Chapter Text
Rainy season had hit- of course. Mid Autumn to the depths of winter were the hardest for her.
All day, she had been trying her best to fight against strong winds and rainstorms, soaked through, despite the (unmistakably poor) cover provided at the dock, when she had finally managed to help a trade ship out of Mondstadt’s port- the last of the day.
Before she could even drag herself home to dry off, she found herself instead heading towards the knights of favonius building, her legs moving against her will- there was a chill in her bones, and heavens- she could desperately use a nap on the comfy couch in Varka’s office.
The knights standing guard outside didn’t question the appearance of the Archon- simply pushing the door open for her after she had wrung enough water out of her clothing.
She could almost forgive the rain for freezing her to the bone, excited to claim her favourite spot upon the same three cushions, as the fire crackled in the far corner of his office-
She pushed the doors open. Saw an empty desk.
“..where is he?”
She turned to the nearest knight, gaze piercing through him in a way that made him shutter.
“…old Mondstadt, your grace.”
He couldn't have, she thought- surely, nobody would be dumb enough-
She stared- raised an eyebrow, lips parted- the knight nodded, a slight look of terror on his features. Even he knew how idiotic the idea was.
“Stupid man!” She grunted, already turning to leave, mood completely and utterly soured. “Men- always getting in my way! Who the hell goes out to fight in a storm like this?”
She almost broke the front doors open before they could be opened for her- she looked as if she could snap Varka in half for even glancing in the direction of the ruins- let alone returning without speaking to her.
But it was a mix of both anger and worry that fueled her- she could hardly see past the length of her arm in this weather, and yet Varka had chosen to take this opportunity to do her job behind her back- she could only hope he was still okay.
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He knew it was stupid- he could already imagine being beaten over the head for even thinking about going out in a storm like this- but he couldn’t wait. He had seen the way those animals were driven from their homes. The way Meni had stared.
Rain clouded his vision, his hair sticking to the sides of his face as he panted for air, claymore resting on his shoulder.
He had taken 3 down already- two ruin guards, and some sort of.. guardian bot, near one of the ruins- it had done a number on him, as far as he could see. The rain washed away any sign of blood from his injuries- scrapes or gashes, he couldn’t tell.
Even the weight of his wet clothes on his body made him heave- he felt as if he were helplessly dragging himself along, not walking- trudging through the mud and overgrown foliage that hadn’t been touched by human life in years.
He couldn’t make out anything. The rain had begun to fall too heavily.
Thunder almost knocked him off his feet, hitting the ground just a few feet away from him, the sudden shock distracting him from the pain that suddenly began to bloom in his shoulder- he couldn’t remember when the feeling had started, but as he looked down, the realisation washed over him- even in the rain, he could clearly see a cut just beside his shoulder blade- not deep enough to cause permanent damage, but significant enough to the point where blood made its way out faster than the rain could pelt against him.
“Fuck!”
He yelled out, head whipping around to try and spot the culprit- nothing behind him. Nothing to either of his sides.
He could feel a dull ache beginning to develop in his shoulder, mind reeling through his limited options- the best choice would realistically be to find cover and stay until the rain stops, but hillichurl camps infested the land- there was a high chance he would be hurt again.
But really, he had no other choice.
He tried, he really did- the mud was caked on his boots, shoulder beginning to sting and burn the more the rain hit the wound.
His hand rose, moving to cover his heart, fingers gently tracing the shape of her earring on his lapel- not that he thought he was going to die, no- he simply found comfort in the memory of her.
And for a moment, he could have sworn he felt the rain stop its relentless attack on his body, or….
Wait a moment.
He opened his bleary eyes cautiously, not knowing if he would face the afterlife or not- with his luck, maybe.
But no- instead, above him, a large teal wing was positioned over his head, shielding him thoughtfully- Dvalin, he finally realised. He was here.
“Varka!!”
Another body fell into his, almost knocking him off of his feet with the amount of force she projected- relieved or exhausted, she didn’t know.
“Meni..?” Now he really thought he had reached the afterlife. “What…. How..?”
She looked up from his chest, just as drenched as he was, her ears pressed back to block out the water, irritated- he noticed immediately.
“I called Dvalin and he let me ride on his back,” she said, voice soft and shaky. “Lets go, quickly, before-“
“Your ears,” he suddenly interrupted, both hands resting on either side of her head, trying to gently brush away the water. “They’re irritated- and why would you come out here? Your coat hasn’t grown. You’ll catch your death.”
Her eyebrows furrowed, as if she were both offended and confused.
“You’re worried about me? While your shoulder is wounded and you’ve been stuck out in the rain for hours?”
“As have you, silly-“ he said, poking her nose. “-your lips are blue.”
She raised her hand to her lips, touching- she couldn’t differentiate between the ice cold feel of her hand and the numbness of her lips. She had been out for too long.
“Come on,” she sighed out, taking his hand- her grip was weak. “Get on Dvalin. The sooner we are home, the better.”
So, through the thick buckets of rain and walls of smoke, Varka managed to help Meni back onto Dvalin, before following himself, only.. slightly terrified. Of course, he trusted Meni, but…
The moment they were returned to the city by the dragon, he could almost kiss the very ground he stood on.
But not before he made sure she was okay.
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Meni was perched in a bath tub, freshly washed hair pinned on top of her head, the heat from the water making her body melt- the feeling was rewarding after such a struggle.
In Varka’s words, she had indeed ‘caught her death’, (a common cold)- the moment they had returned to his chambers, he had dried her off and bundled her in the warmest blankets he could find around his home, despite his own state- he wouldn’t let her help.
Now, she stared out the window towards the golden hue that shone over Mondstadt, her head resting on the edge of the bath comfortably, hands toying with his tassel- he had teased her, but she felt an odd attachment to the item- like she couldn’t bare to be away from it when he wasn’t around.
Because he wasn’t around.
Like the big, stupid, hulking idiot he was, he had set out to Dragonspine just days after he had been wounded to find some ‘remedy’ that the new alchemist had spoken of, after learning about Meni’s condition.
While he couldn’t determine whether it would completely heal her, he promised one guarantee- she would regain her fur, or at least partially, slowly- the moment Varka had heard those words come from his mouth, he had arranged an expedition under the guise of… ‘salvaging spare parts’, instead of ‘attempting to find years-old research to try and help my deer-archon-not-quite-lover recover from her condition’.
She huffed, watching the snowy mountain, so small and far away from where she lay- at least he had men with him, she thought. Someone would take care of the foolish man.
She just hoped he would come home soon.
…Perhaps so that she could scold him.
But she had trust that he would take care of himself- how else would he watch over everybody?
Suddenly- a knock on the door.
“Come in,” she answered softly, eyes still glued outside- before she turned her gaze over her shoulder to gauge the purpose of the visit.
A young girl with her blonde hair slicked back into a determined ponytail pushed through the door- she looked young, a new recruit.
“Rookie Knight Jean, my lady- The grandmaster has sent a letter for you,” she said, approaching the tub slowly, afraid to disturb her privacy. “Would you like it now?”
“Yes,” she responded, reaching a hand out. “Thank you, my dear. You are dismissed.”
The young girl handed the letter to her, averting her gaze nervously- the sight almost made Meni let out a chuckle. When she was gone, she leaned back against the edge of the tub, breaking open the seal carefully.
‘Dear My lady Meni,’
‘We have reached mid way up the mountain of Dragonspine, as i write to you. We have found leads- we are following them dutifully, so please trust that i am eager to return home to you with a remedy. It wont be long now- I loathe this cold.
Another month is all it should take. Rest well, my lady.’
‘Signed, Grandmaster Varka.’
Her eyes traced the words over and over again- it was short, but sweet- at least he was okay. He was.. determined, as always.
A smile stretched over her lips- he was young and stupid, obviously, throwing himself into rain, snow and danger all in the span of a week- but his ability to push through every situation was what she admired about him- though he still caused her unfathomable worry at times.
Her fingers ghosted around the bottom right corner of the crinkled paper, eyes studying the small drawings there- he had seemed to be doodling the different shapes and patterns of snowflakes for her, taking great care in the detail of them, though the lines were shaky- And adding a little note next to them.
‘It fascinates me how unique each piece of snow is- i hope you will find amusement in my doodles. I wanted to capture their beauty for you.’
She let out a huff of air through her nose- a small laugh.
She would make sure to thank him.
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Winter had taken its course, giving way to spring once again.
Under the afternoon sun, Meni lay on her stomach in the soft, green grass, a thick report in her hands- though she hardly seemed to spare anything but the statistics a glance.
“…how in Teyvat did you manage to get frostbite in your pinky finger…?”
That sentence had caught her eye- the man beside her boomed with laughter, as he always did, flexing the fingers on his right hand proudly.
“I still have it, don’t I?” Varka joked, only for his hand to be swatted away by hers. “You would think after begging me not to go that you would be more welcoming, my lady.”
“Not after you decided to leave right in the dead of winter,” she grumbled, flipping through the pages absentmindedly. “Almost lost a finger for the sake of what.. bringing home salvageable parts from the old structures up there? Right after cutting your shoulder open?”
She glared at him from the corner of her eye- taking his crew up the mountain not even a week after that blow was landed on him was undeniably reckless.
“Salvageable parts, somewhat,” he responded, watching as the clouds floated by calmly, avoiding her piercing gaze. “But you know exactly why we went, my lady- I could hardly watch you suffer.”
She shuddered at the memory- without the thick coat of her deer form, she suffered through winters more harshly- this year, the thin coat that usually made its way up parts of her body hadn’t grown at all.
“I still can’t believe you went all the way up there just to find some ancient remedy,” she sighed out, dropping the report in the grass and rolling over onto her back. “I would have been fine with just a few more blankets.”
Varka finally looked over- the sight of her there, under the warming sun, light in her eyes as she gazed up at him- it made him even more thankful that he didn’t have to see her so sick any more.
“Thats not what you said when i fed it to you,” he began to tease, a grin appearing on his lips. “Oh Varka, thank the heavens-“
Before he could go any further, her hand slapped over his mouth, pinching his lips shut.
“If any more words come out of your mouth about that night,” she breathed, staring intensely. “I swear on Celestia, your body will never be found.”
Varka couldn’t help the laugh that erupted from him as he took her hand in his, removing it from his mouth.
“Like you would ever do that,” he laughed out, his other hand moving behind her head, trailing along her braid to where both sides formed a bun, his tassel hanging from her hair. “Not as long as you wear a piece of me.”
She flushed in embarrassment, her cheeks turning a deep shade of pink- as much as she hated to admit it, he was right.
She yanked her hand from his, bottom lip puffed in a slight pout as she lay back down, turning her back to him, listening to him vibrate with laughter- before his hand came to rest on her waist, trying to turn her back over.
“My lady…” he sighed, managing to lay her flat on her back- alas, her arms were still crossed, her head tilted in the opposite direction.
His hand made its way from her waist, thumb and finger resting on her chin, tilting her gaze towards him.
“Lady Meni,” he said, his voice low- promising. “How about i go fetch you some fresh sunsettias? Would that please you?”
She paused for a moment- she stared, something flickering in her gaze, contemplating.
“I suppose…” she finally murmured out. “I could forgive you in return.”
A smirk made its way onto Varka’s face.
Before Meni could angrily swat him again, he stood from the spot they had been sitting in, shrugging off his coat to give to her, her earring still on the lapel.
“Its windy,” was all he said, before beginning to make his way over to the sunsettia trees, ignorant to Meni’s lingering words-
“I know that, you nitwit. I control the wind.”
She held the coat close to her chest, making sure he was away by a fair distance before she relaxed.
Tilting her head down slightly, she buried her face in his coat.
While it didn’t smell too.. pleasant, it smelled like him. Like something warm and musky, the kind of smell that had rewired her brain to remind her of home whenever she caught it- him.
She pulled away the moment her ears pricked, tracking his footsteps through the grass.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Blood rose to her cheeks again, her eyes watching as his smirk grew, kneeling down to place a few sunsettias beside her- but her attention was instead stolen by the sight of his exposed shoulder. She reached up, tracing over the tender flesh gently.
“It is healing well,” she said. “How is it feeling?”
He leaned down further, one arm positioned beside her head, leaning on his elbow to give her a better look from where she lay.
“Better than before, of course,” he responded, his voice low- but his eyes weren’t on his scar, or her hand. “Especially with you here to comfort me.”
“You sap.”
She swatted at his arm playfully, before she caught his gaze, realising where it was directed- straight at her, his eyes locked onto her face with the kind of look she had never seen before- something deep and soft, a side of him that she had never seen.
Her hand slid from his wound to his cheek, stubble prickling at her thumb as she ran it over his jawline, before running it over his bottom lip- coarse, dry, but plush- she had never been so close to him before- not in such an intimate way.
“Varka..” she whispered out, her eyes flickering up to meet his. “You are… sure..?”
He stared at her for a long, long moment, before leaning down, pressing his lips to her cheek- sweetly, softly- lovingly.
“I’ve never been more sure.”
Then, his lips hit her skin again- first, on her other cheek, before he kissed her forehead, and then the tip of her nose, inciting a soft chuckle from her- although, much to her disappointment, he soon pulled back while sitting up, helping her up as well.
“..These sunsettias wont eat themselves, though.”
The disappointment didn’t last long when sunsettias were in the picture, of course.
He pulled a pocket knife from his belt, picking up the ripest fruit from the bunch, slicing it in half to give to Meni- he could already see her mouth beginning to water at the very smell of the sweet fruit.
She leaned over, her lips pecking at his stubbled cheek about a bazillion times- much to his amusement- before her head came to rest on his shoulder, a half of a sunsettia perched in her hands as she sunk her teeth in and enjoyed the taste.
A cold breeze brushed past them, Meni huddling closer against Varka as he pulled her towards him- Venti’s doing, no doubt- but of course, she had no complaint.
She was right where she wanted to be, of course.