Archive of Our Own

“Ha! That makes us even!” a certain dark-haired pirate avidly exclaims, as she leans back in her chair. She observes how a polished and well-kept white lacquer piece, resembling a tiny and ornate dragon, takes down a black phoenix of similar qualities. Immediately after, she locks her good eye on the gloved hand that carefully moves the aforementioned piece out of the board.

The chequerboard in question is littered with little pieces of the finest Liyuean lacquerware, a symbol of the vast wealth of the owner, and arranged in a way that to an outsider to the game at hand would certainly present an impending headache. But not to the two women sitting across each other, postures and presence completely contrary to one another, although complementing in a way.

Long legs delicately cross one another, with light orange lines weaving their way up one thigh until disappearing under the silken material of the exquisite qípáo that hugs perfectly each and every curve of the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing. She calmly lets her bright red eyes, ever calculating, roam over the table and pierce the other presence in the room into place.

Feat that would be achieved if said presence were any other than the renowned pirate queen, Uncrowned Lord of the Ocean, who, unfortunately for the Tianquan, just seems amused by the glare.

Her strong body lies sprawled into a velvety chair, seemingly too small for her frame, with one of her legs perched over the armrest while the other follows close, just shy of joining the armrest too, as she tries to keep at least some sense of decorum in an otherwise very impolite way of presenting oneself at a conference.

Especially at a meeting with the wealthiest individual in the whole of Teyvat, but these kinds of titles and positions have never bothered her, for she knows she owes nothing to no one, and even less to the rich. Yet, perhaps, this is not all that there is for the seeming disrespect she carries with the way she behaves in front of the other woman, since between them lies the familiarity of having known each other for at least a decade now.

She absently reaches for the flask she keeps with her at all times, and takes a chug of the liquid inside, letting the taste of alcohol keep her mouth occupied lest she snickers at the look of pure displease on the other woman's face.

At the same time, and invoking her smoking pipe seemingly out of nowhere, Ningguang takes a long drag of her preferred tobacco and slightly furrows her brows together, analysing.

“You seem to be quite content, for someone who just lost seventy thousand Mora.”

The mention of the hefty sum makes the corners of her lips almost inadvertently tilt upwards as she finishes speaking. This, however, does not go unnoticed by the keen pirate, and she will not let it slide.

“Perhaps it is that I relish seeing the joy I bring to others, m’dear”, she takes a final gulp of the báijiǔ of her flask, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she sets it back in its place.

“...like that little smile you’re trying to hide on your face right now.” Her sole eye, as well as the tone of her voice, soften when she continues talking, “it looks good on you, Ning.”

Upon hearing that statement, the Tianquan immediately schools her expression back into a stern one, simulating she was dealing with an unpleasant merchant and successfully wiping the smile out of her face.

“You are aware that flattery will get you nowhere, are you not?”

With a flourish, she makes her smoking pipe disappear, and folds her hands over her lap, careful not to pierce her clothes with the gold nail guards that decorate some of her fingers.

“The fines you owe to the Qixing will not pay themselves; and neither will the bet you just lost to me, Captain Beidou.” She mimics the way the pirate pronounced her name, mocking.

Beidou simply shakes her head while letting out a small laugh, and her only eye crinkles when a wolfish smile appears on her face, “yes, yes, of course, o’ mighty Tianquan.”

She holds both of her arms in the air, as if she were surrendering, but the intention gets lost with the shrug of shoulders she accompanies it with. “The offending fines shall be paid before midnight, my liege, do not stress about it.”

The teasing tilt of her voice makes itself known when she speaks with titles and proper language, as opposed to her usual laidback manner of speech. “I left Mora-Grubber in charge of the payment before coming, rest assured it will be taken care of before I even leave your palace.” She bows her head in an attempt at a curtsy, and places her gaze on the increasingly annoyed woman before her, smirking.

Ningguang uncrosses and crosses her legs, shifting slightly and gaining time in order to not snap back in response. After all, she has never been known for making a scene every time she intervenes in a meeting, and certainly it will not start with these meetings.

Having regained her bearings in less than a split second, she answers: “I expect, then, to receive the corresponding paperwork tomorrow at first light.”

With voice calm and unwavering, the kind that makes lesser men and opportunists recoil and flee upon hearing the hidden threat in it, she observes Beidou and looks forward to the amusing response she will surely have to share. Although that is something she will never admit out loud, and even less to the pirate in front of her.

“But the matter pertaining to your more imminent debt to me… I wonder, how will you fulfil it, if you are not in charge of the Mora?”

“Hmm… How ever will I repay it, indeed…” The pirate queen is quick to answer as she lowers her legs to the floor, and partially inclines over the small table placed in between them. “I imagine that this is a matter of great importance to you, hm?” She wears a saccharine smile as she sneaks a hand towards Ningguang, and lightly brushes her knee with her fingers.

“...Yes, it actually is.”

The Tianquan summons her smoking pipe again, but instead of placing it on her lips to smoke, she nudges the pirate’s hand away from her with the end of the long object, not meeting the other’s eye. Beidou scrunches up her face in feigned hurt, but takes a hold of the pipe nonetheless. She brings it towards herself with little resistance, almost imperceptibly making Ningguang move forward in the process.

“C’mon, give me something to work with. Do you need assistance with those treasure hoarders again? Or does some merchant need a reminder to not mess with the Tianquan?” The pipe, and therefore both of their arms, moves side to side in a petty manner with the force of her own hand while she speaks.

The white-haired woman closes her eyes, and yanks the tobacco pipe towards her. When she reopens them, she locks her gaze on the sole, inquisitive eye of the pirate.

“I would like for the payment to be indoors. It will be best if you fulfil it before you leave, will it not?” A small smirk blooms on her lips, but as quick as it appears, it leaves. It would not have been noticeable if one were not watching her lips intently but, luckily for Beidou, that is exactly her case.

They have been partaking in this dance for years now, always waiting for the other to take the first dip into the pool. She has always had trouble being patient; so it comes easily for Beidou, then, to be the one that takes action instead of hiding behind double entendres.

The gears in her mind immediately start working as she catches up with the hidden meaning of her words. She huffs, and plants the palm of her hand on the middle of the chessboard in order to get closer to the other woman, scattering the pieces in the process.

“And what do you mean by that?” With the hand still holding on one end of the pipe, she tries to capture the other’s hand, sliding her fingers down the length of the object. “You said it yourself, I’m not carrying around any type of money today.”

The Tianquan’s eyes stay perfectly trained on the magenta one before her, although they end up lowering to her lips. It is a commendable feat to not trail them even lower, what with Beidou’s cleavage on display right on her face, but she manages to look up and maintain eye contact again. The other woman takes notice of the subtle eye movement, and she consciously wets her lips while still looking down to the one sitting below her.

“Yes, I did say so. Although I believe you to be a very resourceful woman, Captain.” While she speaks, her hand moves to meet the other one holding the fine tube, finally interlacing their fingers together and making the pipe disappear in a swift motion.

“Ah, you are right about that one,” the captain smirks knowingly while leaning down on her arm, still propped on the table between them, and inches even closer to the fair face in front of her; breaths already mingling together with the closeness of each other. Ningguang, for her part, tugs again on their intertwined hands to make the other woman at last close the unbearable space between their mouths, relishing the moment when she succeeds.

The contact is undeniably soft, smooth lips moving delicately against more wind-chapped ones; the motion incredibly pleasant to both of them. Ningguang busies her unoccupied hand with traversing the prominent muscles of the pirate’s arm, leading it to her shoulder to rest there and marvel at the other muscles noticeable under her hand. She squeezes slightly at the stone-like muscles that she missed so dearly during the pirate’s absence.

Beidou takes pleasure in the movement, fully aware that Ningguang is an admirer of her strong complexion, and not a subtle one at that, even though she tries her best. Lowering their joined hands, the captain slowly disentangles herself from the other’s lips, and flutters her eye open. Ningguang takes a couple of seconds to reminisce, and lastly opens her ruby ones, staring right into the orb already observing her.

There is no need for words between them at this moment, while Beidou moves past the intercepting table and inches closer to the other woman, who eagerly moves the hand currently on her shoulder to rest it on the nape of her neck, urging her to come meet her again already. Now, that is something Beidou should comment on.

The pirate lowly chuckles, “you missed me that much, aye?”

“Shut up,” she furrows her brows in frustration, “and come here.” Beidou does so, as kindly requested, and is met more than halfway by the other. There is a sentence muffled into the crush of lips, but Ningguang can perfectly imagine that it sounded suspiciously close to so bossy. She also feels the smirk the other woman is wearing, and suddenly an urge to make her drop her smug behaviour surges deep within her.

She darts her tongue out, demanding permission more than asking for it, and when it is granted to her, she wastes no time in exploring the captain’s mouth. Beidou had not dropped the little knowing smile, even through the kiss, but the moment she feels Ningguang’s tongue explore her mouth and draw a line full on intent behind her upper teeth, she forgets about everything but the sole thought of battling the other woman’s tongue with her own, trying to assert dominance of some sort and take charge.

Their tongues dance around each other, getting acquaintanced once more, and it becomes a clear attempt at gaining the upper hand; none of them letting go of control. Her whole body hovers over Ningguang’s and, now with both of her hands free, she places them on her lover’s sides, slowly travelling up her body.

Calloused fingers draw a ghostly path over the smooth fabric of the white and gold qípáo, eventually finding a small opening on the side of the clothing; through which Beidou sneaks them in and caresses the soft skin that is partially exposed. Ningguang immediately feels the intrusion, tensing up when that soft touch sends shivers down her spine; a stifled gasp escaping her lips.

The pirate then detaches herself from the kiss, heavy eye looking intently to the woman below her, “I need these clothes gone,” her voice is now an octave lower, seeping with lust, “now.” The Tianquan slowly opens her eyes, dazed after the passionate kiss, and as soon as she gets her bearings back, a conceited smile escapes her lips.

“Ah, just who is the eager one now, hm?”

With a teasing tone in her voice, she moves both of her hands to the back of Beidou’s hair, softly tugging in order to bring their lips back together for a quick peck.

“If you want them gone, you should get to work.” Ningguang whispers against her lips, moving her hands back down to the biceps of the woman standing in front of her, making the removal of the garments easier. Beidou flashes a dashing smile, immediately getting her hands into action and swiftly taking off the collar of white faux-fur on top of Ningguang’s shoulders.

“I must do something too about those wings of yours…”, she muses, as she works with the sleeve of her outfit on one arm, carefully sliding it down the length of the limb.

“Dear Archons, why would you refer to them as such, Beidou?”

The aforementioned woman briefly stops in the middle of taking off the piece of cloth on the other arm, looking mildly annoyed at the comment, before resuming her task, “uh, do you want me to stop and address them properly, or do you want me to fucking take them off?”

She plays with the end of the sleeve currently in her hand, a sly look on her single eye “or better yet: take them off, and then get you off.”

With a sigh, and a threatening blush at the brashen words, the Tianquan shakes her head and resigns, “you’re incorrigible.”

Beidou smirks, and finishes with the remaining garment, carelessly tossing it to the ground to join its pair. "You love me either way, Ning-Ning."

Closing her eyes, as if not to deal with the now full-blown flush sitting high on her cheeks, Ningguang sighs again, "I don't think it has anyth-" she is cut off of finishing her sentence when she feels warm breath in a soft spot right under her jaw, followed by plush lips and a tentative nibble.

"You were saying…?” teases Beidou, in a low whisper, “I didn’t quite catch that.” She gives another small bite in the same place, soothing it with her tongue after. Ningguang recovers quickly, and immediately lightly swats the other woman’s head.

“I was speaking, Beidou.” With one of her hands she pushes back at Beidou’s shoulder, obliging her to step back and look her in the eye. She sports a slight frown between her neatly plucked brows, as if she were truly bothered by the interruption, but the amused smile that is currently threatening to break free on her lips betrays her.

Ningguang does not waste time and rapidly closes the distance between them with a quick peck; although soon enough it becomes an increasingly heated crash of lips and teeth, a statement of how much they truly need each other.

They must, albeit reluctantly, part to take air, flushed lips glowing after the intense exchange. “...I think that makes clear what you meant.” Beidou says in what is almost a rushed sigh instead of a sentence, eye enraptured by the swift licking motion of Ningguang's tongue over her own lips.

When she finally looks up to return her partner’s gaze, the Tianquan notices the blown wide pupil, which almost engulfs the colour that surrounds it, denoting the lust that has taken over her captain.

“Then we must do something about it, don’t you think,” Ningguang says in a sultry voice, “Beidou?”

She enunciates the pirate’s name like it were a sacred word, reverently, but with a subtle undertone that immediately sets the aforementioned woman on fire.

Beidou resumes her task, this time focusing on getting the damned qípáo open. “Fuck, how the hell do you even put this on?” She fails once, twice, thrice while trying to undo the knots on the side. Meanwhile, Ningguang tries to hide a chuckle, observing how Beidou’s deft fingers desperately attempt to pull at the wrong strings.

“Aren’t you a renowned sailor and captain, Uncrowned Lord of the Ocean, Beidou? How is it that a few knots made by my assistants are deterring you from taking my clothes off?” Beidou stops on her tracks, although briefly, to question the woman below her.

“These things were made by your assistants?” She tuts, mimicking a disapproving gesture, while still trying to get the knots undone, “I can’t believe you don’t even dress yourself.” At last, Ningguang reaches down and tugs on one side of the knot, effectively untying it. She makes quick work of the other one remaining, returning her hands to Beidou’s shoulders when she finishes.

“I do dress myself, they just help me with a few finishing touches.”

The captain nods, acknowledging the information, “bet Baishi would gladly help you dress and undress you, though.”

Ningguang scrunches up her nose, not fully in disgust, but definitely not pleased by the thought.

“I am aware of Baishi’s slight… fixation towards me, and that’s more of a reason to dress myself. Alone.” She shimmies out of the qípáo at Beidou’s instruction, faintly shivering at the cold breeze that hits her newly naked skin.

Nodding again at the other’s words, and relieved at seeing the qípáo at last gone, Beidou tosses the offending garment out of her sight, not minding where it lands. Instead, her mind focuses on marvelling at the sight of milky thighs and pale, unmarred skin.

The contrast between the black colour of the lacy lingerie Ningguang is wearing and her fair complexion makes for an exquisite image, one that Beidou hopes she can engrave forever in her mind. She inches forward, her breath hot against the shell of Ningguang’s ear, “you’re breathtaking.”

The captain feels her shiver again, this time for a whole different reason, and she is proud of the reaction. She carefully moves down, nuzzling her nose against the side of her neck, breathing in lightly, “and you smell wonderful too.”

Ningguang takes a deep breath, suddenly feeling self-conscious at the ministrations of the other woman. She opens her mouth to answer, but what comes out of it resembles more of a sigh, as Beidou’s lips find purchase on her throat and leave an open-mouthed kiss on the spot.

The captain then takes it as her mission to pepper her neck with smaller kisses, sometimes even daring to bite down gently on the exposed skin, with the clear intent of bringing out more of those rich sighs out of the woman beneath her.

Ningguang winds up both of her arms around Beidou’s shoulders, tangling her hand into brown locks and pulling, earning her a groan and a harsher bite from Beidou. She urges her to keep going by giving her even more access to her neck, letting her head fall slightly backwards.

This is a clear invitation, Beidou thinks, to dig her teeth into the soft flesh of her neck, sucking with enough force to leave a lasting mark; relishing when she hears the deep guttural moan that the motion elicits from the Tianquan.

The captain soothes the slow-forming bruise with her tongue, taking the opportunity and licking a line up to her chin to end it with a sweet kiss, at the same time that Ningguang moves her head downwards and catches the captain lips with her own; both pouring all their needs and desires into the heated exchange.

Beidou literally grunts into the kiss, finishing it quickly to whisper next to the Tianquan’s ear, “I missed you so much, Ning.”

The aforementioned woman uses her grip on the other’s hair to bring her face right in front of hers yet again, “prove it to me.”

Ningguang is undoubtedly aware of the resolute love Beidou holds for her, without even mentioning the more than questioning declarations of love the captain has made throughout the years, and she very much reciprocates, but right now her need of reaffirmation comes more precisely from being apart from the woman she adores for far too long.

The complex situation that had been going on in Inazuma lasted for what seemed like ages, and the love of her life just straight up deciding to leave and join the resistance against the government of a goddess, no less, for months on end, was of no help either.

With preoccupying thoughts about the well-being of her dear pirate on her mind almost everyday, seven months felt like eternity. No pun intended on her part.

Therefore, the sole prospect on her head as of now is to be able to feel everything that is Beidou, and have her as close to herself as she physically can.

The roughness of Ningguang’s actions denote the desire built from months of yearning for her presence, and the mere thought of it ignites something akin to hunger and possessiveness within Beidou.

She kisses her once more, almost frantically, before lowering herself enough to start a trail of hot wet kisses down Ningguang’s sternum, feeling every shiver and tremble the other woman passes through. Beidou supports herself by placing both of her hands on the wooden armrests of the ornate chair, and the action makes her strong muscles flex under the pressure of her own weight.

Ningguang perceives the movement under her own hands, and she runs them up and down the expanse of her biceps in admiration.

She is aware that she is falling down a spiral of lust, and she is falling fast, but after everything that has happened and everything that could have happened, she simply does not care anymore for formalities or sophistication.

The captain continues her path downwards to her bosom, diverting to the right and letting her lips trace an invisible circle around the soft peak. She lowers herself to her knees in order to properly worship the woman before her, one of her hands coming up to softly caress the underside of the unattended mound.

Rough pads begin to knead the supple flesh, and the sensation sends ripples of pleasure all the way down to Ningguang's lower abdomen. She slightly parts her legs and wraps her right one around the other woman's torso, which presents enough incentive for Beidou to finally take her nipple into her mouth. She grazes it with her teeth softly at first, gauging the reaction of her lover, before gently biting down.

The captain smirks when she hears the telltale sound of a sudden intake of breath, and rapidly alleviates the bite with a lap of her tongue.

She feels Ningguang’s nail guards scratch her scalp when the Tianquan grabs her hair more firmly, and she lets out a low grunt signalling she actually liked the rough action. Beidou gives her other breast almost the same treatment, moving her fingers to briefly pinch the hard peak before rolling it between the pads of her fingers.

Under the caring touch of her lover, Ningguang’s back arches involuntarily in order to receive more of those ministrations that are slowly but surely making her mind go blank.

After a few more licks and harmless nips, the captain moves her head to the other side, leaving a trail of slick from her tongue and lips all the way to the rosy nipple waiting for her attention on the other side of her torso. The warmth of her mouth envelops it while she carefully moves her tongue in circles, flicking the nub in the process.

Her hands soon leave their previous positions and find purchase in the supple flesh of Ningguang’s thighs, massaging the skin and urging them to part further and allow her even more access. Ningguang rapidly complies, lowering her right leg whilst heaving a pleasured sigh. The captain detaches herself from the tantalising breasts of her lover and, after making quick eye contact with the other woman, lowers her head in order to kiss down her way to Ningguang’s navel.

With every kiss, and every bite, the soft exhales of the Tianquan steadily increase their frequency, but Beidou wants to hear yet more of her.

When she gets to eye-level with the waistband of her lacy shorts, she runs her hands down the length of Ningguang’s long legs, until she reaches her still covered feet and slowly takes her heels off. The way back up to her thighs is spent with soft gripping and kneading, with a careful finger tracing the burgundy tattoo on Ningguang’s left upper leg.

“Y’know, I was thinking back then of getting a matching tattoo similar to this one.” Beidou casually comments, as if she weren’t aware of what her actions were causing within the woman seated right below her. “In like, electric purple, maybe?” She continues the running motion on the tattoo, meanwhile her other hand ventures higher and her fingers innocently slip past the hem of her underpants.

“That would be fitting,” she chuckles to herself and, lowering her voice a bit, she asks, “whaddya think, Ningguang?”

What is she thinking indeed is a great question, Ningguang briefly ponders, when her mind is now conjuring alluring images of Beidou in various degrees of undress sporting brand-new tattoos all across her body, already full of scars. She might give this some thought come tomorrow, but for now those imaginary images have placed her attention on the subject of her passion and her current state of overdress.

She uses the hand already holding a bunch of Beidou’s hair to guide her lover’s head upwards and away from her groin. “I think you have other matters to attend to before musing about painting your skin.” Without letting go of her grip, she brings a hand close enough to the pirate’s face to lovingly caress her cheek, a grounding feeling expanding through her chest when Beidou instinctively leans into her touch.

Said hand firmly grasps her chin in a sudden movement, and forces Beidou to look directly into her eyes, pupils blown wide with lust and holding a meaningful, intense gaze. “How about you show me exactly where you would get it, hm?” Her fingers dig into Beidou’s cheeks, bringing forward her lips in an almost pout. She helps herself and connects her own lips with the ones already waiting for her in a chaste kiss, not wanting to dwell too much before resolving the matter at hand.

“Take this off, Beidou.” Ningguang lowers the hand supporting Beidou’s head towards one of her shoulders, tugging softly at the cape still draped over her figure. “I can’t believe you were ready to leave me naked before shedding your own clothes too.”

Beidou huffs out a laugh, fingers still squishing her cheeks, and faintly shakes her head. “It’s your own fault, babe, you captivated me right then and there.” Her husky voice carries in the form of a whisper, hanging low in the small breath of air between the two women. She inches forward and obliges Ningguang to take her hand off her face, making her own lips meet the soft flesh of her abdomen. She leaves open-mouthed kisses along the hem of her shorts, catching it with her teeth teasingly a few times.

“Stop,” a shudder travels through the white-haired woman at the sight of Beidou almost taking her silky underpants with her mouth. She tries again: “Stop, Beidou, stop distracting me.”

She nudges Beidou’s head away from her navel with her clawed hands, while the aforementioned woman tries to stay in place with an iron grip on her thighs.

“... why are you such a stubborn woman?” Beidou simply chuckles in response, sticking out her tongue briefly to poke at her stomach.

“Haven’t you realised yet? I love annoying you.” Comes the witty reply from the pirate, clearly enjoying how Ningguang immediately furrows her brows; her gaze turning to a hard, calculating one that she sports when dealing with problematic merchants.

If Beidou wants to have such a bratty attitude at this moment, so be it. Ningguang will resolve to other methods to get what she wants if she has to. She tugs on the cape forcefully, unclasping it in one go, and lets it flutter to the floor. Then, she levers her lover with a pointed look, unfazed, and brings around one of her hands to the front of her black bodice. Her fingers curl around the decolletage, right in the middle of her full breasts, teasing.

“Don't be like that,” Beidou calls on, her smile somewhat faltering. “C'mon, don't break it, Ningguang”. She sounds almost pleading, and Ningguang rejoices in the sudden change of attitude, letting out a tiny chuckle and dropping her façade.

“I won’t break it. I know you don’t have any more of these here.” However, that does not mean she will not enjoy this situation. She grips the leatherette material a bit tighter and, in one rough fluid motion, lowers her hand enough to bring down the decolletage with it too. The sharp edge of her clawed fingers leave an angry red path through her sternum.

A smug smirk makes its way to her lips, mischievous red eyes looking back at Beidou through long, pale lashes.

“Should I continue?”

Beidou heaves a sigh, although the flush sitting high on her cheeks betrays her. The upper part of her bodysuit now presses tightly against her torso, the added pressure of the rumpled clothes making her breasts bounce up even higher than usual. She can feel the burn from the scratches on her skin, not entirely unpleasant, already beginning to swell up slightly from the aggression. She will get back at Ningguang for this, that is for sure.

Just… maybe not right now.

“Yeah. Yeah, have your way with me, Lady Ningguang, it appears I’m at your mercy now.”

She instinctively rolls her eyes, but decides to not grace the pirate with an answer. Instead, she faintly grazes the underside of the captain’s breasts with her gloved fingers, watching with rapt fascination as a shiver travels through Beidou’s skin, causing it to unravel goosebumps in the exposed areas. It makes Ningguang want to see the expanse of Beidou's entire body covered in those goosebumps, made single handedly by her.

She moves up her hands slowly, carefully, all the way up to the pin holding together the red cloth covering Beidou’s neck. She unfastens it and lets it drop to the floor, the pile of clothes growing larger as the minutes pass by. The Tianquan cannot help but marvel at the tanned skin revealed, broad shoulders welcoming her sight; the time spent apart simply making her squirm at the sight of every little patch of bronzed body.

Ningguang feels as if she were in a trance, her hands having a will of their own and coming down to tease at Beidou’s breasts once more. Her deft fingers skim around the globes, rubbing timid circles in unpatterned motions, caressing, touching, stroking, exploring as if it were the first time. They become more daring: one dark-colored nipple, sitting high and hard already, gets an unexpected squeeze.

It goes accompanied by a sharp intake of breath, provoking the captain’s breasts to waggle. Ningguang finds herself enthralled by the movement, although she quickly diverts her piercing gaze up to meet Beidou’s narrowed one.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun now, miss. Time for you to sit back down.” As she says this, Beidou grabs the wandering hands still teasing her chest with one of her own, holding them tightly in an iron-grip above Ningguang’s head.

The annoyed response that was sure to come out of the Tianquan’s mouth gets stuck on her throat when Beidou wastes no time and dips down to attack her neck with searing kisses and bruising bites. Ningguang is left defenceless, if only for a brief moment, until the captain takes both of her hands down the length of her body, the rough pads of her weathered gloves leaving a path of warmth through the supple flesh of Ningguang’s thighs.

One of them travels back up and retraces the same path, only this time her fingers slip past the hem of the last piece of cloth covering Ningguang. A stifled gasp escapes the white-haired woman’s parted lips as she feels two of those fingers make direct contact with her entrance, all but soaking them.

“Sheesh Ning, what is this?” Beidou pulls them out almost as quickly as she enters them, gathering most of the slick on the tip of her fingers. She brings them close to her face, to her eye, a self-reassured smirk on her lips, while she studies the wetness that coats them. “My ship could swim in this y’know, there’s enough for even my whole fleet I would say!”

That earns her a good smack on her left bicep, the cold metal of the claw-like fingers leaving a stingy sensation on her muscle. Well deserved, if she were to be honest, but she could not let pass the clear opportunity that her lover so carefully laid out for her. Unintentionally, and possibly hoping to pass uncommented, but alas.

She chuckles lowly, despite the whack still resounding in the room, and holds her fingers close to her mouth now, the intention clear when she sticks her tongue out and licks.

Ningguang feels a new rush of embarrassment paint her features; Beidou has always had a knack for making her fluster, even with the stern demeanour she always presents herself with before anyone that comes to her Jade Chamber. She cannot help but watch, transfixed, as the digits that were touching her mere seconds ago are now being pushed inside Beidou’s open mouth, her tongue curling around them and parting them, as to gather and taste whatever is possible.

The captain hums, her eye closed, as she withdraws her fingers with a wet pop. Her gaze seems heavier now, tinted with a deep desire that makes her seem as if she were a predator stalking her prey.

Slowly, tantalisingly so, that same hand descends to Ningguang’s underwear, to the very same spot it was before; drenched in her wetness. Beidou keeps eye contact with her lover, watches as the mild annoyed expression on her face caused by her own teasing is gradually replaced by something else, something needy, something primal.

Ningguang’s lips part to form a perfect o, from which a soft oh escapes when Beidou finally decides to slide her fingers up and down, lightly grazing her clit in passing, never staying for long. She finds support in the strong arms of her captain, nail-guards digging into the already scarred skin of her triceps, but neither of them mind at this moment.

It becomes a recurring pattern, up and down, up and down, sometimes Beidou feeling gracious enough to sprinkle a little bit of left and right. It is insufficient, that is an understatement, and Ningguang makes sure to communicate her nonconformity by squeezing harder in her grip and sending a glare towards the captain.

“What?” Beidou has the audacity to laugh at the undignified noise that comes out of the Tianquan’s throat at the question. She seems to be enjoying herself today at her expense, Ningguang thinks.

“What do you think you are doing?” Ningguang reacomodates herself in the chair, her leg starting to get sore from being in tension all this time. She tries to relax her muscles, but ends up unconsciously grinding on Beidou’s firm palm instead.

“I thought it was pretty clear what we were doing.”

She looks down, to where her hand disappears into Ningguang’s pants, and gives an experimental stroke. The woman’s legs below her tremble, clearly unable to control her whims anymore. Even though the glare is still there, almost digging a hole in her skull from the intensity.

Perhaps she will relent. Or perhaps not.

Her gaze flies up to meet Ningguang’s scowl, and she takes notice of the subtle pinkish tint on her usually pale cheeks. She looks adorable like this, all flustered under her. Beidou relishes in knowing that she is the only one that is able to witness this side of Ningguang. This one, and almost all of the others. The woman is not known for being an open individual, after all.

In the end, she gives in. She has been longing too for this intimate encounter for months now, she is not about to spoil it. The hand currently laying on the other woman’s thigh comes up, nails raking up the smaller frame until she reaches her neck.

“I guess I’ve missed you too much, Ning.” Softly tucking her thumb under Ningguang’s jaw, she moves her head higher in order to press a kiss on those pliant, inviting lips. As she nears, she can clearly see the frown leaving her features, and she silently scores a point in her mind.

Ningguang feels their position shift: the captain now raises one of her legs and situates it next to one of her own. The adjustment provokes that the hand teasing her presses more firmly against her, and she breaks the kiss to lightly pant between their shared breaths.

Never one to waste time, Beidou seizes the opportunity and inserts two digits in the warm opening, slowly pushing them until there is no space left between their intertwined bodies. Her gaze never leaves her face. She is drenched, the fingers easily entering without any kind of objection. Ningguang stills, body retracted until she realises the situation and leisurely lets go, her walls welcoming the new intrusion. She moves her arms and encircles them around Beidou’s neck, the other woman so close now that she can breathe her in, all booze and sea-salt, enveloping her in a familiar embrace.

Beidou can perfectly hear every gasp and sigh that leaves her lover, the Tianquan’s mouth barely a sliver away from her right ear, whenever she moves her hand in a steady rhythm and grazes the spongy spot inside her that is sure to drive her crazy. She soon speeds up, the squelching of her hand against her folds and the myriad of groans being the only sounds in the room.

She inches forward even more, her forehead resting against Ningguang’s shoulders as she drives her fingers in rapidly, never once faltering in her resolve to make the other woman come apart. The captain’s breasts jiggle with every powerful thrust of her hand, brushing against Ningguang’s; the feeling making them both long for each other’s warmth. Ningguang arches her back and presses herself into Beidou above her, her hold on the pirate tightening as she feels close, so close to the edge, but not quite there yet.

The Tianquan is reserved, even in bed —or chair, one cannot be picky. Beidou can only hear soft pants coming from her, but she craves for more: she is set on hearing her name being screamed from those pretty lips this evening, one way or another. Even nearing her climax Ningguang is mostly quiet, a concentrated look on her face. The only telltale signs that warn Beidou are the sudden scratches on her exposed back, almost piercing her thick skin. At least it lets Beidou know that she is indeed enjoying this as much as she herself is.

The pirate shifts yet again, her wrist growing sore from the continuous motions of in and out, in and out, but she has no intention of voicing her discomfort, at least not yet. She is a woman with a mission, and as with all missions assigned to her in the past, she is going to see it to the end satisfactorily. The inside of her palm ends up brushing against Ningguang’s clit, and that sets it.

It comes in the form of a sudden intake of breath, of a tightening of her walls around Beidou’s fingers, the curling of her toes and subsequently exhale of held air. Otherwise, it would have passed completely undetected. Beidou is familiar with all of these cues, and so she slows her pace to a gentle rocking, letting her partner ride her orgasm as much as she is able to.

They stay silent for a while, Ningguang slowly but surely catching back her breath, and Beidou trying not to disturb her as she aims to retreat her fingers. To no avail, though, since Ningguang consciously clamps around her, requesting her not to withdraw just yet.

Beidou relents, wiggling her digits inside and only making the other woman choke in a chuckle. She feels at ease, unhurriedly disentangling herself to appreciate Ningguang’s blissed out face: the crease between her eyebrows long gone, her gaze soft and loving, the corners of her mouth curving up into a smile, a thin coat of sweat on her forehead. She cannot help but kiss her adorably small nose, noticing it scrunching up in protest.

She straightens back, the bones in her elbow popping after being doubled over for too long. With permission finally granted, Beidou takes back her hand, letting the waistband of the undergarments snap back with an unceremonious slap against the Tianquan’s abdomen.

“Enjoyed yourself, I hope?” Beidou already knows the answer, but a little teasing never hurt anybody. Not yet, at least. Nor that she would care either way: being able to watch the annoyed scowl form back into the other woman’s features practically instantly is worth enough whatever harm may come her way.

To mitigate any possible backlash, she does not leave room to answer, for she puts on a show of guiding her fingers back to her mouth. This time, however, they are truly soaked from Ningguang’s wetness, and they leave a shining gloss on the edge on her lower lip that does not go unnoticed by the Tianquan herself.

The look in her scarlet eyes goes from exasperation to hunger in a split-second, the change noticeable by the darkening of her eyes. Ningguang braces herself against the armrests of the chair she is on and stands up, now fully recovered from her release, to take a hold of Beidou’s arm.

Without uttering a word, she takes Beidou’s coated digits out of her mouth, a trail of her saliva lingering in the space created, before parting her lips and inserting them into the heat of her own mouth.

If the pirate is surprised by this turn of events, she does not show it, except by the brief widening of her sole eye. She pushes them deeper, almost until the lips enveloping her touch her worn gloves, pinning down Ningguang’s tongue so the other woman has no option but to suck on them, tasting herself. Only mere seconds pass by, but Ningguang bites down hard, signalling that she wants to move on.

Beidou gasps at the unexpected bite, the hold she had taken of the white-haired’s jaw loosening. She takes her fingers back, idly wiping them on the side of her qípáo, and stares at the smug smirk forming on the Tianquan’s lips.

“Now I can say I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.” Her gaze burns everywhere it lands, sending shivers down Beidou’s spine in anticipation of what is to come. “Thank you for your concern.”

With a narrowed eye, Beidou absentedly nods her head. Her mind is swimming with unholy sceneries involving the two of them and a lot of sucking and biting to correctly assess what is going on around her. “Glad you did, then.”

Moving closer to the pirate, Ningguang snickers: “What are you even doing, dressed like this in the middle of my office?”

She closes the gap between them and, standing on her tiptoes, whispers hotly next to Beidou’s ear, “do you want me to issue you another fine for impropriety?”

Beidou realises painfully in that moment that she is still pretty much completely dressed, except for her breasts leaking out of her bodice for all to see. Her expression must have conveyed the feeling of partial shame that came over her, if Ningguang’s resulting giggle is anything to go by.

An irritated sigh leaves her lips, all the smugness she tried to act upon now apparently forgotten. She goes to angrily unclasp her gloves, brows furrowed, only to be met by Ningguang’s delicate hands hovering over hers. “Let me,” she simply says.

A second realisation hits Beidou: Ningguang is all but butt-naked in her own office. How the hell did she fall for that trap? She thought, even if only for a brief moment, that she was embarrassing herself by being almost half naked in the room. Completely forgetting her previous acts, as it seems. She inwardly wants to slap herself in the forehead. This woman surely will be the death of her one day.

The second glove joins its pair on the now unoccupied chair, Ningguang taking the newly bare hand close enough to her face to press a light kiss on the roughed palm of the pirate. She reaches for the buckle holding captive Beidou’s breasts, the tight belt pushing them up too high for comfort, after carefully unclasping her lover’s vision and setting it on the chair as well.

It is Beidou the one that takes it and flings it far away into the room, secretly hoping one of Ningguang’s attendants finds the leather garment come the next day.

Down goes the remaining of her red qípáo, the bodysuit soon following. The captain quickly shimmies out of it all as soon as it comes down her legs. She begins to feel around for the zipper of one of her thigh high boots, but she is interrupted by Ningguang insistently pushing her back; almost making her fall.

“Damn it... Ning,” she tries again, this time managing to grasp the fastening, “let me finish this first.”

“You can leave that on,” comes the breathed out response from the Tianquan. Slightly startled, Beidou looks up at her from her partly bended position, looking for any signs that their fun time has to be cut short for external reasons. She finds none, however, only the increasing thirst reflected in Ningguang’s eyes.

Gripping Beidou’s waist, golden nail guards poking the fit flesh there, Ningguang forces the pirate to move away until the back of her knees bump against the border of the low table they were playing chess on earlier.

In a rapid motion, she brings Beidou’s head down enough for her to kiss her fully, open-mouthed and gradually becoming messier. Their chests squish together, the height difference making them almost slot perfectly against one another; the heat of skin against skin a pleasant sensation to both of them.

Beidou lowers her hands, taking her time to map Ningguang’s lithe back with her uncovered palms, until she reaches her rear and gives a generous squeeze. She calmly palms it, Ningguang’s ass has always been one of her favourite assets, kneading the abundant flesh she finds there through the thin cloth while they make out.

After what seemed like eternity, Ningguang redirects her mouth to press lighter kisses along the captain’s face, enjoying the somewhat salty taste that covers her lover. She feels Beidou taking delight in her ass, and she lets her, it makes for a good distraction for what she wants to do.

Her mouth forms a path of wetness down the other’s jaw, coming closer to her pulse point, where she lingers. She gently scrapes her teeth first, before biting down where she feels the pulsations rapidly increasing. She does not let go, even when Beidou lets out a yelp and grips painfully on her backside. Instead, she sucks on the flesh, making sure to leave a lasting mark.

When she finally pulls away, she finds Beidou’s eye already focused on her, a snarky remark ready on the tip of her tongue, but she dives right back in, searching for another spot to bruise.

Low groans and whimpers start to fill the room, the air becoming hot and heavy once again. Ningguang pushes Beidou further back, obliging her to fall down on her back on top of the table. The pieces, already scattered from way before, bounce down the table in piercing click-clacks, providing a bigger mess to the already tousled office.

The pirate stops herself from falling down completely by having to let go of Ningguang’s ass to use her arms to support her weight, as well as Ningguang’s. Inquisitiveness fills her face when the Tianquan pulls back once more, the look the other woman is sporting falling nothing short from that of a starved animal.

“Come back here.”

Ningguang, surprisingly, obeys with a grunt, but ignores Beidou’s inviting lips in favour of drawing a line down her neck to her chest, the silky material of her gloves triggering the appearance of goosebumps. She truly loves the sight.

She maps the scars adorning Beidou’s body at a leisurely pace, briefly remembering each one of the stories behind them. Soon, her lips follow the path traced by her fingers, lovingly caressing the faded wounds and kissing them one by one. Beidou involuntarily smiles fondly at the sight; she has never felt ashamed or self-conscious for having her body covered in scars, but seeing Ningguang like this always stirs a fuzzy feeling inside her.

Having finished her path of worship, the white-haired woman returns to the upper part of her body, her mouth watering at the sight of the two full mounds awaiting for her. She grabs at one, the flesh spilling out of her hand, and kneads reverently.

The captain lets her head fall back, exhaling softly at the ministrations of her lover. A guttural moan threatens to escape her, however, when she feels moist warmth enveloping one of her nipples while the other is teased between silken fingers. Teeth graze at her hard peak, tongue lolling out of Ningguang’s mouth to lap leisurely at the nub.

After a few more licks and tugs, Ningguang lets it go with a resounding pop. She continues her attention by nipping around the dark centre of the breast, some of the resulting small bruises surely staying and marking the skin for way more than a few minutes.

The other mound does not stay unattended, though, and receives almost the same care and treatment as Ningguang’s fingers allow. She pinches and rubs the tip, the strangled noises coming from above only inciting her more. She soon leaves it be, only to bring her clawed fingers along the skin, gently scraping at first, before truly leaving lasting scratches around the expanse of Beidou’s chest.

Loud pants reach her ears, and she continues to deliver, circling one of the pirate’s nipples with her fingers again. Beidou feels completely lost in pleasure with the sensations travelling through her body; Ningguangs touches her with a preciseness like no one else, as if she were an instrument only she knows how to play.

She notices the warmth gathering at her apex, has been for a while, exponentially increasing with each lap of the Tianquan’s tongue or the expert twirl of her fingers. She can only imagine —and remember, to a certain degree— what that tongue could be doing to her down below instead, which elicits a somewhat needy whine out of her.

As if sensing where her mind has drifted to, Ningguang looks up, from where her mouth had been occupied, to Beidou’s direction. She cannot see her face, since she is still with her head drawn back, but she observes the bob of her neck everytime Beidou swallows or opens her mouth to let out a deep groan.

Ningguang makes her way down her well-built body, marvelling at stone-like abs she finds along the path. They flex and tighten when she brings a clawed finger to the line splitting them into sets, lazily tracing their borders. She opens her palms then, fully pressing them to her midriff, and slides them up her muscles, feeling how they stiffen as a whole with the contact.

She cannot help the way she reacts; Beidou is well aware that Ningguang enjoys worshipping her body —as much as she likes worshipping hers—, but the sensations are sometimes too much for her to repress and she ends up squirming everywhere.

The Tianquan shifts, and substitutes her hands for her tongue. She relishes mapping and exploring Beidou’s washboard abs, her tongue tracing invisible patterns along the ridges and bumps. It leaves a slick path on her skin from her navel up to her breasts, and shines as it reflects the light in the room.

Ningguang is well aware of the increased discomfort between the other woman’s legs, yet she does not move her mouth or fingers any closer. In lieu, she presses her body flush against Beidou’s. With the new angle, Beidou’s core meets her front and she can feel the wetness that is spilling out of her on her own skin.

Scarce minutes pass by, and suddenly a grave hum escapes her throat when she notices the pirate grinding herself against the soft flesh of her stomach. She now places her hands on the other woman’s strong thighs to try and stop the movement, as well as to keep her pinned open. She decides that now is a good time as ever to continue her wet path downwards.

Her lips press lightly on the hot skin of the captain, and she never once alters her tantalising pace, making it seem like eternity before she reaches her mound.

“Ning…”, it comes off as a whimper, her name spoken almost as a plea.

The aforementioned woman obligues and finally, finally, situates herself right in front of Beidou’s groin. Warm breath makes contact with the neglected area and sends the pirate to new levels of arousal. Ningguang does not let her time to reminiscence, though, and soon sets to explore —or rediscover— with her tongue around her drenched folds, not quite yet reaching the zone where her clit sits.

She probes and pokes her opening, teasingly, never entering the ardent cavity for long. The warmth of her own tongue is mild compared to that of Beidou’s entrance, and she takes delight in knowing her lover is impossibly turned on.

Ningguang hears the wanton moans Beidou is letting out whenever she comes close to the nub begging her for attention; the sound of Beidou’s husky voice breathing out an array of obscenities enveloping her in a daze. The chanting of her name in between those words is the only music she wants to keep listening to for the remainder of the day. She looks up to the source of the profanities being uttered, and finds the captain gripping tightly the edge of the hardwood table.

“Do you like it when I use my mouth?” Beidou nods. “My tongue?” Another nod. Ningguang hums noncommittally, “good girl.”

At the sound of the pet name, the pirate involuntary squirms, letting out an almost inaudible sigh. Ningguang takes notice, but decides to not comment on it, instead storing the information at the back of her mind for future reference.

“That's good to know.” And with that, she slowly sets back on her legs, not without giving a small nip at the soft flesh of Beidou's thigh first as she retreats, relishing in the way the strong muscles underneath flex at the contact.

Ningguang maintains her eyes trained on Beidou's face while she once more traverses up the body of her lover, letting her lips caress the heated skin along the way. Beidou's left hand follows the movement of her head, gently carding her fingers through silky locks of ivory hair.

A stark contrast of how she feels right now, hot and bothered, wanting Ningguang to just touch her already where she needs her the most. But she knows that the Tianquan likes to take her time and enjoy the slow pace she usually sets, thus Beidou lets her. Retribution from before, she thinks. She will get the best reward for her patience later on anyways, so she might as well try and enjoy this close-to-torture pace of hers.

Carefully situating herself on top of Beidou’s thighs, Ningguang inclines forward, supporting her weight by placing her hands on the pirate’s stone-like muscles of her abdomen. Beidou meets her halfway, eagerly joining their lips in what she hopes is a heated kiss conveying how much she needs her lover. She thinks it must not have worked, since Ningguang slows it down to a leisurely pace.

“Ningguang…” She feels the urge to beg, then, to see if the white-haired woman at least takes pity on her and lets her enjoy her release. She does not, however, since the little sanity Beidou has left reminds her that that is the kind of power play Ningguang usually goes after, and so she would be left waiting for even longer.

Beidou finally sets on tightening the hold she has on her white locks, gently pushing her head downwards to where she feels like combusting already. The devilish smile she sees appearing on her lover’s face sends a new rush of wetness down her slit and she grunts, impatience taking a hold of her, but ultimately feeling stupidly turned on even more.

“You’re being so patient for me, are you not?”

Narrowing her eye, the pirate knows she is being mocked, but she nods nonetheless. She better go along this game if she wants to feel those lips pressed against her core anytime soon.

“I shall grant you a reward, then.”

Ningguang slowly straightens her posture, the curve of her smile softening if only for a brief moment when she sees the state of utter neediness she finds Beidou in. The palms of her hands glide across her body, finally letting her weight fall off of the captain’s body as she places herself once again between the apex of her legs.

She wets her lips and watches Beidou tilt her head back, the gentle puffs of air coming from Ningguang’s mouth as she exhales contrasting with the warm wetness flowing freely from her core, setting Beidou ablaze once again. Her hands find purchase on the expanse of the pirate’s thighs and she lifts them up to her shoulders, procuring her open even though the woman is already spreading apart for her.

With renowned motivation as the scent of her arousal hits her nose, Ningguang dives in without much preambule. Her warm tongue slides easily between her folds, licking long lines from bottom to top, with the help of Beidou’s wetness coating the entire area. She hums lowly in her throat when a new wave of slick smears across her chin, and she diverts her gaze from the source to the body above her, searching her partner’s eye.

The pirate desperately wants her release, the build up already proving to be too much for her. The way Ningguang’s skillful tongue moves around her drives her crazy, wanting to feel more and more of the heavenly sensations she brings, but she knows she will not be lasting much longer. Beidou raises her head in order to look at the white-haired woman currently pushing her to her limits. Wrong decision.

The sight of her partner between her legs, looking at her intently, is enough to procure a low groan from her —adding to the pressure sitting hotly deep in her low abdomen. She reaches for her head, keeping it securely between her thighs, as she is secretly afraid the other woman will leave her wanting.

Ningguang moans at the possessive gesture and tightens her hold on Beidou’s flesh, surely leaving lasting marks where her nail guards lightly pierce the skin.

“Ning… ngh—”

She can see from her position the telltale glisten around Ningguang’s mouth, the clear evidence that she is, in fact, as wet and hot and close as she feels. The Tianquan is widely known for being a silver-tongued merchant, but Beidou is sure that that assumption may as well translate in the literal sense to the current setting.

Her gaze is focused again on the task at hand —at tongue—, observing with rapt attention the pleasure that rips through Beidou’s body every time she laps upwards, slightly grazing her enlarged nub. She redirects her sight towards the pirate’s face, contorted in a blissful manner: her eye tightly shut, brows furrowed and with a lovely flush expanding on her cheeks.

She wants to hear more and more of those precious sounds that are coming from her bitten lips. Ningguang moves one of her hands and traverses it up through the captain’s navel again, but stops right under her breast. At the same time, she encircles Beidou’s clit with the warmth of her lips, pressing the tip of her tongue flat on the small organ.

“Ningguang…!” She is loud, she always has been at any given time, but even more so when her lover at long last graces her with the skillfulness of her mouth exactly where she needs her the most. “Fuck, I-I’m so close…”

The white-haired woman is merciless, the swipes of her tongue leaving Beidou more of a mess than she already was. She sucks, and the action makes for a loud cry to be heard in the room —probably in the rest of the building too. Not one to not give her best to everything she sets her mind on doing, she also tries out dragging her teeth, carefully, on the exposed nub.

The reaction is immediate. Beidou firstly sucks in a breath, stilling the rocking motion she had been doing in tandem with Ningguang’s head. She lets out a desperate, filthy noise, promptly biting her lip as if that were to make people forget about her previous screams. Then, she feels as her muscles contract, small spams rippling from her core all the way to the rest of her body.

She shudders, the sensitivity being too much for her to handle when Ningguang continues greedily lapping between her legs, not wasting a single drop of the juices leaking out of her. Beidou places one hand on the top of her head, signalling that the area has become too tender for her to keep at it, and she relents.

Ningguang lets out a low chuckle from her throat, carefully disentangling herself from the pirate’s legs and setting them on the ground in a slow motion so as not to bring any discomfort to her partner.

“Hmm, remind me to soundproof my office in the near future, bǎobèi.”

Still trying to catch her breath, Beidou’s torso moves with the force of her laughter.

“I believe you already did that to your bedroom, maybe it’s faster if you soundproof the entire structure in one go.”

She straightens up, and surrounds Ningguang’s smaller figure with her arms. The woman nuzzles into her neck, her own arms snaking their way around Beidou’s waist, as she whispers: “let’s move to my chambers, then.”

“I’d very much like that,” the pirate murmurs back, a satisfied smile plastered on her face.

“You need—hmph…” Beidou tries to say between hot kisses, “to hire better security…”

She suppresses the urge to whimper when she feels Ningguang's teeth brush her lower lip “... around these parts.”

“I sent them home early,” Ningguang whispers between their mouths, stopping her ministrations long enough to form a proper phrase before diving back to the pirate's addicting lips.

She cups Ningguang's ass with both of her hands and lifts her up, the Tianquan's legs immediately wrapping around her waist, and leads them towards the lavish bed situated in the chamber.

“Really now?” Beidou chuckles, feeling how Ningguang's eager mouth explores the side of her neck and leaves a trace of saliva up to her earlobe.

When her knees find the edge of the bed, the pirate lowers her lover on the plush mattress, extricating herself from the shared warmth of their bodies. She glances down and searches for Ningguang's gaze, a silent understanding between the two, before she rounds the frame of the bed. She rapidly retrieves a few objects from a locked drawer, and comes back around to stand in front of Ningguang once more.

The Tianquan eyes Beidou's movements like a hawk, admiring the quick work her avid hands make of fastening the harness around her hips. It sits closed firmly on her thighs, drawing attention to the strong muscles on her legs, which flex when she kneels on the mattress. The position leaves her lower body trapped between Beidou’s powerful thighs; not that it bothers her in the slightest.

“Do you need help with it, Captain?” Ningguang’s voice is dripping with desire, but she still manages to sound nonchalant, as if she were not watching her lover try to lock in place an imposing faux cock right before her eyes.

Beidou stops fumbling with the toy long enough to look in Ningguang’s direction, brows furrowed in concentration, but nods nonetheless to the offer. She watches as said woman moves her hands, deliberately slow, up her thighs, caressing with her naked fingers the material of the belts that surround her sun-tanned skin —having both forgo the remainants of their clothes on the way to the private chambers.

Her mouth waters as Ningguang’s nimble fingers finally join hers in the length of the strap and take control of it. The captain lets her hands fall to her sides, allowing the other woman free manouver. She is enthralled, to say the least, watching Ningguang securing the dick in the harness with eased practice.

Her amazement does not end there, however, since when the Tianquan finishes locking it in place, she gives an experimental tug, bringing Beidou’s hips forward with the force of the movement. Beidou catches a glimpse of a smirk on the corner of her shapely lips, before they part open to welcome in her mouth the rounded head of the dildo hanging from Beidou’s strap-on.

“...Ning?” The pirate, for all that she has fantasised about on lonely nights aboard the Alcor far away from home, never had imagined what she was seeing in front of her —and she had imagined plenty of scenarios.

Ningguang, for her part, only offers a lick to the underside of the head and a devilish smirk as a response. With her hands she draws the shaft closer to her, enough to insert it a little bit farther in her mouth. She closes her lips around the great girth of it, and draws back slowly. The white-haired woman then repeats the action a few more times, her head bobbing up and down with the motion.

It makes for an intoxicating scene unfolding right under Beidou’s nose. The way her lover hums and closes her eyes briefly in satisfaction is more than enough to provoke the pirate into action. She cards her fingers through Ningguang’s ashen locks, and bites her lower lip when said woman reopens her eyes to look directly at her through her long lashes. She is the one in control at this moment, the determination with which she moves her hands up and down the length of the dildo, accompanying the rhythm of her mouth, speaks volumes of her command.

It does little to deter the captain from maxing out the situation she finds herself in. Taking the placement of her hands as support, she thrusts forwards gently, overall aware of the possible discomfort that it could cause on Ningguang, but ultimately finding herself lost in the thrill of the moment. She eyes with hunger how her lover takes her almost whole, how her mouth fills with the extent of the faux dick that she is thrusting into her. She grunts, for it makes for a part of her want to take her face securely between her hands and shove it in fully, but in the end she tries to control herself, not wanting to cause her unwanted pain.

Ningguang never once shies away from Beidou's intent gaze after that; in fact, she basks in it, letting the flames of her own arousal combine with the heat that her lover manages to spark within her with just a simple glance.

She feels a surge of power and pride course through her veins, letting her know that she is the only one that is eliciting such a response from the admirable captain, that she alone is capable of making the seafarer woman almost lose her wits and fuck her mouth relentless. At this point, she would not even mind, but she nonetheless treasures the thoughtfulness and tenderness of her actions, the soothing hand stroking her head as she tries to fit the entire length of the shaft in her mouth.

The pads of her fingers move to touch the skin of one of Beidou’s thighs, and she hooks them between the belts she finds there, holding tight. Her other hand runs from what is not already covered by her lips down to the base of the dick to halt Beidou’s lazy movements, slowly letting the toy slip out of her mouth.

Her glazed eyes move from holding the pirate’s fervent gaze to the now shiny wet object in front of her, and a sly smile makes her way to her lips. She gives a parting tug to the appendage, and reclines slightly on her place.

“There.”

The pirate, struggling to divert her eye towards something else that is not her lover, finally manages to catch a glimpse of the partly lubed toy attached to her hips. A rumbling peal of laughter pushes past her lungs and she lightly shakes her head at the smug look Ningguang gives her. Beidou reaches for Ningguang’s face, softly brushing her thumb on the other woman’s cheek.

“Y’know, I had the lubricant right here.” She then tightens her hold around her jaw, “though I can’t say I didn’t enjoy the show.”

“I’m glad you did.” The glint of challenge in her eyes does not leave, not even after being pushed down onto the luxurious sheets of her own bed and accommodated between soft pillows.

“Great. Now, just stay here,” the pirate presses a firm hand on the expanse of her stomach, “until I finish this up.”

Beidou has to exert a great deal of self-restraint when Ningguang lets out a needy, albeit almost inaudible, whine at her words. Ah, the things she would do for this woman, Beidou thinks. And the things she would do to her, if she stopped looking oh so delectable and distracting with her hair splayed across the cushions and a lovely rosy tint on her cheeks. She has no option but to lower her body in order to plant a kiss on those luscious lips. She, or anyone that knows her for that matter, does not consider herself as a weak woman, or anything of the sort, but for Ningguang…

For Ningguang she would become the most pliant woman in the world if her lover so desired.

What was supposed to be but a chaste kiss, unsurprisingly becomes a full-fledged make-out session. Beidou bites, and is bitten in return; soft pants and grunts filling the room. Even then, the captain succeeds in her prior task: while she supports her own weight with her legs at each side of Ningguang, she reaches for the almost forgotten bottle of lube, and applies a generous coat of the fluid on the strap she wears. Beidou rubs the length of it with one hand, evenly spreading it, meanwhile the other gently pries Ningguang’s legs open as she shifts her posture.

The Tianquan feels Beidou squirm over her, rearranging her own body as she continues to explore the captain's mouth with her tongue, leaving no place untouched. She has to, however, stifle a gasp as a cold object tries to find its way between her legs. The chilly sensation makes her open her legs slightly, welcoming it. The captain teases her entrance with little movements, sliding the tip of the length between her folds just so.

A needy whine escapes from her once again, when she feels the dildo stay in place and not move a single inch inside of her dripping entrance. Beidou seems intent on teasing her as much as she can, and meanwhile in other instances she would fight back, right now, the need to be filled up by her lover is much stronger. Ningguang presses her lower body closer to the captain’s, in an attempt to slide the length inside herself, but Beidou catches on and places a firm hand on either side of her hips.

She tuts, inching back from Ningguang’s face enough to look at her expression. Beidou prides herself in the messed up state she finds her lover in: lips swollen and bruised from all the intense kissing, her cheeks adorned with a flushed pink and half-lidded eyes looking back at her with so much passion and want in them.

The captain then rubs soothing little circles where her hand rests, a sort of apology for making her wait this long, and straightens her posture. She grabs with a firm hand the long shaft and slowly approaches it to Ningguang’s dripping slit. Her gaze fixes on how the entire length of it is steadily engulfed by the Tianquan’s heat, and how said woman even sets her legs further apart to allow more room.

Beidou pushes until it is inserted to the hilt, and only then does she tear her eye from the exquisite view down below to observe Ningguang’s face. Said woman closed her eyes the second Beidou truly moved, hands holding on to the silk sheets of her bed for dear life. When she felt at last full, with Beidou’s pelvis pressed against her core, she opened them again, only to find the pirate already gawking at her.

“Enjoying the view?” Ningguang asks with a sultry voice, even in the position she finds herself in.

“Mhm.” The sea captain nods, enamoured with the sight before her. “I like seeing you completely debauched under me.”

Without waiting for a response, Beidou retracts her hips until the tip of the dildo is barely visible between her lover’s inner lips, and rapidly drives herself in fully. She continues to watch Ningguang’s face, which does not disappoint since said woman almost rolls her eyes back at the harsh movement.

Taking pride in the response she got, Beidou does it again. And again. And at the fourth time, the seafarer grabs one of Ningguang’s legs, flinging it with ease over her shoulder. The new angle helps her thrusts to reach deeper and more intensely, and Ningguang answers by moaning even louder.

The grip on her leg increases in tandem with the force of the pirate’s rocking; tomorrow she will have to find a way to cover her thighs before presenting herself at work, lest some noisy coworkers reach false assumptions. This thought is immediately pushed to the back of her mind, however, when Beidou inclines forward and sets on planting open kisses and not-so-innocent nibbles along her sternum.

Thank the Archons I’ve always been flexible.

“Ngh… Beidou… Beidou…” Ningguang urges the other woman to look at her, tangling her fingers in her hair. “I want—ah, I want you to look at… me…”

The captain grunts but nonetheless complies, sucking hard at the juncture of neck and shoulder before she retracts, not even once stilling her hips' motions. She searches for Ningguang’s gaze, and whatever she finds there must have been the right emotion because she instantly speeds up, at this point basically ramming into her lover’s cunt.

Ningguang’s moans echo throughout the room, the instinct to close her eyes and give in completely into the pleasure almost overtaking her. She resists, however, and with half-lidded eyes she reaches for Beidou’s face. One of her hands skims past the piece of vermillion cloth covering the pirate’s left eye, and delicate fingers tease the brim of the eyepatch.

“May… may I?” she says in betweens pants, her gaze clouded by lust and yet so full of care.

The hips currently thrusting harshly into her stutter slightly, and Beidou’s focused frown deepens for a different reason. In a matter of a split second she resolves, and briefly nods her consent.

With permission granted, Ningguang discards said eyepatch with rapid movements. Beidou finally stills when she feels the cloth leaving her face; she slowly blinks, almost owlishly, trying to accustom her usually covered eye to the sudden light exposition. Ningguang, for her part, is greeted with a scarred eye staring right back at her, with great skin lesions all around it.

Her hand, the one closest to the area, caresses the distinctive tissue, the pad of her fingertips skimming from the pirate’s eyebrow to the high of her cheek with great gentleness. Beidou closes both of her eyes at the attention she is receiving, soft pants escaping her as she takes the opportunity to catch her breath after the exertion she just pulled.

Ningguang lovingly touches her face, getting reacquainted with the facial features she adores so much. Their breaths mingle and the air feels hot around them; the intimacy of the moment making mere seconds seem to last hours.

When Beidou opens her eyes once more, Ningguang smiles at her. Her smile conveys all she ever has said to the pirate, and holds promises of what more she will be telling her in the future. Beidou commits to memory the upturn of those pink lips and the deep pool of velvety red that returns her gaze with so much warmth and devotion, and instantly returns the gesture with an expression just as meaningful as hers.

Even so, she cannot ignore for long the flush of her cheeks and the increasing body heat. Beidou supports most of her weight on her arms, muscles flexing underneath Ningguang’s hands as she runs them over her figure, expectant. The pirate inches closer still, the change in position serving as leverage as she presses her mouth to the one already waiting for her.

“Beidou…”

Ningguang mutters her prayers in between kisses, aware that the goddess she prays to is already on top of her, but wanting her to hear nonetheless.

“Beidou…”

The pirate skilfully manoeuvres her weight, and manages to free a hand, with which she then gently brushes away some strands of Ningguang’s ashen hair. The tender hold greatly contrasts with the way she abruptly plummets into her once more. Beidou observes with rapt attention how Ningguang’s eyes promptly roll back in pure pleasure, her mouth hanging open in a perfect “o” as a loud moan gets caught in her throat.

Their bodies stay flush together, hot and sweaty skin against one another; Beidou finds stability as she holds herself up on her elbow and lowers her other hand towards the Tianquan’s inviting sternum. With a thumb, she strokes the area on the centre of her neck and applies gentle pressure as if asking for permission. Ningguang, as a response, presses onto her hand and gives her full access. She is not able to form coherent words anymore at this point, what with Beidou relentlessly burying the shaft into her insides.

Beidou continues on with the motion, her inner thighs sticky with sweat and a mix of fluids coming both from her lover and herself. She is not immune to the current situation, and the constant rubbing of the soft pad of the inside of the dildo on her clit is definitely not helping to keep her head cool.

She feels the leg on her shoulder starting to slide off, so she lets Ningguang lower it and wrap it instead around her hips along with the other one. Ningguang tightens the hold of her legs, as if not wanting Beidou even an inch away from her core.

“F-fuck, Ning…”, Beidou grunts, still ruthlessly rutting into her. She stutters for a second in her movements, the pressure on her own clit almost sending her over the edge unexpectedly as Ningguang squeezes hard with her legs.

In return, and to gain some time to delay her own orgasm, she applies light pressure on the sides of Ningguang’s neck with her fingers, careful to not accidentally block her air pipe, but still strong enough to make her feel it. It does as intended, and Ningguang relaxes the hold of her legs in favour of tightening her walls, clamping down on the dildo and bringing herself even more pleasure.

Beidou chuckles at seeing her, the vigorous grip of her hand not faltering for even a second.

“You’re loving this.”

It is an understatement, but Beidou says it either way. She is evidently enjoying it as well. That does not stop her from milking out the situation as much as she can, given that even though they consider themselves equals —which Beidou always makes great emphasis on—, in the bedroom… Things may not be as though they seem on the outside.

She receives punishment in the form of fresh scratches all over her upper back for stating the obvious, but she does not mind.

“S-shut up, Captain.” The hand on her neck does not impede her from answering, and neither does the rocking motion of Beidou’s hips as she starts to pump into her once again.

“Huh? So it’s not true?” She increases the force of her thrusts as she straightens back, bringing the hand previously supporting her weight down Ningguang’s exquisite body. “Let’s see if you love this, then.”

Beidou graces one of her stiff nipples on the way down, teasingly, but does not succumb to massaging the luscious breasts at her disposal. She focuses instead on drawing her fingers up and down Ningguang’s navel with feather-light touches. The pirate knows Ningguang’s furrowed brows are indicative of her trying to assess the situation and gain the upper hand, deciphering what Beidou will do next.

However, Beidou decides to not give her enough time to arrive at a conclusion. She swiftly infuses the tip of her fingers with her electro energy, right as they were approaching the Tianquan’s lower abdomen, and lets them wander even lower still.

The gasps she hears are enough for her to assume that Ningguang was not expecting that one. She adds another point to her mental list; this day seems to be all about scoring points with her lover.

The insistent pounding and the addition of electric contact with her skin makes Ningguang’s broken moans of pleasure fill the room. She wants more of this ingenious way of her captain using her vision, and she will make sure she gets it.

“Beidou—mhh! Lower,” she pauses, her eyes almost going blank at the acute thrust that reaches the right spot inside of her, “go—ah, go lower…”

Beidou’s eye widens, clearly having thought that the tingling sensations on her lover’s skin were going to be enough, and clearly having thought wrong.

“Lower…? You mean…” Slightly slowing down her rhythm, she brings her fingers the closest she can get to Ningguang’s clit without touching it, “here?”

She eagerly nods her head, Beidou’s hand around her neck retracting right after, “yes! Th-there!”

It surprises the captain, even though countless encounters like this should have prepared her for whatever Ningguang thought was pleasurable in bed. She is elated, either way, having found yet another thing that her lover enjoys with her.

Ever eager to please, Beidou lets her electro-infused fingers finally grace the tiny bundle of nerves. Not a split-second after, she has to take a hold of Ningguang’s waist with her free hand to try to pin her back down to the mattress as said woman arches her back at the pleasure surging through her.

“Nngh… Beidou…” As the cries of pleasure increase, so does the pace of Beidou’s fingers, constantly rubbing on her clit.

Seeing Ningguang so dishevelled, so lost in the passion of the moment, chasing after her sweet relief, makes the pirate want to help her reach her climax even faster. Strongly gripping her lover’s waist, she pushes the shaft as deep as she can, without losing the relentless rhythm she had previously picked up. Small arcs of purple lighting begin to appear between her fingertips as well, as she increases the intensity of her electro energy; and she tries to focus on Ningguang’s pleasure instead of thinking about how good the deeper thrusts feel against her own clit.

“Ah! …ngh, Bei—wait… stop,” Ningguang pants, the electrostimulation seemingly being too much at once, “n-no, stop…”

Despite being immersed in the hypnotic movements of their bodies, Beidou’s eyes widen in almost panic, the fear of unintentionally hurting the most precious person in her life making her feel scared of her actions in a matter of seconds.

She instantly goes to pull her hand away, the pace of her thrusting and the brute force of her hold on Ningguang diminishing altogether. She opens her mouth to speak —to say anything, really, to ask where it hurt, to ensure she has not injured her, to comfort her—, but the suddenness with which Ningguang takes her wrist in a vice grip, keeping her hand in place, makes her shut her mouth at once.

“Hah… Beidou… Beidou, don’t stop,” she grinds her lower body against the pirate’s, searching for the friction that was there mere moments ago, and steadily brings Beidou’s fingers to their rightful place once again, rubbing her clit.

“... are you okay, Ning?” She still does not move, her hips only gently swaying with a rocking motion that mostly comes without her thinking about it at all.

“Beidou… please, yes…”

“Are you sure…?” One of her hands travels back up in order to tenderly hold Ningguang’s flushed face, “are you really okay?”

Ningguang nods her head fervently, never stopping the movements of her hips against Beidou’s. With insistence, she presses down on her own clit with the pirate’s hand, urging her to continue the motion as a poorly contained moan escapes through her lips.

“Yes, yes…” She is desperately trying to hold on to the feeling of being at the edge, not even caring about the neediness of her pleading words. “I… I’m so close, please, bǎobèi, please…”

Seeing the glassy eyes of her lover imploring her to continue —along with the multitude of “please” and “I’m close” she hears her mutter—, the pirate picks up her rhythm and begins to gently rub the nub with her fingers, having already toned down her electro discharges. As much as she seemed to enjoy it, Beidou is not going to risk making her uncomfortable again, even if it was for a split second and even if Ningguang continues to beg her for it right now.

She does, however, increase the celerity of her thrusts once again. After having paused briefly, now both of them feel the pleasure coursing through them with more intensity. Beidou quickly searches for one of Ningguang’s hands, intertwining their fingers tightly as soon as the other woman slides her palm into hers. She feels hot all over, both from the rapidly approaching climax and from the exertion of incessant pounding, but witnessing the sublime expression of pleasure on Ningguang’s face fills her with the strength necessary to keep going while she rubs tight circles on her clit.

“Mmph, Ning…” Beidou moves their intertwined hands closer to her, as if this way Ningguang could somehow touch her body, “gah, Ning… I’m close too…”

Said woman is no longer able to form words. She communicates with breathless gasps and soft grunts through gritted teeth, conveying that she is very much close to her release as well. She is almost there, as a hard twist of Beidou’s fingers sends a jolt of pleasure down to her core.

The boat captain urges her to finally close the gap and let herself fall into the sea of bliss with soft-spoken praises, ranging from “good girl” to “you’re taking me so well”. Between those appreciative whispers and the delicious feeling of the tip of Beidou’s fake cock reaching as deep as one could go in her spongy insides, Ningguang finally succumbs to the pleasure. She inadvertently squeezes the pirate’s hand and grips the forearm of her other arm —not having let go since she first tried to keep Beidou in place—, chanting her lover’s name again and again, her eyes tightly shut as her climax washes through her.

Beidou observes the scene unravelling beneath her with an expression of pure devotion on her face. She rams her lower body against Ningguang’s hole sloppily a few more times, aiming to prolong her lover’s orgasm as long as she is able to, before she feels herself tethering on the edge of her own climax. She lets her weight partly fall on Ningguang’s still quivering body, searching for the warmth and intimacy of being pressed together with the love of her life as she, with a weak final thrust, reaches her peak as well.

Even though the haze of pleasure still clouds her mind, Ningguang disentangles their hands and throws both of her arms around Beidou’s strong figure. She ignores the damp feeling of their sweaty bodies, focusing only on the shaky exhales of her lover tickling the curve of her shoulder.

“Bǎobèi…” Ningguang runs her fingers along Beidou’s dark tresses, soothing her back into consciousness. “My captain…”

Ningguang’s mellow whispers invite her to snuggle more into the crook of her neck, pressing her lips to the side where they rest in lazy little kisses. As much as she would love to spend the rest of her days like this, she is aware of the hardness of the straps driving uncomfortably into her skin after so long, and she wants to get rid of it as soon as possible. Moreover, it would be quite awkward to leave Ningguang with a dildo inside of her for such a prolonged time with no apparent reason.

She chuckles lightly at her thoughts, her whole body shaking with her actions, and she begins to slowly detach from Ningguang’s neck. Ningguang, for her part, stares at her retreating figure with an amused smile grazing her lips, not knowing what she could possibly be laughing at but finding it contagious nonetheless.

Supporting her weight once again on her extended arms, Beidou carefully slips out of Ningguang, watching out for any sign of discomfort from the other woman. What escapes from her lips, however, is a surprised gasp at the sudden emptiness she feels, and at the cold air that hits her lower parts as the pirate leans further away.

“Was that good?” She asks with a smug smile immediately forming on her lips. Of course she knows it was more than good, but sometimes even she craves some praise.

“Mmmh… Could have been better.” Ningguang’s nonchalant reply comes out rapidly, but Beidou knows better.

“Liar.” She can clearly see the rosy tint that spreads on her cheeks, even as Ningguang tries to occupy herself by checking the numerous wrinkles she made on her silken sheets.

The captain swiftly unclasps the harness surrounding her thighs; skin slightly dented from the tight fit. She leaves the entire strap-on on the edge of the bed, not minding about its state for now. Beidou focuses, instead, on climbing up the body of the woman before her: she trails featherlight kisses from the bones of her hips up to the top of her breasts. Her hands roam alongside her face as she delicately, almost reverently, presses her lips to the side of Ningguang’s neck, quietly searching for the steadily calming pulse point.

Ningguang studies her, not uttering any words after that. It would not matter, anyway, they both already know that she was just using a pretext. She opts to card her fingers through Beidou’s long hair, gently massaging her scalp as she patiently waits for the captain to finish her route. She feels her humming against her neck, her voice just a mellow sound barely above a whisper:

“You feel soft…” Beidou shifts her weight above her so as to rub her nose on the underside of Ningguang’s jaw. “And you smell so good… even after all that.”

The Tianquan giggles, never immune to whatever compliments her lover throws her way. She moves her head to the side slightly, pressing her lips to her temple.

“Such a lady-flaterer you are…” Ningguang moves her arms higher, encircling the other woman’s shoulders in what could only be described as a pseudo-hug. “Come closer, my captain.”

Beidou, however, breaks away from the contact and straightens up, her hands still rubbing tiny shapes on Ningguang’s waist.

She shakes her head, “no, not yet. Let me tend to you first.”

It was expected, they have been in this situation countless times before after all, but it somehow continues to instil a feeling of contentment deep in her chest at being under the care of her lover. As it usually happens, it renders Ningguang speechless, so she only nods her head in understanding, and lets her go.

Beidou hurriedly covers herself with a sheen robe from one of Ningguang’s wardrobes —nowadays it being her own robe, after tirelessly stealing it from Ningguang herself—, and heads straight to the adjacent bath chamber, dildo in hand.

She cleans it and rinses it off, leaving it on the counter for retrieving it the next day. Her main concern right now is dampening with warm water a small towel, which she promptly takes to the room in order to help Ningguang, after having already cleaned herself with another one.

When she arrives, she finds said woman curled on the bed, eyes closed and expression serene. Beidou quietly climbs next to her and pries her legs open without force. Ningguang lets out a low hum, opening her eyes to see the pirate focused on wiping the mess on her inner thighs and vulva. She feels at ease, baring herself before this woman and letting her do as she pleases with her body, for she knows that Beidou would do nothing to bring her harm. She has, at the end of the day, already given the captain her very own heart to look after.

Setting the towel aside, Beidou makes her way into the bed sheets and adjusts them so they half cover them both. With her concern taken care of, she freely nestles into Ningguang’s waiting arms.

“Hey.” She chuckles lowly, her face a breath away from Ningguang’s.

“Hey yourself.” With such an insignificant distance between each other, Ningguang easily brings their lips together in a chaste kiss. “Are you tired?”

“I don’t get tired that easily,” she cocks one of her eyebrows, the meaning of her words clear as a sly look graces her functioning eye, “you should be aware of that.”

Ningguang raises an eyebrow too, issuing a challenge of her own.

“Oh? Would you care to demonstrate, Ms. Beidou?”

“... not now.” The pirate hides her face on Ningguang’s neck, not wanting to confront the question with having to look at the inquisitive eyes of her lover. “Maybe later, who knows.”

She still feels the pressure of the harness on her thighs, and the soreness of her muscles after exerting them for so long. Even though she is accustomed to endurance and physical work, something about the setting makes her feel the effort more than usual. She prefers to rest within Ningguang’s embrace for now.

Ningguang’s unusual loud laughter confirms that she has seen through her half lie, but she does not care. In fact, she relishes the sound, and joins her with a cackle of her own. When the laughter has died down, Ningguang brings her arms around Beidou’s neck, effectively slotting their bodies together, being content with this moment of reprieve. The pirate entertains herself by peppering the side of her throat with airy kisses, bordering on ticklish. She keeps her hands underneath Ningguang’s shoulder blades, firmly holding her and marvelling at the contrast of her smooth skin against her own rough one.

It seems like scarce minutes pass by before Beidou stirs slightly in her arms, her voice muffled from where she is pressed against the curve of her neck.

“Ning…” She draws out her name, calling for her attention, “I’m getting hungry…”

The white-haired woman sighs affectionately, already thinking about what she could make for them both as a light dinner.

“Let me hold you for a while, bǎobèi.” Ningguang kisses the crown of her head, rubbing her hands up and down the expanse of her lover’s back. “I’ll treat you to something nice after.”

“Mmmkay…”

She notices how, despite her previous statement, Beidou’s fatigue is catching up to her, making the pirate subconsciously snuggle more into her. A small laugh escapes her at her antics, resembling that of a child after a day of hard play, and she leaves one more kiss on her head, inhaling the scent that is so uniquely Beidou —petrichor and sea salt, with a subtle trace of ozone lingering about her.

Ningguang eventually ceases the motion of her hands as her eyes begin to close; the press of the captain’s warm body starting to induce her into a short nap of her own. Before she falls into slumber, she mutters into strands of dark umber:

“Rest well, my love.”