Chapter Text
It was a scorching noon and Ganyu undoubtedly felt exhausted. It had been another hectic morning of reviewing papers, visiting businesses, and drafting documents, the usual long list of tasks. As she began to realize the weight of her eyelids, she slipped into a sleepy trance—a trance known to leave her in random places. It was...an interesting habit of hers. Barely holding onto her consciousness, she let her legs carry her to a new destination, likely some grass field near the outskirts of the harbor. She trusted that it would lead her to a safe place, as her body had grown to know the labyrinth that is Liyue Harbor after years of navigating it.
Ganyu didn’t know how long it took her to finally knock out cold. Hopefully, she was cuddled up somewhere among the grass and not awkwardly on the stone streets of the city. Remembering past incidents, that would definitely not be ideal. But, surely, she must have ended up at a safe place since the surface she was on felt soft and harmless. She felt completely comfortable. She also felt warm, as if embraced by the loving presence of the sun. It wasn’t like the harsh hotness of midday, but like the sweet glow of a campfire in early winter. An addicting warmth. If only she could stay here forever.
There was something fascinating about lying down on the grass. Whenever she ended up sleeping in fields, she would hear the heartbeat of the world, of the earth beneath. A lullaby from the Geo archon perhaps. Its soothing rhythm was the reason why Ganyu didn’t mind sleeping on the floor of nature.
Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump.
The heartbeat. The world must be whispering to her. In fact, Ganyu heard a faint breath mixed in with the pulse. It was gentle and slow, unlike the intense heartbeat ringing in her ear. An unusual tempo today.
It was still nice…
Suddenly, Ganyu’s eyes flew open. Ah, lunchtime must be over. She was known to have an impeccable internal clock.
Because of the abrupt wake, her vision was blurry. She blinked, attempting to clear it. As the fogginess of her sight lessened, she noticed the color of the sky didn’t quite match up. Instead of a calm blue, she looked up to a wood color, a rich mahogany. Not only that but an unknown pale figure was above her, blocking half of her vision.
Ganyu’s brows furrowed in confusion. Where was she?
Finally, she brought her hand up to her face and rubbed at her eyes. Once she opened them again, she found herself staring up into the emerald green eyes of Liyue’s distinguished law adviser—Yanfei. The very Yanfei she has been on a handful of dates with. Startled, Ganyu let out a small yelp and instantly pushed herself up.
They were both on a small couch pushed up against the wall. Upon closer look, Ganyu realized that she was in Liyue Harbors’ legal office building, specifically in Yanfei’s own room. Her eyes widened. While she was well aware that her sleepwalking often left her in the most random places, like the outside of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, for example, she never expected to end up in a room with someone else….and that someone else being Yanfei.
Speaking of Yanfei, the adviser watched Ganyu carefully. “You’re finally awake.”
The half-adeptus secretary felt her face warm in shame. She was silently hoping that Yanfei wouldn’t acknowledge her painfully blatant presence in the room. Unfortunately, now that it was clear she was not dreaming, she had to face the situation head-on.
“Y-yeah, good morning—I mean, g-good afternoon!”
Yanfei’s head tilted in wariness. “Do you feel rested?”
Not only did Ganyu feel rested, but she was also fully awake now. She nodded slowly. “Yes, um, thank you. I’m sorry Yanfei but could you tell me...how I got here?”
Ah...how embarrassing. It felt worse when she could tell the cogs in Yanfei’s head stopped. The confusion was apparent in her eyes.
“Do you not remember the fact that you walked into here without a word and just plopped yourself down on the couch I was sitting on?” Yanfei questioned, her expression serious but slightly flushed. “And then proceeded to place your head onto my lap and just, napped for an hour?”
…
What?
It all sounded bizarre to Ganyu.
“I just laid here and slept?”
Yanfei paused, fiddling with her antler as she recalled the events. “Well, if you want me to be more specific, you drowsily walked into my office, sat down on this sofa, and fell onto me. I just readjusted your position so you would be comfortable.”
No words came out of Ganyu. Did that really happen?
“I may have also petted your horns. I know you said you don’t like them being touched but you also told me that it makes you sleepy so I figured it would help you rest.”
Ah. No wonder Ganyu had no recollection of the events preceding her nap. She fell into deep slumber too quickly for them to stick to memory.
Timidly, she tore her eyes away. “Ah, um, I-I’m pretty forgetful now that I’ve been alive for a thousand years…I deeply apologize for my boldness and invasion of privacy.”
Yanfei carefully examined Ganyu’s expression. She was obviously embarrassed, her cheeks puffing up with a rosy pink and her lips involuntarily twisting into a pout.
“No need to apologize, I didn’t mind the, hm, surprise visit. Honestly, I was glad to see you, even if I wasn’t prepared for the interesting greeting.”
Ba-bump. Ganyu thought she was hearing the world’s pulse again, but soon after, another heartbeat pounded in her chest. This time, it was her own.
She sheepishly clenched her chest and stood up. “I’m still sincerely sorry. I wish I was awake to spend actual quality time with you, I would’ve loved another date. Now, sadly, I have to return to work.”
With a thankful bow, she turned to find the exit. Just as she began heading towards the entryway, a sudden but tender grip on her wrist stopped her from taking another step. Her head turned to see a standing red-faced Yanfei holding onto her.
“Why the holdup?” Ganyu questioned curiously.
“Well, by any chance, did your afternoon work concern Ying’er?”
The secretary’s lips parted in surprise. “Yes, actually. How did you know?”
“Just an educated guess,” Yanfei answered with a knowing smile. “Coincidentally, I solved Ying’er’s case right before my lunch so there shouldn’t be any more problems.”
Ganyu knew enough about Yanfei to know that the legal adviser didn’t do pure coincidences, just ‘coincidences’ that played too well into her plans to be true. So unless she had the expert all wrong, this was prepared beforehand.
“You completed some of my workload for me?”
“Ah, darn, you caught me red-handed. Usually, I’m the one who does that.”
Ganyu blankly stared at Yanfei for a few seconds before finally breaking into a giggle, feeling a small weight lifting from her shoulders. For someone who could legally sue you out of existence, Yanfei had delightful humor—or at least to Ganyu, it was.
“I cannot believe you would do that for me. You shouldn’t have,” she said.
“It was nothing. It was overlapping into my field anyway.”
“But why would you do it?”
“Partially because it was my responsibility as a legal expert. Partially because you looked so exhausted when you walked in, I wanted to do something about it,” Yanfei explained. “You work too much, Ganyu. If I have the chance to help your stubborn work ethic, I’ll gladly take it.”
Bubbly. Ganyu felt bubbly. The kindness of Yanfei was warm, just as warm as Liyue’s sunshine. She would usually protest to anyone interfering with her work, but she had a strong feeling now that Yanfei would be the only exception.
“Besides,” Yanfei continued, lightly pulling Ganyu back down onto the sofa. “Now you owe me some sleep as payment.”
Ganyu blinked. “Did you make me sign a contract while I was asleep?”
A playful laugh escaped Yanfei, a sign that she was enjoying her reaction a little too much. “No, that would be against the law. However, I believe this counts as a bound contract.”
Yanfei found Ganyu’s hand and delicately interlocked their fingers. The adviser’s hand was warm in contrast to the emissary’s cool touch.
“There we go.”
“Are you sure this is completely valid?”
“It’s valid,” Yanfei confidently claimed, settling her head on Ganyu’s shoulder.
The warmth of Yanfei’s body was like a spell. Instantly, Ganyu’s eyelids were feeling heavy again and she could feel her consciousness slowly slip as she leaned her head onto Yanfei’s. Before she could submit to her sleepiness, one thought remained clear in her mind. She squeezed the hand in hers.
“Yanfei?”
“Mhm?”
“T-that must’ve been your heartbeat I was hearing while I slept, right? Why was it so loud?”
There was a short silence. Ganyu could hear Yanfei’s breath hitch for a moment before she nestled further into the space between the emissary’s neck and shoulder.
“I...have the right to remain silent.”
Ganyu giggled softly, a sweet lullaby that went perfectly hand-in-hand with their conjoined heartbeats.