Work Text:
It all starts with Qingxin flowers.
“Ganyu!”
Even through the bustle of the city, Beidou’s voice echoes clearly through the old stone walls. It's such a lovely sound that Ganyu feels herself rising up from her seat in response, heart leaping up at the sight of her. It takes a very deliberate choice not to run over to greet Beidou; there are too many people around for her to run full-tilt at the awaiting captain as she’d like, too many rumors that could start from a Qixing secretary so enthusiastic about one pirate. One that's most likely managed to get under Ningguang’s skin again, given the amount of probably-unregistered cargo currently being unloaded off the side of the ship. She can’t find it in herself to mind at the moment though, instead hop-skipping along the port, the sunlight happy and pleasant on her skin.
Beidou waves, and Ganyu waves back, delighted. Beidou’s standing at the end of the harbor, one foot planted on the ship and one on the secure dock, unconcerned at the precarious way she’s straddling the line between the two extremes. She's just like that, Ganyu knows, bold and daring, a familiar crooked grin dancing on the captain's lips that calls forth her own joyous smile in response.
“This is for you,” Beidou says, when Ganyu has made her way close enough. It's a bouquet of Qingxin flowers, the white flowers glowing in the sunlight, wrapped in a sheath of brown paper.
Ganyu blinks. “What?”
“Found some on my travels,” Beidou says with a shrug, a feigned sort of casualness about her, as if she'd just sort of stumbled upon some. “I hear you’re fond of them.”
“Qingxin flowers grow on mountains,” Ganyu says, examining the ship curiously. Did Beidou somehow manage to figure out the secret to the Jade Chamber’s aerial suspension abilities when Ganyu wasn’t looking? Did she steal it from Ningguang?
Beidou coughs, turning away to glance over the open waves. “Yeah, uh, I decided to embark on an exploration up in the mountains, for once. Climbing around for our illustrious Tianquan.” It's punctuated with a sarcastic handwave at the sky where the aforementioned Chamber is floating. “I talked with Madame Ping and she mentioned you’d like them.”
She picked these. Herself. “Thank you,” Ganyu says, feeling out-of-sorts at the gift, the admission. Beidou went climbing up mountaintops, for her. “I'll enjoy these.”
She sniffs them carefully. They’re just a little wilted, but the scent is still bitter and grassy and familiar to her nose.
It feels almost wrong to take a break from her work so early in the day - she’s barely even started! - but Beidou is watching her face cautiously for a reaction and Ganyu can’t find it in her to just set the flowers down haphazardly like any other ordinary item. It’s Ganyu’s flowers, from Beidou, and it makes her heart sing at the thought.
Tentatively, she brings the flowers to her face and takes a bite.
Beidou makes a choking noise in the back of her throat and stumbles, almost falling into the ocean as she windmills her arms for balance. Frantic, Ganyu grabs onto her side, picking up Beidou in a single graceful motion. It’s a delicate act, keeping both flowers and Beidou from dropping into the water below.
“Are you okay?” she asks worriedly, checking over Beidou. Seeing no injuries, she deposits the captain safely on the dock. Beidou stumbles, unusually clumsy on the wooden floorboards, and takes a moment to straighten herself up.
“I- fine,” Beidou says, face bright red. It’s funny, the way humans get flustered so easily. “Thank you, I’m- you like the- taste?”
“They're delicious,” Ganyu agrees, still looking over Beidou for any signs of injury.
“Glad to hear,” Beidou says, voice cracking a little. Beidou seems fine, despite her odd behavior. She'd forgotten how warm humans run, how much heat they give off, and Ganyu finds herself missing Beidou against her side.
Ganyu takes a breath and then another, letting her fingers crinkle the paper. “Thank you,” she says again, for lack of anything better to say. “I- I should get back to work now.”
“You should,” agrees Beidou, standing stock-still from where Ganyu released her safely into the deck. “I’m, uh, glad you like them.”
Ganyu does, very much, and clutches the bouquet tightly to her side as she returns to her work.
She spends the rest of the day looking over tax reports from various merchants in the area, cross-checking the information with the Yuehai Pavillion and noting any discrepancies. It's a slow process, but every time she looks down at her side the crinkle of the paper in her hands is encouraging, the taste of the blossoms a welcome burst of flavor on her tongue.
-
The flowers, Ganyu learns, are only the beginning.
Beidou tucked her ship out by the mountainous range of the oceanic Guyun Stone Forest, the bitter remains of battles millenia ago. All that's left now are the great stone pillars rising from the waves, and Ganyu watches from shore as Beidou laughs and tosses her hair over her shoulder. She strides over the moving ship with an ease of movement borne from years on the sea.
It’s so not to incur any more of the Qixing’s wrath while negotiating fines, Beidou tells her, and perhaps so she can host some more semi-legal fighting matches. As long as you don’t get caught, Ganyu whispers, comfortably faux-conspiratorial; this far off Liyue Harbor could be argued to be outside of the Qixing’s jurisdiction. According to Yanfei, who she’d called for a confidential consultation, the Crux Clash could be argued to be technically legal as long as all participants were willing in their involvement, to which they definitely were.
Yanfei had also raised her eyebrows at the mention of Beidou’s name in a very suggestive manner until Ganyu had finally banished the younger adeptus from her office. It’s not like that! she had insisted, and Yanfei had left with a laugh and a wink.
Pulling their rowboat ashore, Beidou steps onto land with a few of her men, and, well-
Another bouquet of Qixing flowers.
“Do you really go exploring the mountains this much?” Ganyu asks. It's almost overwhelming to have this much attention on her. Beidou laughs and runs a hand through her hair in an oddly self-conscious gesture and does not respond.
When most people bring gifts to the Qixing, they're looking for something in return. An expectant transaction of sorts; exchange has been a part of the human tradition as long as Mora has flowed from the hands of Rex Lapis. Perhaps longer. Beidou doesn't ask for anything in return, though, just smiles and wades back into the water for more cargo while Ganyu holds the bouquet clasped tightly in her hands. Contract-less; unbound by any means. The kind of person that she would look down upon, once upon a time at the side of her Archon. Now, though, she can't even muster up the slightest annoyance at Beidou’s ways.
No, Ganyu thinks, watching Beidou toss another crate onto shore before sneaking a grin at Ganyu’s half-eaten bouquet, she doesn't mind at all.
-
Beidou stays in the city longer, this time; the next week brings Beidou coming in after-hours with a platter of lotus flower crisps, fresh from Wanmin’s kitchen. It tastes bright and fresh, and Beidou explains she’d convinced the young Xiangling to add some Qingxin flowers to the dish. Ganyu accepts it gratefully, unable to muster her usual resistance to such snacks. She can give in to temptation, just the once, if it's Beidou who's offering them with such a hopeful expression on her face.
With another visit comes Beidou with a seashell that echoes ocean waves, the crash of the water clear in her ear even when Ganyu climbs the top of Mt. Tianheng to listen.
“You don’t have to keep bringing me things,” Ganyu protests, watching Beidou struggle to haul another crate onshore. “Here- I can help!”
She takes the box and lifts, pulling it above her head with ease. “Where do you want this?”
“Oh, I- oh.” Beidou’s face goes slack with surprise, and Ganyu takes a moment to admire how soft it makes her look, freckles dotting her face.
Beidou keeps staring.
Ganyu sets the box down. “Oh. Is this- are humans not strong enough to-”
“They're not,” Beidou confirms, smiling, because she’s one of the few who knows one of Ganyu’s most closely guarded secrets and the truth in her heritage. “But no one’s here but us and the birds, and none of my men will tell if you wanna keep your secret safe.”
The work is easy, and she finds herself enjoying the change of pace, the pleasant monotony of lifting. When she's done, her muscles sing with exhaustion, but it's good work, uncomplicated, the way fighting never is for her. She rolls her shoulders back, shakes her head a little to clear the hair from her eyes, and the ache of her body is all worth it to see the crew cheering at the speed they finish, see the appreciation on Beidou’s face.
“Strongest member of our crew,” Beidou says teasingly, to a disgruntled snort from her actual crew in response.
“I’m not- I can’t be part of your crew!” Ganyu protests, though Beidou’s tone is lighthearted all the same. She will always have time for Beidou, but divided loyalty is a dangerous thing.
“Nah, and I won’t ever force you to be,” Beidou says, as if she's read Ganyu’s mind. She's grinning ear to ear, a bit of sand on her chin. “But, y’know, you’re always welcome aboard.”
“I’d like that,” Ganyu says, and Beidou smiles, pleased. It’s a lovely smile.
“Whenever I’m docked in Liyue,” Beidou says, dropping a small pearl into Ganyu’s unsuspecting hands before she can protest, “you can come aboard. I’d love to have you around.”
-
Still, Beidou can’t be around forever. It’s a week of laughter and late nights spent together after Ganyu’s finished working, a week of shared food and drink and happiness.
But Beidou leaves the week after.
Ganyu spends her hours reading over legislation and inspecting merchant records and pretending she's not listening closely for a familiar voice to echo around the dock, thinking about the way that Beidou lights up the harbor with her laugh, her natural charisma bringing all kinds of people to her side.
If Ganyu spends a few seconds lingering by the dock every morning on her stroll to work, that's no one's business but her own. And if she inserts herself into conversation from time to time to dispel any mean-spirited rumors about a certain pirate caption, well, old habits die hard, and she still cannot bear to hear people blaspheming those that she cares about.
At least she's not hunting them down with her bow anymore.
-
And then: the mysterious Traveler, the gods, the might of humans. The fall of a masterpiece. The aftermath of it all. When Beidou returns to harbor, Ganyu is well and truly buried under a mountain of paperwork and only manages to notice when Ningguang forces her out of the office on mandatory break after catching her staring off into the distance morosely twice.
It’s not the best moment in her career.
When Ganyu stumbles outside of the Qixing’s new makeshift office, Beidou is sitting at the steps, idly flicking a coin up and catching it in a well-practiced motion. Ganyu blinks, then blinks again to make sure she isn't imagining things. There she is, the woman herself. Ganyu feels some of the tension melt away just at the sight of her.
“Yo! Ganyu!” Beidou exclaims, scrambling to her feet.
“It’s good to see you,” Ganyu says, because there’s no one around to hear her, and she’s too worn-out to act any differently. Tired isn’t the right word to describe how she’s been feeling, she thinks, but she’s just so weary these days. “What are you doing here?”
“I came, well, to give you something,” Beidou says, and then looks her up and down. “Hey, are you ok-” She cuts herself off; Ganyu is suddenly grateful that she doesn’t finish the sentence. “I miss my old drinking partner. Come have a beer with me?”
Ganyu opens her mouth, then closes it. This probably wasn’t the company Ningguang intended when she'd sent Ganyu out, but, well. Beer tastes better when enjoyed in good company, Beidou likes to say, and she’s missed Beidou, so much in ways she can’t put into words.
“Yes,” she says, and follows Beidou to the bar.
-
“So,” Beidou begins awkwardly, leaning back in the wooden chairs and taking a sip of the beer, “How are you doing, after- well, Osial, and-”
“Liyue is doing fine!” Ganyu says brightly. Too brightly, if Beidou’s raised eyebrow is anything to go by. “Our rebuilding phase is nearly over, and the upcoming Lantern Rite celebrations have increased sales in most businesses. We’ve started to invest in more long-term projects to improve infrastructure in the area.”
“Good to hear,” Beidou says, as Ganyu stops to take a breath. “But I didn't ask how Liyue is. How are you doing?”
Ganyu pauses. It’s not a question she asks herself too often, these days.
How am I doing? All members of the Qixing are recovering, in their own ways. Keqing has acquired a newfound respect for the Geo archon, the beginnings of a surprising and tentative friendship with Ganyu, and a few interesting figurines that she keeps tucked in one of her desk drawers. Ningguang has thrown herself tirelessly into ensuring all of Liyue has been able to rebuild from the attack that took place at their harbor. She won't speak of it, but Ganyu has seen Meadow of Gems on Ningguang’s desk, a copy of the book that once adorned the walls of the Jade Chamber.
And Ganyu-
It's one thing to stand up with the Qixing and pronounce a good future. It's another to look at Beidou and tell her everything's fine, please don't worry.
“We are… still recovering,” she allows, and Beidou nods and does not press her any, instead reaching over to refill Ganyu’s mug and pressing a hand on her shoulder in sympathy. She doesn't ruffle Ganyu’s hair, and Ganyu can't help but feel equal parts relieved and disappointed. Relieved; she's glad someone isn't touching her horns without asking. Disappointed, because she really wouldn't mind, too much, if Beidou were the one to do so.
“Came as quickly as I could, when I found out what happened,” Beidou says, drawing a line through the condensate on her glass.“I was worried, y’know. For all of you.”
A sigh escapes her, a tiny sound from such a normally boisterous woman. Beidou is so unashamedly open in her care, a spotlight that Ganyu doesn’t know how to act under.
“I’m glad,” Ganyu says fiercely, a protectiveness welling up inside of her. It takes her by surprise, how strongly she feels. Beidou looks at her, startled, and Ganyu charges on. “I’m glad you weren’t in danger. I'm glad I didn't have to worry about you, because I don't know what I would have done if you were out there too.”
“Oh,” Beidou says, followed by a pause, and then: “Ganyu.”
She leans back in her chair. Ganyu’s sudden outburst echoes in her ears, her breathing coming out heavy.
All of a sudden, the people all around her are too much, the sound of the other patrons reminding her of how young everyone always is, passion like glowing embers and burning just as bright. It's enough to wrap her up in it, too, to dream the night full of possibility.
“Can we-” and Ganyu’s heart thuds in her throat, a reminder of how human she really is even after all this time. “Can we leave?”
Before she can finish her thought, Beidou’s face flickers slightly: the beginning of disappointment. Ganyu cannot bear to see that look on her face for any more than a moment, and adds: “Can we go stargazing?”
Beidou’s smile unfurls like a Glaze Lily in the evenings: starting small, and in the span of a few seconds blooms into brilliance. She rises from the wooden stool gracefully and holds her hand. An offering.
Ganyu takes it and, in a rare moment of bravery, grabs onto her hand and pulls and Beidou follows with a startled laugh. There’s a momentum in their motions now, and Ganyu’s afraid, irrationally, that if they stop now they’ll never be able to start again. The night air is wonderful and cool and it spurs her to run, racing over stone pathways until she makes it to the cliffside, Beidou right behind her. The harbor with its perpetual lights glows in the distance, far behind them.
Below her, the waves stretch out crashing rhythmically against the shore in a perpetual motion. Above her, the sky. Ganyu feels caught between them, suspended in the evening air between two vast entities. It could feel so lonely, she thinks, to stand here by herself.
Beidou bumps their shoulders together. “What are you thinking about?”
Ganyu pushes aside her thoughts. “It’s nice to be here, with you.”
Beidou nods, sitting herself on the cliff’s edge. She leans back on her hands to examine the night sky. Ganyu looks up with her.
The stars remain unchanged, after so much time. She remembers being young, once, tucked under Cloud Retainer’s wing and watching the older adeptus trace out lines in the sky. She points the same ones out to Beidou: Lapis Dei, the Divine Stone. Sinae Unicornis, the Qilin; her own constellation. She hesitates for a moment before pointing out Victor Mare, the great sea-beast, and watches Beidou’s face turn awestruck in recognition.
Beidou knows the stars as well, but it’s different; Ganyu knows the mythos of every light in the sky but Beidou knows it as a map to her survival, pointing out Ursa Major and Polaris and where to find them wherever she is. She knows all the ways to tell the time of year, to chart her way home no matter what region she's in. Ganyu knows the whole sky in all its forms, but it's lovely to sit here and listen to Beidou’s soothing voice as she points out all the tricks she uses to locate home.
Ganyu’s hand drifts down to the seashell still nesting in her pocket, the pearl next to it. The bouquets that Beidou brings. The food, occasionally.
“Why do you keep giving me gifts?” The question bursts out of her chest, interrupting Beidou mid-sentence.
Beidou stops. “I-”
“I can’t get you anything,” Ganyu says, and now that she's asked, the words come out all in a rush. “My contracts are written in stone, I- I couldn’t make exceptions to Liyue law, not even for you, and I don’t have the power of Tianquan or Yuheng to leverage any of your fines, I- I'm sorry, but I can't-”
“Ganyu,” Beidou says, gentle enough to cleave her in two where she sits. One word, and it stops Ganyu in her tracks.
Beidou leans in slightly, hand working tiny circles in the grass between their bodies. She's so warm, body heat emanating in waves. Enticing and wonderful.
“I didn't get you things because I wanted something out of it,” Beidou says. “I- I just like giving you nice things.”
“I- Me?”
“You,” Beidou confirms, and it’s the steady way she’s looking at Ganyu that makes something inside of her heat up, a warmth that threatens to melt her down into a rain puddle and disappear in the starlight. Quietly, she can hear Beidou’s heartbeat pounding in her chest: a thump, thump, thump of such a mortal heart.
Beidou leans closer, ever-so-slightly, and Ganyu feels her own body lean in as well. “I like bringing you things. I like seeing you happy. Ganyu, I- I'd like to kiss you, if you'd allow me.”
Oh.
“Yes,” Ganyu says, a part of her ravenous. “Kiss me,” she adds, just to get the point across.
Beidou smiles so wide that Ganyu’s heart nearly stops at the sight. “Gladly,” she says, and does.
Ganyu doesn’t want to forget a moment of this. The grass under her, the stars twinkling in the midnight sky, the sound of a happy little hum Beidou makes as they break away. Ganyu reaches out and puts a hand on Beidou’s cheek, just because she can. The muscle under her fingertips moves as Beidou breathes in slow, presses her cheek against Ganyu’s hand and closes her eyes.
The casual vulnerability of the gesture takes her breath away. Beidou’s face is so soft.
“Come home with me?” she asks, and Beidou nods and takes her hand and Ganyu never wants to let her go.
-
The next morning, the sky is full of rosy glows and golden light. The dawn fills the air with a soft, dewy mist that clings to Ganyu’s hair and will be gone before the hour.
Beidou is sound asleep next to her, snoring deeply and heavily. Sprawled out on the sheets, a little drool coming out of her mouth, and Ganyu fights back the sudden impulse to kiss her forehead, run fingers through her long, dark hair. In the morning’s first light, her body looks softer. Freckles dapple her skin over scars, thin streaks of white on her tanned skin. Ganyu sees them and thinks of constellations.
Her back is stiff from sleep and she yawns, raising her arms above her head to pull the tired muscles back into shape. Work starts soon, and if she's to get back to her desk thirty minutes early as she always does, she should probably start getting dressed.
Behind her, Beidou shuffles, stirs, looks up and then pushes herself up sleepily to admire Ganyu’s body. Ganyu feels herself flush from the attention, how Beidou looks at her so fondly. She’d capture this moment in a photograph, if she could: the morning sun, the gentle breeze, Beidou pink-cheeked and happy in her bed. She feels greedy with it, wants a thousand more mornings just like this one with Beidou beside her and the promise of new beginnings on the horizon.
“Hey, you,” Beidou says, voice rough from sleep, tender with affection.
Ganyu decides to kiss her, once, on the cheek, and then Beidou looks so pleased that she does it again. Beidou looks up from Ganyu’s bed, soft and trusting. Ganyu shivers, but not because of the cold; a part of her feels like she's glowing.
Through the window, she can hear the noises of fishermen leaving the docks, furnaces re-heating, the clatter and sizzle of restaurant kitchens starting work. The sounds of a city waking up. The businesslike noises stir something in the back of her mind, and she pauses, recalling the memory. Beidou looks at her expectantly.
“What did you…” says Ganyu, then stops. It's hard to get into the habit of asking for things. She begins again. “You said, before, you had something for me?”
Beidou’s face lights up, the sleep-rumpled parts of her sitting up alert in excitement. “Oh, yeah!” She leans over the edge of the bed to pick up her clothing, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper from a pocket. Some sort of legal document, though it’s tattered and the ink is slightly blurred, saltwater staining its edges. Still legible. Beidou’s name is proudly signed at the bottom. “Finally figured out the best gift to give you. Thought you could use a little something extra.”
It takes Ganyu a few seconds to decipher the document, and a few more for it to sink in. “Is this…?”
“All of the Crux’s outstanding fines are registered from our last trip,” Beidou says proudly, brandishing the paper. “Next trip out’s officially logged in your books, as well. Thought it'd make your job a little easier.”
Oh, Rex Lapis, Ganyu is so in love with this woman.
-
That day, she is fifteen minutes late to work - the latest she's ever been. She can't find it in herself to mind at all.