Chapter Text
The first thing Oliver registered was birdsong.
He stirred slowly, blinking against the pale morning light that filtered through the canopy above him. The hammock swayed just barely with his movement, the branches holding steady around them. Good thing too — without the shade of the great tree, the early sun would have been merciless against his eyeballs.
He turned his head, just a little.
Venti was already awake. He hadn't said anything, hadn't moved much either. He was just lying there on his back, eyes tracing the twist of branches overhead, looking peaceful in a way. Oliver let himself look — just for a second. The soft curve of his jaw. That strange, lovely eye color, somewhere between seafoam and sky. The quiet little upturn of his nose. Venti wasn't even aware that Oliver was staring.
Then Venti's gaze drifted sideways.
Oliver snapped his eyes to the upward, pretending he wasn't looking in the bard's direction.
But Venti managed to see the shift in movement.
"You are so obvious~," Venti said, the smile already in his voice before Oliver even turned back. A soft little laugh followed. "Were you really hoping I wouldn't notice that?"
Oliver's face went hot. "I wasn't looking at you."
"Mmhm," Venti hummed, utterly unconvinced. "So. How'd you sleep?"
"Fine. Good." Oliver cleared his throat. "Well. Good enough, considering." He paused. "Actually... I think I had some kind of dream. I'm not sure."
Venti tilted his head, rolling to face him properly. His expression shifted — the teasing melted into something gentler. "A bad one? Maybe you're just stressed about everything."
"That's the thing." Oliver frowned at the branches. "I don't know. You ever wake up with that feeling like something happened in your sleep, but when you actually try to grab onto it, it's just... gone? Like you just can't remember it for the life of you?"
Venti nodded. "Mh-mm. Many times. But I guess with you, it must be different. Lost memories and all. If it really is a curse, the dream could be something that has happened in the past!"
Oliver looked at him.
Venti shrugged. "Maybe something in your subconscious is telling you something. Though, I don't think you should force yourself to remember though. It's never good to do that."
Oliver nodded. "Yeah. You're probably right." He shifted to sit up a bit and completely misjudged where his hand was going. His palm landed directly in the center of Venti's stomach. He yanked it back so fast the entire hammock lurched sideways.
"Hey, be careful~," Venti giggled.
"S-sOoRy!" Oliver's voice cracked terribly. His voice did something catastrophic on the second syllable.
Venti stared at him for exactly one second.
Then he laughed so hard the hammock began actually rocking, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. "THAT VOICE—! What?! Where did THAT come from—!?" He cackled, which made the hammock sway harder, which made Oliver panic and lurch sideways, which sent the whole thing into a proper wobble.
Oliver yelped and grabbed the nearest solid thing, which happened to be Venti.
The laughter stopped.
Venti blinked, suddenly aware of Oliver's arms around him, face very close. He registered the reason immediately — the poor human had just been scared half to death by the swaying. Still. An opportunity was an opportunity~.
He leaned in just slightly. And pressed a small, quick kiss to Oliver's forehead. His face was very close, so he decided to just do it.
Oliver went completely still. His eyes shot all the way open, and he instantly let go of Venti, and stared at him.
Venti covered his mouth and let out a sharp breath of a laugh.
Oliver turned around, laying on his stomach and let out a muffled scream into the pillow.
Venti covered his mouth with both hands — pointless, because the laughter came out anyway. "Okay! Okay, I'm sorry! I'm sorry—! Haha—! I have never in my entire life seen someone get so red over nothing—!" Venti knew people liked him. And he uses that as his advantage to fluster and tease a lot of the others around the town. But something was different with Oliver. His face would get more red than a pyro slime.
"It's not NOTHING—!" came the muffled yell from the pillow.
"Sorry~," Venti said, but the giggle that came after pretty much meant that he wasn't sorry at all.
Oliver rose slowly. Propped himself up on his elbows. Looked at Venti with the energy of a man composing himself after a great personal tragedy. "You," he said, "are the single biggest tease I have ever encountered."
Venti tilted his head. "Am I~?"
"Ugh!" Oliver grunted and slammed his face back down on the pillow. He laid there for a bit, until he rose back up again. "First you called me 'cutie,' then you dragged me up here, and you practically—you basically—edged me!" Oliver gestured vaguely and with great distress, "—and then you just fell asleep!"
Venti burst into even louder giggles, his laughter sounding so sweet in the morning air. "I did WHAT now?!" He looked at Oliver with wide eyes.
"You know what you did," Oliver grunted.
Venti's eyes went wide and innocent. "I have no idea what you're referring to."
"Yes you do."
"I truly don't~."
Oliver rolled his eyes, then he laid back down. He was facing away from Venti in the hammock. "Do you all have a shower here? Cause I'm practically on fire and need to freshen up. Because I feel disgusting."
"Shower? The heck is a shower?" Venti blinked.
"You know... where you wash up. Water. Soap..."
"Oh! Well... uh, people do that at the hot springs! Or the Bathhouse!"
Oliver shot up. "Ooh? Bathhouse? That... sounds familiar..."
Venti looked at him. "Ooh! It does? Well maybe I can take you-," Venti then blinked. "Wait... Nevermind, I don't think they open this early. And you definitely need a bath," he let out a small giggle.
Oliver turned to him with a grave expression. "Thanks for that," he said sarcastically.
"Well, the hot springs are open! I can take ya there!"
Oliver nodded. "Okay, but... where is the hot springs?"
"It's-," Venti blinked. "Wait, shoot... it's kinda far from here. A lot of walking." He turned back to Oliver. "Orrrr..... Maybe I can..." it seemed like Venti was thinking about something.
"Or what?"
"I've actually never tried this with a human before. Hmm. Here goes..."
Oliver blinked a bit more rapidly now. "W-Wait here goes? Here goes what?!"
Venti grabbed his shoulder. There was a sharp crack of wind and light—
And then they were somewhere else entirely.
"WHAT—" Oliver stumbled forward onto solid ground, blinking rapidly, arms out for balance. "What just—WHAT—"
"It worked!" Venti clapped his hands together, delighted.
Oliver had a dazed look on his face as he took in a grassy landscape beyond him, as he heard Venti's voice.
"I'm happy it worked! Oh my word! I'm going to have so much fun with that one with the others!"
Oliver turned toward the voice in a daze. Venti was standing a few feet away looking insufferably pleased with himself, hands on his hips, practically glowing.
When he noticed Oliver's expression, he blinked. "What?"
"What the fuck just happened?"
Venti pressed his lips together, fighting the laugh clawing its way up his throat. "I... pfft— I teleported us to the hot springs!"
Oliver shifted head to the front of him. He blinked, and squinted his eyes. "I don't see a hot springs-,"
"It's behind you silly," Venti said, rolling his eyes.
"Huh-?" Oliver turned around. "Oh! OH!" His mood changed as he saw it. The springs were surrounded by a closed off wooden wall, and the springs it self was a small little body of water next to a large rock formation.
"Whitestone Springs," Venti announced, coming to stand beside him. "Not bad, right?"
"No," Oliver said. "It's really not." He could see the steam rising off the surface in lazy spirals. He felt fairly certain he'd never been in a hot spring before, But he was sure has had heard about it somewhere before. He knew the concept — relaxation, joints, mineral water. Which meant it wasn't exactly a bath. "Wait. Will this actually get me clean? I don't think hot springs are really meant for that."
"Oh." Venti blinked. "Right. Yeah. Okay, see — soap and running water is more of a Fontaine thing. I wanted to bring you, actually, but Fontaine is... a lot. The most advanced city in Teyvat. Things there that most people from Mondstadt wouldn't believe exist. I didn't want to break your brain." He paused. "Although — you did say soap. Which tells me you might know about it. But still, I think you should get into the hot springs. You've been walking all day yesterday, it can help your joints... and all that... mortal stuff."
Oliver looked at the water. It did look very warm. Very welcoming. "So do I just... go in?"
"With your clothes on?"
Oliver went stiff and turned to look at Venti with a very pink face. "C-Clothes. I— Do I have to take them off?"
Venti let out a breath of laughter. "Do you normally get into a pool fully dressed?"
"What?! No, don't be silly! I-... I don't have any swim trunks!"
"No worries! Hold on-," Suddenly Venti disappeared in a warp.
Oliver stumbled backward half a step. "What?!"
Then Venti was back, in the exact same spot, holding out a pair of swim trunks towards Oliver. "Here you go!"
Oliver blinked down at the clothes. "Okay... I'm not even going to question how you just used the apparition spell, but okay..."
Venti giggled. "Yeah yeah. And whatever that means-,"
Oliver's eyes dropped back to the trunks. "Do I... also have to take off my shirt?"
Venti rolled his eyes playfully. "Oliver. Why would I teleport all the way to Fontaine for swim trunks if you were just going to stand in the water fully clothed?"
Oliver blinked. "Y-You got these from that Fontaine place you talked about?"
"Mmhm." Venti nodded sagely. "And I absolutely, definitely paid for them."
Oliver blinked. "You stole it from the shop didn't you-," Venti's exaggerated words definitely told him he did this. "Venti—"
"Come on! Take off your shirt!" Venti giggled.
Oliver turned very red, set the swim trunks on a flat rock near the edge of the water, and — after a steadying breath — pulled his shirt over his head, exposing his brown skin.
Venti couldn't help but tease Oliver some more, he whistled at him once he removed the shirt.
"Oh my god, VENTI!" Oliver whipped around, face absolutely ablaze, clutching his shirt to his stomach like a shield.
Venti dissolved into laughter. "HAHAHA—pfft— your face—" He bent slightly at the waist, shoulders shaking. "I can't— bahahaha—!"
Oliver let out a deeply suffering grunt, threw the shirt onto a rock behind him, grabbed the swim trunks, and pointed a finger. "I am not taking my pants off in front of you!"
"Aww~ But I was enjoying the performance~"
This bard was definitely the biggest tease in Teyvat. No one else should be able to compare. Oliver grunted and slipped behind the large body of rocks.
Soon, he came back around wearing the trunks.
"Ready?" Venti asked, still visibly suppressing a grin.
"Don't say a word." Oliver turned toward the water — then paused and glanced back. "...Aren't you coming in?"
Venti blinked. "Oh? You want me to?" He pressed a hand to his chest. "I mean, as a divine being of my race, I don't exactly get sore muscles or achy joints like you mortals do~"
Oliver blinked. "Oh-,"
Venti giggled. "Oh dummy I'm just teasing. There was a reason I brought two swim trunks silly," Venti talked ahead of him. Oliver watched him.
Venti rose his hand up, and suddenly snapped his fingers and all of the top parts of his attire, and leggings disappeared off of him from a sudden gust of wind, the clothes swirled in a small whirlwind.
"Heh! Hold that-," Venti smirked at Oliver, flashing his arm towards the human.
Oliver gasped, and tried to catch the clothes. Completely missed.
"OOF—" The clothes hit him directly in the face.
He stood very still with Venti's clothes pressed against his face. They smelled like cool air and something faintly floral — like spring wind through open windows. He lowered them slowly.
Venti was standing with his back to him, hands on his hips, already in the swim trunks. Just — standing there. Oliver's gaze moved across his shoulder blades, the line of his spine, the easy way he held himself. Something in Oliver's chest did something inconvenient.
Venti turned his head, catching Oliver's expression, and had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from absolutely losing it. He managed. Barely. "Enjoying the view of the lake~? Or the handsome bard in front of you?"
Oliver opened his mouth. "I'm enjoying the lake of the view—" He blinked. "I mean the bard of the lake— I mean the— the VIEW of the BARD— I— OH, FUCK—" He slapped both hands over his face.
That was it. Venti lost it. He laughed so hard he nearly toppled sideways into the water, catching the edge just in time. "BAHAHAHA— OLIVER— WHAT—?!" He wheezed. "I have lived for centuries and I have never heard anyone stammer like that—!"
"I'm dying," Oliver whimpered behind his hands.
Venti composed himself just enough to walk over, still giggling, and put both hands on Oliver's shoulders. "Eheheh— don't be embarrassed! Come on! Let's just get into the springs!"
"O-Okay..." Oliver lowered his hands down from his face. He looked really shy now. Venti rubbed his back. "You'll feel better in the hot water,"
Oliver looked down at the edge of the pool rock rim, then slowly stepped in — one foot, then the other — then lowered himself in all the way. The warmth swallowed him up to the shoulders and he couldn't stop the long, genuine sigh that came out of him. "Oh."
Venti giggled. "Told ya," he settled into the water beside Oliver. "Feels good, huh?"
"Y-Yeah," Oliver sighed. "Really good."
Venti smiled and leaned back, propping his arms on the stone lip of the pool. "Lots of people come here. Just not this early. Give it another two hours and this place will be packed."
Oliver nodded slowly. The place was somewhat designed like a pool. That was something that was still in Oliver's mind, but he couldn't latch it onto where he had seen a pool before. He knows that they exist, but he doesn't know which one he could have possibly gone too.
He glanced sideways at Venti. The bard had his eyes half-closed, expression relaxed, the steam soft around him. His skin looked impossibly smooth in the early light. Oliver really wasn't staring. He was just — looking in that general direction.
One of Venti's eyes opened.
"You're staring again~"
"I'm not—"
"You were." Venti rose a little, lifting himself half out of the water, and gave Oliver a wink. "You can't stop looking at my divine body, can't you?"
Oliver's face went red again — and then Venti was standing fully upright, water running down his sides. His eyes wandered over Venti's chest, then down to his midriff, until his eyes latched onto the belly button. Oliver blinked. Venti's belly button was perfect to him. It was a long slit innie, it seemed pretty deep. It looked really nice against his stomach.
Venti already knew what Oliver was doing. But after seeing the human stare at that part... He titled his head. "...Why are you looking at my belly button?" He asked with a small amused chuckle.
"eEIGH—I WAS NOT—" Oliver made a truly indescribable noise and spun away from him so fast he nearly splashed half the pool out.
"Okay," Venti said, fully delighted, "You are — without question — the most flustered person I have ever, in all my long years, managed to make flustered. This is a new record ehe!" He laughed more. "In all my years of walking Teyvat — no one has EVER—"
"Please stop talking," Oliver begged, facing the stone wall.
"—gotten flustered about my belly button—!"
"VENTI—!"
"Stop!" Oliver blushed.
Venti giggled and sank back into the water, settling against the side of the pool. "Okay, okay. Done. I'm done." He grinned up at the sky. "We'll just relax. Then I'll take you back to Mondstadt for you to get something to eat for the morning,"
Oliver cleared his throat. "O-Okay... Yeah- th-that seems nice to me!"
Venti let out one last small laugh and closed his eyes.
Oh, he was going to have so much fun with this one.