Sometimes Lumine wonders.

Maybe Venti wasn't a bard nor a god, but he was actually an angel ascended by celestia.

She doesn't know why. The idea just sparked in her mind naturally as if it was a fact. She has traveled through worlds, witnessed the births and fallens of stars, yet she has never encountered such a pure and gentle soul as Venti. He seems too good for this world, for Teyvat, for her. And even though Lumine has succeeded in not having too strong of a feeling towards anyone through millennia, she couldn't help but fall in love with Venti.

Yes. She is madly in love with him.

She loves his soothing voice whenever he sings a song to put her into sleep after a nightmare. She loves his bicolored hair, loves how it lightly brushes against her face when she nuzzles into his broad shoulder. She loves the mesmerizing teal colour of his eyes, bringing back so many memories of her long lost hometown. She loves his mild temper, his free soul and his words. Even his cute cries when he wheedles that she enjoys so much, his drunken appearance whenever she meets him at the tavern, his playful smile when he teases her,... and many, so many more.

She loves everything that belongs to him and himself.

He is the oxygen she inhales, the wind beneath her wings. He is the song she softly hums to herself, and the persistent prayer on her lips.

He drives her crazy day by day, but he doesn't seem to know that.

Does he?

"Oh, Lumine! What brings you here?"

Venti is so surprised as he instantly puts down his lyre. He steps forward, greets her with the brightest smile that she can't help but grin from ear to ear back as an idiot.

"Long time no see, Venti. I'm here to visit you."

“And here I thought you were so busy with your brother that you’ve already forgotten about me.”

"No, of course not! Look at this!" She defends, quickly rummages through her bag and pulls out two fresh bottles of dandelion wine she just bought from the tavern. “I even got you a present!”

Venti’s playful pout immediately vanishes, replaced by a broad smile and beaming eyes. He becomes excited in no time, jumps at Lumine and squeezes her tight.

“You got this just for me? Archons, you are the best, Lumine!!”

He cheers while Lumine shyly hugs him back with a bashful expression, which earns her a cheeky smirk from the bard. But he decides to release her for once as he grabs the bottle she gives him and pulls her to sit down with him beneath the ancient tree in Windrise.

This has been their favourite place for a long time. The comforting shadow, the tranquil atmosphere, the beautiful scenery with no one around to disturb. Everything is just so soothing. It’s not like they have never tried somewhere different, take Starsnatch Cliff for example. They used to lie there between trails of cecilia and soft grass when Lumine returned from Inazuma. Or on the hands of Venti’s very own statue, as they silently sat beside each other after she met her brother for the first time in a painfully long period but wasn’t able to bring him back with her.

But, Windrise is where the story began and their fate crossed.

So it always holds a special place in Venti’s heart and not so long after, Lumine’s too.

“When will you and Aether depart?”

Venti’s sudden question almost makes Lumine choke on her wine. He laughs towards her clumsy gesture. After calming herself, she fell into silence for a minute, before finally having the courage to speak up as his hand gently placed on hers.

“... Tomorrow. If nothing unexpected happens.”

“Oh.” Venti hums, as if he isn’t disturbed by the idea she might leave Teyvat for good the following day. “I assume you’ve already said farewell to all your friends?”

Lumine silently nods.

“I’m the last one, then?” His smile is still as joyful as ever. “To what do I earn the honor?”

“Maybe because you’re the first person I met in this world…?” A vague answer turns into a rhetorical question. “I also want you to be my last… I think.”

She slightly bites her lip, doesn't know why she becomes so nervous. Maybe it’s because his hand is holding hers ever so tightly, or his always understanding smile blooms so brightly across his face, making her heart race crazily in her chest.

However, those melancholy eyes say otherwise.

Lumine, more than anyone else knows how deeply she fell in love with Venti, she just can’t bring herself to say it out loud. Not when she doesn’t know if he feels the same. Not when this love may just become a burden on his shoulder. Not when she will leave this world eventually, and might never come back.

“Please don’t cry, my warrior.”

Lumine startles when his hand falls down on her cheek, wipes away the tears that have already formed in her eyes. That loving gesture makes her chest throbbing even more since it cruelly reminds herself that she may never feel this warmth ever again.

He carefully strokes her face once more, then slowly steps back and murmurs.

“Mind if I play a tune?”

Lumine’s surprised by the unexpected request, but she nods anyway. Even though she is so sure that his angelic voice will make her sobbing even worse.

Having her agreement, Venti silently hums. He brings his hand forward to call the lyre she's grew so familiar with. His slender fingers trail through the strings, making a foreign melody that she realizes she has never heard before.

She opens her eyes. None of the tunes from him that she hasn't listened to.

But his silvery singing instantly makes Lumine lose her train of thoughts.

"There was this so-called bard
he wandered from place to place.
With wine he lived,
and with songs he played.
His words traveled far and wide,
People praised him for his songs 
and the truth he conveyed.

But at places away from prying eyes
He'd sang a tune
for tales of old
for ashen grief
for the truth untold,
for his friend who'd sorely gone.
For long,
His sorrow became distraught.
With the solitude he held
and the aching price he cost. 

But everything took its turn
when a star fell down, 
right into his embrace.

The star came from another world
which was far-far away.
She had met countless people
ready to die, or even kill to make her stay
But! To their dismay,

there was only one who met her gaze.

And he, too, forthwith fell for her grace.
Although her wings were lost
and her power then was erased,
but with his wind she flied
and once again saved the day!

She decided to travel the foreign world
Not unknown, except for her brother - at the time was lost.
But this time,
she carried anew ardor
and her fate that had once again recrossed.
She was brave for her companion's sincere guide
And of course,
with the bard she dearly loved beside.

But she was scared,
when her journey came to an end,
everything she got
would be painfully tied.
She was a star
One's used to freely traveling through worlds,
with no ties.
But now, she thought about her dear bard
who might eventually slide by
She fell apart, 
as she cried.

Yet,

as lovers’ tears perpetually run through sore eyes
as an oath swore to last for evermore
as the wind eternally blows above sea side,

Remember, love.

At every moonlit 
and moonless night,
the bard will look at glistening skies.
He'd play the sincerest song
before longing 
for his own starlight."

"Will you do me a last favor, my starlight?"

The bard whispers and for a moment, she thought she was drunk. Losing in the surreal song, she doesn’t realize he has been so close. His smell is intoxicating, filling her lungs with the familiar scent of fresh cecilia and dandelion wine. His voice is soft, tender next to her ear. His breath is subtle as a spring breeze brushing against her lips.

A tear sheds down her cheek, and she closes her eyes.