Sunset ^beta

For all the extra work Ganyu has done over the last month to ensure that Liyue ran smoothly in the absence of one of its most dedicated servants, it is the newly returned Yuheng herself who looks most exhausted. There are dark circles under her eyes. Her shoulders are hunched over, arms drawn in close.  And perhaps strangest and most worrisome of all, instead of her signature buns, Keqing wears her hair loose, cascading about her shoulders in an endless waterfall of purple. The sight brings forth vivid memories for Ganyu—Keqing cradled in her arms, freshly bathed with her cheeks still pink and her wet hair slung over one shoulder while Ganyu absently runs her fingers through the rich, deeper violet colored strands. Keqing, lips parted on a gasp and spine arching as Ganyu methodically maps every inch of her body, hair strewn across Ganyu's pillows. The sight of Keqing still asleep, morning sun filtering in through the window and making her hair shimmer in a way that captivates Ganyu as she gazes at her from the other side of her bed. Her lover is a woman of habit and for all these precious moments shared in private between the two of them, she cannot recall Keqing ever appearing in public with her hair like this, much less showing up to work at Yuehai Pavilion.

The strange sight makes her heart clench, a cold, constricting sensation of worry enveloping her chest. Keqing had offered little explanation of what the strange collaborative "training exercise" she left for twenty-nine days ago entailed, and seeing her love return to her in such a state makes Ganyu imagine the worst.

"Keqing," Ganyu calls out her name, dropping the usual formalities she would afford her while at work, and the tight feeling in her chest loosens as Keqing's chin snaps up at the sound and her face breaks into a tired grin at the sight of her lover. Ganyu makes her way down the stairs leading to Yuehai Pavilion and approaches quickly, aiming to intercept before Keqing can over-exert herself.

As soon as Ganyu is near enough, Keqing draws her hands into her own, pressing a soft kiss to Ganyu's knuckles, the touch of her lips warm even through the fabric of Ganyu's gloves, and stares directly into her eyes. "Ganyu. I missed you." She flushes all the way to the tips of her ears at Keqing's gesture, but doesn't break eye contact. For all that their relationship is no secret, Ganyu is unused to such public displays, especially here, where the entirety of Yuehai Pavilion, the Millelith standing guard, and any civilians passing by can see. And it really has been far too long since they've seen one another, the longest time they've been apart since their first meeting years ago, when Ganyu could hardly stand to be around the bold, young Yuheng who never minced words when it came to Rex Lapis.

"I missed you too. Very much so. Now please, tell me what happened on that training exercise of yours. You look terrible." Ganyu squeezes Keqing's hands tighter, trying to convey without words the depths of her worry.

Keqing immediately pouts. "I thought you liked how I look."

The joke earns a laugh, light and warm. It may just be an attempt to avoid the question, but Ganyu cannot deny the truth of her statement. "I do. So much so that I pay very close attention to you. You look different today." She extricates a hand from Keqing's grasp and raises it to run her fingers through Keqing's loose hair to emphasize the point. "You look unwell. Please tell me what happened."

Heaving a great sigh, Keqing gives in. "During the collaboration I fought alongside and crossed blades with a great swordsman. My equal in every respect. At one point though, she did catch me off guard and I was slightly injured." She gestures with one hand, miming a strike with a sword.

"Slightly? You were stabbed!"

"Slashed," Keqing amends, as if Ganyu should be any less concerned for the distinction.

Still clasping her right hand tightly with Keqing's, Ganyu gingerly probes at her side with the other. Even at such a gentle touch, she hisses in pain and jerks away involuntarily. The sudden movement only aggravates the injury further, and Keqing nearly doubles over, whining softly as Ganyu's steadying grip keeps her upright. "You aren't well enough to work."

"I'll be fine. I've survived plenty of injuries. Liyue needs me. The Qixing needs me." Keqing speaks through gritted teeth, her voice weak and strained.

Though she is gentle by nature, Ganyu's heart is as unyielding as the stone, a true child of Rex Lapis. In the matters she is most passionate about and where the people most precious to her are concerned, she is not easily swayed. She fixes Keqing with her sternest look. "Liyue survived 3,700 years without you. The Qixing survived the last twenty-nine days without you and will survive one more." She squeezes Keqing's hand tightly and runs a thumb over her knuckles, doing her best to convey that the words are not meant unkindly.

"Only because they had you. I didn't want you forced to work twice as hard on my behalf for a single day longer." Keqing looks crestfallen, like the thought of inconveniencing Ganyu is as painful to her as the injury itself.

"That shouldn't be a problem.” Ganyu beckons over Huixin, who stands at her usual post outside the Pavilion. "Huixin, please inform the Qixing that the Yuheng's leave of absence will be extended for at least the next day, due to matters of health. And please convey my sincerest apologies to Lady Ningguang and her secretaries. I have complete faith in their abilities to keep Yuehai Pavilion running smoothly in my own absence."

"I—yes Ms. Ganyu! Of course Ms. Ganyu. I shall attend to it immediately." Huixin hurries away to find the other Qixing, leaving Keqing staring after her, looking like she can't quite believe what Ganyu just said.

"You're taking time off of work to take care of me." She looks almost as shocked as Huixin at the turn of events, and Ganyu is unsure whether she should be offended that it's such a surprise to her or proud that Keqing thinks so highly of her work ethic.

Cupping one cheek in her hand, Ganyu stares into her beautiful, pink eyes—bright and shimmering like the rarest of precious stones. "You are vital to Liyue's future and Liyue needs you at your best." She runs her thumb along Keqing's cheekbone, where a flush, softer pink than her eyes, has appeared. "And I need you. At your best or at your worst, it doesn't matter. But I want you to be well." Casting away her reservations about public affection, Ganyu leans in to kiss Keqing. From the way her body relaxes against hers, Ganyu knows she has won.

By the time they reach her home, Keqing is even more drained than before, clinging tightly to Ganyu, who holds her firmly in return. Her muscled arms, honed from centuries of training with the bow, are a welcome comfort. The half-qilin carefully guides Keqing from the threshold to her bedroom. Despite her wealthy upbringing and vaunted position as Yuheng, Keqing's home is simple and small for the dwelling of one of Liyue's elite Qixing. Of the few luxuries Keqing affords herself, the large bed with lavish bedding in several different shades of purple is chief among them. She had explained this to Ganyu as a matter of efficiency—she has so few hours in the day for sleep between her duties, so it's important to make the most of them. A sentiment Ganyu can whole-heartedly agree with. Apart from the bed, the only adornment in the room is the shelf lined with Rex Lapis figurines, made out of every material imaginable, from Noctilucous Jade to Cuihua Wood.

A weapon stand is mounted on the wall below that, holding two swords: Keqing's trusty Lion's Roar and a finely-crafted sword from Inazuma, wrought out of purple and gold metal. The last time the Crux Fleet returned to Liyue Harbor from Inazuma, Captain Beidou presented the sword to Ganyu, claiming that the moment she first saw it, she knew it would be perfect for "your girl." Blushing profusely at how Beidou referred to Keqing, Ganyu had tried to turn down the opulent gift—she couldn't even imagine how much the weapon must have cost!—but her friend refused to let her leave the Alcor without it. Ganyu is thankful for friends as good as Beidou, even if she was a little embarrassed to accept something so precious.

Slowly, she helps Keqing lower herself onto the edge of the bed. "Did you at least visit Dr. Baizhu before trying to come to work?"

Raising her arms so that Ganyu can help her out of her dress, Keqing nods. "Bubu Pharmacy was the first place I visited when I got back to the city last night." She winces as Ganyu unravels the bandages wrapped around her torso, revealing the wicked-looking sword wound below. It is deep and runs from her left shoulder, down the side of her breast and across her stomach. "Dr. Baizhu gave me medicine for the wound. It's in the bedside table. Bandages too."

Now that her girlfriend mentions it, she noticed the scent of Qingxin flower when she first entered the bedroom. Scenting the air more closely reveals the smell of Violetgrass intermingled with the Qingxin. After retrieving the bandages and medicine and briefly leaving the bedroom to find a cloth for cleaning the wound, Ganyu returns and kneels before Keqing. Starting at Keqing's hip, she dabs the wet cloth along the wound. Once satisfied, she dips her fingers into the pot of medicine and begins to apply it to Keqing's skin. At her girlfriend's sharp intake of breath, she pauses. "It's okay," Keqing is quick to reassure her. "It's just… It's been so long since you've touched me. I wasn't expecting it to feel so intense."

Ganyu's heart swells with affection and as she stands up for a better angle to apply the bandages, she reaches to give Keqing's hand a squeeze. "Apart from the injury, how was your 'off-field training collab?'"

"It was… interesting. The memories are all a disjointed blur. I remember the village and castle where I met the girl who attacked me, and being shipwrecked on a strange wintery island. And I remember being in Mondstadt, and the traveler's fairy companion Paimon was there? But none of it seems to fit together. And I can't recall how I got there from Liyue and back." Keqing looks up to see Ganyu watching her intently, bandages in hand. "Still, I'm certain I've become a better swordsman after facing that woman."

"I'm glad to hear you've grown stronger." As she speaks, Ganyu wraps the bandages around her girlfriend's torso, paying close attention to ensure they're not too tight. "It all sounds very strange. Perhaps we should ask the traveler their opinion of your experience the next time they visit Liyue Harbor?"

"The traveler? Why them?"

Ganyu shrugs. "They have visited a great many places. Even Mr. Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is impressed by them. And you did say you saw the traveler's companion Paimon. Perhaps she has answers." Securing the last of the bandages needed around Keqing's chest, she steps away, satisfied with her handiwork. "Does that feel good, Keqing? Not too tight, I hope?"

"It's perfect. You're perfect." Keqing reaches up to pull Ganyu down by the back of her neck and brings their lips together into a gentle kiss. When they part, she is looking at Ganyu with a lopsided grin, the kind of expression that rarely graces the features of the serious and dedicated Yuheng. "Thank you for taking care of me, Ganyu. I know I was… resistant at first but I could not be more grateful to have you."

Ganyu leans in close again, this time to press their foreheads together. "Of course. I am just as grateful you made it back to me in one piece." Pulling away once again, she adds, "Now let's get into something more comfortable so that you can get some rest."

After both women change out of their work clothes for ones more suited for sleep, they settle on the bed facing one another, hands intertwined between them. Keqing takes the right side of her bed, usually occupied by Ganyu, so that she can lie on her side and look at her girlfriend without putting pressure on her wounded shoulder. Her eyes are closed and she looks so peaceful that Ganyu thinks she has already fallen asleep, until Keqing speaks. "I seem to recall you making a promise to me before I left?"

"Oh?"

"Something about shopping for Rex Lapis goods together?" She cracks one eye open. "I know you don't like shopping very much, but I was hoping…Is that offer still on the table?"

Ganyu pretends to think, lips upturned in a faux coy smile. "Perhaps. Did you have anything specific in mind?"

"You know Granny Shan? The woman with the toy stall near the docks in Chihu Rock? I've heard she makes very intricate Rex Lapis toys. I would love to see what she has, especially if you came along." For a woman asking her long-term girlfriend out, Keqing looks incredibly nervous.

"That sounds wonderful. We have to clear time in our schedules as soon as you're well enough. But until then, let's focus on you getting better. Try to get some sleep." The elated look on Keqing's face makes Ganyu's heart leap. She cradles her in her arms and draws her close, tucking Keqing's head under her chin and stroking her hair until the rhythm of Keqing's breathing signals that she is truly asleep. Between her steady breaths and the warmth of having her so close after so long, Ganyu soon drifts to sleep as well, at peace for the first time in twenty-nine long days.