Work Text:
“Hey~”
“What is it?”
It’s a hot day out, Chongyun’s cooler broke so all his popsicles are melted, and Xingqiu won’t shut up.
Any god. Morax. Other Archons.
Either give me ice popsicles or give me peace! Exasperated, Chongyun leans against the pile of boxes. He’s at the pier on one of the hottest days of the year because Wrench Wang has said that he’s seen a child running to and fro on some of the ships and so Hammer Li called him in.
It was a bad move though--now his sweat makes his black undershirt stick closer to him.
“Hey~”
“Why do you keep talking like that!? Just spit it out! What do you want?” Agh… the heat…
“Haha, you snapped! Okay, here are some popsicles for you. I have ones I made at home and some from Xiangling that she wanted you to try out. I think they’re like… sunsettia-infused slime pops? They’re supposed to be longer lasting than regular ice pops. Wanna give them a try?”
“... I’ll take the ones you made. What flavor?”
“Your favorite! Silk flower flavored pops!”
“... Silk flower is alright.” Chongyun snatches the popsicle Xingqiu offers and licks it carefully, savoring the delicate flavor that blossoms on his tongue. While silk flower is often used to make fabric, when picked at the right time during the day, the nectar within the flower is released and is concentrated into a light, sweet flavor that Chongyun loves.
Of course, Xingqiu knows this, and has therefore become the most informed on how and when to harvest what local Liyue citizens call “Wanmei Huakai”. He’s even made a bit of a profit, selling the scent, flavor, and even the rights to produce it.
But this big boss would much rather deliver handmade popsicles to Chongyun than figure out more ways to capitalize on his revenue, so here he is.
“How is your work so far? It doesn’t seem like there’s been much luck finding her, and Wrench Wang looks more scared than he did before he came.”
Chongyun takes another lick of the popsicle before responding. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure the ghost ran outside of my radar so she’s not disappearing. I chased her all morning but I still haven’t caught her yet. I’m also pretty sure that Wrench Wang has a more yin disposition, and that’s why he can see ghosts more clearly.”
Xingqiu, who had been leaning behind Chongyun on the pile of boxes, dips down to bite a chunk off of the popsicle.
“Hey--”
“Look!” He swallows it and points at something in front of Chongyun. “They’re talking to each other now.”
Chongyun turns, distracted, and Xingqiu takes the opportunity to take another bite.
In front of them, Hammer Li guides Wrench Wang to the worker’s rest area.
“It’s alright. Don’t be scared. I know the exorcist will be able to get rid of the ghost in time for us to finish up our work. After that, we can head over to Wanmin’s and I’ll order a bowl of the noodles you like and we can order some baijiu . How does that sound?”
“It sounds good.” Wrench Wang obviously exerted quite a bit of effort to answer his question, and Hammer Li smiles.
“Good boy. It seems like the ghost really likes you, so what if we ask the exorcist to follow us around for the day? That way you can concentrate on work, and he’s doing his job.”
Chongyun stifles the urge to groan-- It’s so hot out and you want me to be closer to the boats? Where the sun reflects off the water and gets people even hotter??
Xingqiu pats him on the back. “I have extra popsicles. I’ll save them for you later.”
Chongyun muffles his sobs and heaves himself up to follow Wrench Wang. Xingqiu can almost see him melting as he swaggers across the sweltering pier, and he diligently follows the exorcist with a little basket in tow.
“I’ll leave these here, alright? I have to go do some other stuff and I’ll be back to pick you up around sundown.”
Chongyun waves his hand in acknowledgement, and Xingqiu makes his way back up to the main street, thinking about how to contact Fontaine to make a portable hydro-anemo swirl dispenser…
-
At night, Xingqiu brings some chilled rice noodles and some violetgrass ice pops. It has been a successful day--after deliberating with all of Liyue’s businesses, as well as paying a visit to Zhongli- xiansheng for advice, he has come up with an efficient and successful plan to develop a prototype of what the Feiyun Commerce Guild will call an ‘Automated Hydro Swirl Dispenser’. Or, ‘Hydro Fan’ for short. He smiles to himself in anticipation of Chongyun’s expression when he gifts the first version to him.
As he makes his way past Ms. Yu back to the pier, he sees Chongyun’s figure sitting hunched over at the same boxes they were at earlier. He quietly walks up to him and taps him on the shoulder. “Ready to go? Did you have a good nap?”
Chongyun makes an indistinguishable noise and turns towards Xingqiu. “... What did you bring for dinner?”
“I brought your favorite, chilled mung bean noodles and violetgrass ice pops. Eat now and then we can walk back home together.” Xingqiu unwraps the cloth covering on the exquisite lacquer box and hands him a pair of chopsticks. “Here, dig in.”
The weary exorcist obliges and takes a big bite of the noodles before starting to recount the story of the hours they spent apart. “Wrench Wang… he looks like he wouldn’t be scared of ghosts but he totally is. Hammer Li was watching out for him like, most of the time he was on shift. He nearly got into trouble with the dockyard lead… good thing he’s a good worker.” He shovels in another mouthful of the noodles before continuing on.
Xingqiu smiles and wipes a little sauce off of the corner of Chongyun’s mouth.
“Slow down, don’t choke. We have plenty of time.”