents nagging his siblings at times especially Menogias who had fallen head over heels in love with YuLing.

Back then, you could practically see his pupils turn into hearts whenever she was around. Everyone couldn't help but tease him since he always seemed like a lovey dopey idiot when she was around.

"Xiao, we won't force you to actually pursue her, if you wish to step back and allow Aether to be with her, you can"Yue sighs letting her arms drop. "But I do hope you don't step down so easily."

Yue turned and walked away, heading to Gem's room to see if he was asleep. Zhongli watched her go then looked at Xiao. "I made a mistake, one that I will regret for the rest of my life....don't make the same one, this small war may have ended but your battle is just beginning."

Zhongli turned, walking after Yue to go check on Mei and Xayda who both shared a room.

Xiao looked down and sighed, letting out a small huff. His phone buzzed, Scara's name popping up on the screen.

"Scaramouche?"

He didn't want to talk to his friends right now. It was tiring enough that he had to sit there and watch Aether manage to get a date with Dala quicker than he ever could.

His thumb pressed the answer button deciding to get this over with. "Hello"Xiao sighed leaning against the wall.

"Hey, if you want advice about Dala, give me an hour of your time"Scara says from the other side.

Xiao perked up, his eyes widening. His eyes darted down the hallway, not seeing any sign of his parents.

"....alright.."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"BACK TO SCHOOL!! BACK TO SCHOOL!" Venti laughed, cheering as he walked to school. Yoimiya chuckled, holding Yulis' hand.

"Bye...big sis.."Yulis says running off towards a group of kids waiting by a crossing guard. Gilda beamed, waving to Yulis.

Clorinde approached the kids, two of her own hugging her before joining the group.

"Dala!" Dala looked forward, her cheeks heating up when Aether approached her. "H-Hey"Dala greets fiddling with her shirt.

Venti grinned behind her, chuckling as he watched her get flustered when Aether flashed the girl a warm smile.

"Wanna walk together?"Aether asks pointing away towards the school. Dala looked at her friends, finding everyone but Ganyu shooing her away with beaming grins on their faces.

She looked at Aether and nodded eagerly, her cheeks flushed. Aether chuckled and patted Atlas and Luna's head, allowing the two to run off.

"Come on"Aether beckons turning away. She walked beside him, the duo heading down the sidewalk.

She didn't think she'd ever end up liking a guy. Despite not knowing Aether for that long he was a nice and caring person, it was her type of guy. Someone who can handle her when she randomly gets a bit snappy with others.

A meow caught her attention, her eyes darting down to see a small family of cats gathered around by a clump of nearby bushes.

Immediately, she crouched down, pulling out her bottle of water, along with some cat food that she carried on her. Aether crouched beside her, setting down a small bowl. "I sometimes take care of stray cats"Aether explains, glancing away.

The two stayed crouched side by side, tending to the cats. Dala blinked noticing the black cat had the same color eyes as Xiao. Her gaze turned to the mother cat, finding that the cat had the same blue eyes she did.

"Huh..."Dala mumbles looking curious. The three kittens scrambled around each other, making Aether chuckle as he tried to ration the food for them but gave up after a while, causing her to giggle.

"Kittens"Aether jokes, giving her a small smile. The duo looked back at the cats, finding the parents leaving with their three kittens. The both of them waved, watching the little family go.

"Hey Aether, do you think sometimes animals can symbolize people and maybe the future"Dala asks unable to get the eyes of the kittens parents out of her head.

Silence came from Aether, an expression of contemplation on his face. "I wouldn't know, maybe...but it depends."

She nodded, looking towards the cats, finding the parent cats both staring at her intently before they padded out of view. "It's a bit weird"Dala mutters.

A hand patted her back, making her shriek in surprise, getting Aether's attention.

Xiao stood there surprised by her shriek. "Ah, I'm sorry"Xiao says lowering his hand.

"Hey Xiao"Aether greets, giving him a friendly grin. Xiao glanced at him, then looked away with narrowed eyes causing his friend to perk up.

"Oh, we gotta hurry"Dala says looking between them, wondering if they had a fight or something.

"Let's go then." Two hands were held out at the same time, Xiao and Aether's eyes both fixed on her. Her eyes darted from one to the other then took both hands, walking between the two boys.

A giggle came from her at the boys surprised looks, her fingers intertwined with Aether's, her other hand holding Xiao's regularly.

"Where did you come from Xiao?"Aether asks curiously. Dala looked at Xiao curiously, tilting her head to the side. "The sky"Xiao responds albeit coldly.

Aether blinked, a small frown on his face, scanning his friends face. The chatter of people caught their attention as the trio approached the collage. Eyes landed on them when they passed by, quiet whispering following the trio

Xiao looked around for the rest of his friends, spotting Childe and his girlfriend, Dove, nearby with Dove scolding Childe for some apparent reason. Albedo was sitting with Rumi whose hand glided over her sketchbook, most definitely sketching the ash blond male. Scara was sitting still and letting Polaris do his hair.

His hand suddenly felt empty so he looked down only to find Dala missing. His eyes darted up, spotting Dala with Aether, talking with her friends who managed to catch up.

"Xiao."

His head turned, finding Scara standing there. Scara nodded to him, his arms crossed over his chest. "Gonna start taking my advice?"Scara asks, raising a brow. Xiao pursed his lips together, his fingers curling into a fist.

Running feet came past him, Dala running into the building, pulling Aether after her with a wide smile, laughter coming from the blond haired male.

"I'm still thinking about it"Xiao responds glancing away. Scara shrugged and walked away, "Alright, but don't get angry when they end up together."

Xiao walked after him. A hand patted his shoulder, his gaze lifting to find Ganyu smiling at him. "Let's head inside and just get through this school year"Ganyu suggests. Xiao nodded, walking beside her.

It felt like the summer only lasted for a week and a half, now they are back at the school again. Just to suffer with classes and homework. Especially with drama that tends to go down.

Chatter reached his ears, students wandering around with their schedules, the Student Council gathered together discussing something with one another.

Xiao perked up, noticing a familiar figure watching one of the council students.

"Furina?" Furina screeched in surprise when he tapped her shoulder, her eyes wide as she whipped around.

A male with tawny purple hair looked over, Furina gasping when his eyes landed on her. The male smiled and waved, a welcoming expression on his face.

"Ah! H-Haha! Hiii!"Furina greets her cheeks red. She immediately whipped around and started shoving Xiao away back towards Ganyu. "Furina, hello"Ganyu greets.

"Hey"Furina waves looking much more relaxed now. The girl looked back, finding the tawny purple boy back in a deep conversation with Ayaka, Ayato and Neuvillette.

"Who are you staring at?"Ganyu asks. Xiao pointed out the guy, Furina gasping as she slapped his hand down.

"That's Deslyn, from the student council right, he's from the Fontaine District"Ganyu asks looking surprised. Jinxo came up behind Ganyu, him and Xiao death glaring at each other, waiting for the other to drop dead.

"He's a year above me-"Furina says, her cheeks turning red. A hand tapped her shoulder, causing her to gasp when she found Deslyn standing there. "Furina, mind walking with me"Deslyn asks leaning down to be eye level with her.

Xiao gave her thumbs up as Ganyu nodded eagerly to her with Jinxo making a shooing gesture.

Furina nodded, beaming at Deslyn. She quickly walked away beside him, excitedly chatting with the towering male.

Xiao and Ganyu made their way over to a few student helpers and professors, finding Neuvillette standing among them. "Professor Neuvillette congrats!"Ganyu greets as he handed her a schedule.

"Hm?" Xiao looked at his cousin then at Neuvillette. "Oh right, you fell asleep Xiao"Ganyu chuckles.

"Professor Neuvillette is getting married to Adiva! He proposed at the concert with Navia's help!"

Neuvillette scratched his cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed as he handed Xiao his schedule.

"Good luck!"Ganyu waved walking away with Xiao and Jinxo. The trio made their way around, Xiao dodging familiar hair once more, his eyes widening.

Aether chuckled, running after Dala who pulled him down the hallway. "Wait, I can't keep up!"Aether chuckled vanishing around the corner.

Xiao clenched his fist, feeling as if he was being mocked right now by the world.

"Xiao."

He looked at Jinxo, both glaring at each other. "We're going to class"Jinxo informs grumbling. Ganyu nodded and waved to him, giving him a quick concerned look.

Xiao waved to her a silent gesture that he was gonna be fine. He turned away, heading to his class. "Hey!" A hand patted his back, Lumine giving him a small grin.

"You heading to room 210?"Lumine asks making him perk up. A nod came from him, Lumine giving him a small smile as she joined him.

The two walked down the hallway, Xiao casting a few glances towards Lumine. She was one of Aether's sisters, he often saw her around with Dala and the others.

Maybe Scara's advice would work if he filled Lumine in on things but he didn't want to risk his relationship with her or with Aether.

"We're here!"Lumine grinned, entering the classroom. He walked in after her, perking up in surprise.

Dala smiled, chatting with Venti who gave her a cup of coffee and a bag filled with something sweet smelling. The two looked over and waved with wide smiles on their faces. Lumine quickly made her way over, joining her two friends.

"Xiao you too!"Venti calls, chuckling as he beckons him over. Xiao stepped closer, making his way over to the three of them, giving them a quiet nod of greeting.

"I'm not ready for this school year but I can't wait!"Venti chuckles, Dala rolling her eyes at him in a playful manner.

Xiao nodded, not agreeing with Venti's excitement for the school year but with the fact that he was not ready.

Especially since Aether now had his crush's attention.

@queen-of-twisted @albedomestic-airline