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“Keqing?” Ganyu’s voice was high pitched, worried.
“Hi... Ganyu”. Keqing answered in the other end.
Ganyu pressed her phone tight to her ear, for Keqing’s voice was low, almost just a whisper. She could barely hear it.
“Are you okay? You didn’t show up at school today, and I was so worried, because you always show up!” Ganyu cried out, clenching her teeth.
“I’m... fine. Don’t worry. Just... caught a... flu. That’s all...” Keqing spoke slowly, voice lacking her normal enthusiasm, and she paused between the words, as if she could scarcely utter them.
“Are you home? In bed? Please say you’re resting! Do you have everything you need? I’m always here y’know and -” Ganyu shut her mouth. She spoke too fast, poor Keqing probably didn’t get anything she said.
But the other girl did catch everything Ganyu said, and she smiled by herself. It went a moment, before she replied: “In fact, I am laying... in bed”. Keqing cleared her throat, and searched for energy to utter the words. “I’m so worried I’m missing out... on something. Ganyu, could you... please come over to my place with... today’s homework?”. She went silent, but then added: “I know you have it”.
Ganyu rolled her eyes. Even being in such a miserable state, she still wanted to do her homework!? But then she thought, actually, who am I to criticize her? Ganyu would’ve asked for the same if she were sick. Oh, they were such teacher’s pets.
“Keqing...” Ganyu said, lowering her voice, as if to say ‘don’t you dare do anything but rest, bestie’.
“Don’t ‘Keqing’ me!” the sick girl yelled, but that was too much for her, and she started coughing.
Ganyu were immediately filled with worry again, a knot forming in her stomach.
“Please, just rest. For my sake, ok?” she begged. “Pray to the Archons you’ll get better soon”.
“Thanks... but to put my mind at ease, could you at least bring me my homework? Ganyu, I know you brought an extra copy for me. You knew I would ask, and you can’t reject my request”.
“Don’t threaten me”.
“I’m not... threatening you”. Keqing seemed to have lost every bit of energy she had to begin with. “Fine. You’re my... best friend. I know you care a lot about my well-being, but seriously... wouldn’t you, in my position, be the exact same?” she pointed out, and Ganyu could picture the smile that formed on the other girls lips at that moment.
“Who am I to deny that?” she sighed, and continued: “I’m coming over, then. Be safe, see you soon”. Ganyu rubbed her eyes, suddenly exhausted.
“Thanks, Ganyu. You’re amazing. I love you”.
Ganyu was caught a little off guard by Keqing’s “I love you”. In the other end, she could hear the girl quickly inhale, and then hold her breath. Why was she embarrassed? Keqing always hold her breath when being flustered or, embarrassed. Ganyu shook her head. She must be overthinking things. But still, she couldn’t stop her cheeks from turning into a faint shade of pink.
“Ah...” Keqing finally exhaled, and stammered: “W-what I mean is... that you’re very thoughtful”.
“Am I?” Ganyu questioned and ended the call. She really didn’t want to continue this conversation. A yawn escaped her lips.
She putted the phone in her bag, and searched for her newly bought mint-flavored lozenges. They were easily found, and she opened the small box, fishing out one, putting it in her mouth.
The fresh flavor filled her, driving the sleepiness away, and she straightened up. Ganyu felt refreshed as she sucked on the lozenge.
She wasn’t far from Keqing’s home, and as a natural fast-walker, she would quickly get there.
When she arrived, the awkward comment Keqing had left her with, would be forgotten. Or, so Ganyu hoped.
____
Argh! Why, why did she say that? Keqing hid her face in her hands. Sitting up, pillows in her back, a book in her lap and her phone on the bedside table, she blushed by herself, feeling her burning cheeks against her palms.
Why do I even crush on my best friend? she continued to ask herself. This is stupid.
It hurt how Ganyu had just ended the call, without anything more than two words, “Am I?”
Yes, you are, Keqing had replied, before realizing that Ganyu were gone.
She looked up, suddenly realizing how terrible she must look. Her purple hair is a total mess, she has no makeup on, she’s wearing... well, not the most flattering clothes. They’re cozy, but baggy.
Ever since she developed that stupid crush on Ganyu, she haven’t dared show her herself like now, messy and... imperfect. She’s always been wearing makeup, had her hair perfectly styled in two high ponytails, and her outfit would be carefully thought through.
Keqing panicked. Ganyu was on her way, and she looked like this!
She tried to get up, but failed. Immediately, a painful headache hit her, that made her fall onto the bed again. She felt miserable as she went back to sit curled up under the duvet with lots of pillows supporting her.
Keqing grabbed hold of her book, and tried reading. But she just couldn’t focus on the story, it didn’t matter how hard she tried.
It was selfish, she knew, but after all, she just wanted Ganyu to think of her as pretty.
Certainly, she wouldn’t when Keqing looked like this.
She inhaled, held her breath for a short moment, before exhaling. It’s okay, she assured herself, and finally, she believed it.
It was bad to think of oneself as ugly, or in general anything negative. It made you depressed. Ganyu used to say that...
Ganyu’s just here to drop off my homework, that’s all. It’s no big deal, and she knows you’re sick. She won’t even stay long!
Keqing laid down the book and placed it on the bedside table. She wouldn’t manage to read anyway. She thought of how she had insisted to Ganyu that she had to get the homework done.
Actually, she didn’t care as much about the homework as she cared about being able to see Ganyu. It kind of was an excuse to get her over.
But Keqing knew the other girl, and she would come visit sooner or later anyway. She was a naturally caring person. But when they talked over the phone, Keqing just had the sudden strong urge to see her friend.
With her mind at ease, Keqing closed her eyes. The headache was just a faint thump-thump in the back of her head, almost gone.
Without realizing it, she fell asleep.
_____
Ganyu rang the doorbell, and waited. She nervously fiddled with her bracelet.
A minute passed by. Why wasn’t Keqing letting her in? She rang the doorbell again, and again.
On the fifth try, Ganyu started getting worried. The knot in her stomach appeared again. Maybe something had happened to Keqing. Maybe... maybe she passed out!?
Stay calm, she told herself. People doesn’t just pass out, even if they’re sick... right?
She fished her phone out of her bag, and called Keqing. She didn’t answer. Ganyu bit her lip.
After a moment, she sent Keqing a text, saying that she had arrived. She hesitated, but then rang the doorbell as she called the other girl again.
Finally, someone answered the call. Relieved, Ganyu let out a little laugh.
A groggy voice mumbled something. She immediately recognized it as Keqing’s, even if it was faint.
“Keqing! Were you sleeping? I’m outdoors, could you let me in?” Ganyu asked the other girl.
Keqing coughed.
“I’m so sorry... I fell asleep, yeah. Letting you in now...”
Ganyu heard some noise in the other end as Keqing got up, followed with an “Ouch!”
“Are you okay?” the blue-haired girl asked worried.
“I’m fine”, Keqing replied. “I just crashed with the door”. No one said anything. “I forgot to open it. Ah, I’m so dizzy...”
Ganyu couldn’t help but laugh. Keqing crashing in the door? That’s a new one.
“It’s not funny!” Keqing cried out, but she wasn’t really serious. A moment later, she too chuckled.
“There”, she said, “now’s the door open”.
“Thanks!” Ganyu smiled and went in. Keqing ended the call, while Ganyu ran up the stairs. The other girls apartment’s door was open, so she just went straight in.
“Hello?” she called out, and a faint voice answered from the bedroom.
Ganyu took off her shoes, and left her jacket and bag on a peg in the hallway. On her right side, the door leading to the bathroom was, straight forward the living room and kitchen, and on the left a bedroom. She went right into the girl’s bedroom.
Keqing was in her bed, curled up under a fluffy duvet with pillows in her back. Her hair was a total mess, but still, she managed to make it look really soft and her usual wavy curls were still there, just... wilder.
Ganyu could only see the girl’s sweater, which was in a dark shade of purple, and super oversized.
Keqing looked up from under her bangs, two magenta-colored eyes meeting Ganyu’s indigo.
“Hi...” Ganyu said, sending the sick girl a smile.
“Hi”. Keqing tilted her head slightly to the side, and she added: “Thanks for coming”.
Suddenly, the other girl started coughing, and Ganyu rushed over to her.
“Ah... no! Don’t come near me... maybe it’s contagious-”
But Ganyu didn’t care, she frowned, concerned.
“I’m...” Another cough. “Fine”. Keqing pushed her away. She really didn’t want to infect Ganyu with this flu.
“Clearly, you’re not!” Ganyu replied, but she didn’t move closer to the coughing girl again.
Happily, Keqing stopped coughing moments later, her cheeks now reddening. She looked away, hiding her face from the girl standing by her bedside.
“You okay?” Ganyu asked worryingly.
“Yeah”, she nodded.
An awkward silence filled the room as both went silent. Ganyu thought of something to say to break the silence, but Keqing was first.
“So, uh... did you bring my homework?” she asked and turned Ganyu’s way, though she still didn’t meet her gaze.
“Oh!” The girl nodded, continuing with a “Yes, I did!”
Ganyu left the room, but were soon back with a folder containing some sheets of paper.
“Here”, she said and handed Keqing it.
“Thank you”. She opened the folder and went through the three sheets in there. It wasn’t anything hard, just questions regarding Liyue’s history. Keqing knew all the answers already.
Ganyu cleared her throat. “Do you... need anything?” Now, when she’d given Keqing the homework, she were supposed to go. But suddenly, she didn’t want to. The sick girl in the bed looked so miserable, she just wanted to lighten her mood a little.
“Oh, you don’t have to bother”, Keqing replied with a fatigue smile. She put the folder on the bedside table.
“Please, let me at least be a good friend and help you out”, the blue-haired girl begged.
“Okay, then”. Keqing didn’t have the energy to argue.
“I’ll make you some tea”. Ganyu sent her a soft smile, before she left the bedroom. “It’s good for your coughing!” she added as she disappeared through the doorway. Her long, blue waves of hair was the last Keqing saw as the girl went to make tea.
_____
Ganyu was quite familiar with Keqing’s apartment, as her friend she had been over a lot.
She put water in a bowl and boiled it, before pouring it into two big teacups. Afterwards, she added tea powder and a bit of sugar.
Ganyu closed her eyes, now just waiting for the water to catch color, and when it did, she would give Keqing one of the cups. Ganyu felt sleepy, in need of a lozenge.
Suddenly, she felt someone staring at her. But she didn’t open her eyes, neither move. The person in the doorway stood frozen, watching Ganyu.
“The tea’s ready pretty soon”, she told the girl as she opened her eyes.
Keqing nodded. “Thank you, Ganyu”, she smiled, moving away from the doorway to stand beside her.
“No problem”.
For a moment, they just stood there, so close that their shoulders almost touched. Slowly, the water in their teacups darkened, and Ganyu took the cups and placed them on the dining table. She sat down.
Keqing came over and sat down on the chair across the small table. They both sipped on the tea in silence for a while.
“Are you feeling any better?” Ganyu asked.
“Honestly? No. But I appreciate your company”, Keqing replied, a faint blush forming on her cheeks.
“Likewise”, Ganyu nods back, not noticing the other girl’s blush.
Keqing seemed to have gained some energy, though her face were still pale and she didn’t look too good. Ganyu eyed her across the table, her hands tightening around the teacup.
She’s pretty, the girl suddenly thought.
Ganyu’s face reddened, and she quickly sipped on the tea, hiding behind the cup.
“So... it’s Saturday tomorrow... do you perhaps... wanna hang out?” Keqing asked, but it was more of a mumble. Why did she suddenly feel so shy?
Ganyu didn’t set down her cup, still hiding behind it. She thought about Keqing’s request.
“Sure. But if you’re not better, I’m coming over to your place instead, ok?”
“That’s fine with me”. Keqing smiled. As long as she could spend time with Ganyu, she was happy.
The blue-haired girl sat down her teacup, and returned the smile.
_____
They drank up the last of their tea while chatting about nothing and everything at the same time.
After a while, Keqing started getting sleepy again. She blinked, and her eyelids felt heavy. She rubbed her eyes, blinking again.
“You’re tired”, Ganyu stated.
“I’m not...” Keqing protested.
“You are, no need denying it”. Ganyu stood up, and almost dragged the purple-haired girl back to her bedroom, fixing the pillows so she could lay down. Keqing fell onto the bed, and closed her eyes.
“You’ve got a fever”, Ganyu worriedly said, feeling Keqing’s burning forehead under her palm.
“Wait a second”.
She hurried backed to the kitchen, and fixed a wet towel to place on the sick girl’s forehead.
Keqing was unconscious when she came back.
So fast she got worse, Ganyu thought, the knot in her stomach appearing again. She laid the towel on Keqing’s forehead.
Ganyu sat down on the edge of the bed, and spread the duvet over the uneasy girl.
Keqing were sweating, clearly having a bad fever. She shouldn’t have stood up, Ganyu thought, frowning.
Suddenly, Keqing found her hand and grabbed it. At first, the other girl were a little startled, but she soon relaxed. Her cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t care. Keqing couldn’t see it anyway.
Even when the purple-haired girl were having a flu and sweated, Ganyu thought she was the prettiest person she’d ever seen.
What?
Ganyu’s already pink face turned bright red. Embarrassed, she waved the thought away. In that moment, Keqing started mumbling something.
“Gan...” The girl hissed in a breath. “Yu!”
Ganyu almost fell off the bed when Keqing screamed the last part of her name. She wondered why the sick girl yelled her name in her sleep.
“Listen...” Keqing continued, her voice faint.
“I...”
Ganyu leaned forward, curious.
“I...” the girl repeated, as if she was hesitating to say the next word.
“...you”.
Ganyu sighed, annoyed that some of Keqing’s words had been inaudible. She only caught the last word, which was ‘you’.
What did she say in between ‘I’ and ‘you’?
“Please...”
The blue-haired girl’s attention was on Keqing again as she continued her mumbling.
“Don’t reject...”
Ganyu was utterly confused. Please don’t reject what?
“Me”. Her voice cracked when she said ‘me’. A sob escaped Keqing’s lips, two tears running down her cheek. The awake girl wiped them away with her index finger and squeezed Keqing’s slack hand in her’s.
Ganyu sat her words together.
‘Ganyu, I... you. Please don’t reject me’.
What word was in between ‘I’ and ‘you’? Ganyu wondered.
_____
It was raining. Heavy raindrops fell from the sky and hit Keqing as she ran towards the shadow of... someone she didn’t recognize, but still who was strangely familiar. She got soaked, but didn’t care.
She sprinted, calling out for the person to wait.
“Wait for me! Please...” she huffed. “Please wait!”
Her voice was swallowed up by the darkness that threatened to darken every inch of the path Keqing followed.
Suddenly, a faint light shone through the dark skies and hit the figure.
“Gan...” She inhaled fast, ready to scream the last part of her name. “Yu!”
The figure turned around and stopped walking away. Ganyu’s beautiful indigo eyes met Keqing’s.
She caught up with the girl. As she stood in front of Ganyu, Keqing felt a sudden confidence hit her and fill her body.
“Listen”, she said. A smile formed on her lips.
Ganyu tilted her head slightly. The rain continued to pour down, soaking Keqing, while Ganyu were unaffected by the weather, being dry from top to bottom.
“I...” the purple-haired girl stepped forward, extending a hand towards Ganyu, intending to grab her’s. When she were about to grab it, the blue-haired girl took a step backwards. Keqing quickly withdrew her hand, not wanting to scare Ganyu away.
“I...” she repeated and looked down, not brave enough to meet Ganyus’ gaze.
“Like you”.
It was said. Keqing was finally brave enough to expose her feelings to the girl she loved.
Thunder bouldered over them. The soaked girl looked up, and met Ganyu’s eyes. Her smile quickly faded as she saw the look the girl gave her.
A look of disgust.
Keqing panicked. No, don’t reject me, Ganyu. Please don’t reject me.
“Please...” she started, a single tear escaping her eye, running down her cheek and mixed with the rain as it fell to the ground.
“Don’t reject...” she continued.
“Me”. Keqing’s voice cracked. She shut her mouth, but couldn’t stop a sob from making it’s way up her throat and out her mouth. Another tear mixed with the rain as it fell from the corner of her eye.
Don’t cry.
Don’t cry, please don’t cry.
Ganyu’s piercing gaze shattered her heart, cut through it like with the sharpest knife and broke it into a thousand pieces.
Keqing looked into the eyes of the other girl, and slowly, Ganyu started fading, along with the light that for moments ago shone through the dark skies and hit her perfect figure. Keqing’s sight became blurry, a pain in her chest appearing, making her fall to her knees on the wet ground.
A lightning struck the place Ganyu had stood just seconds ago, almost hitting Keqing.
She shut her eyes. How could Ganyu be so cruel? It hurt like nothing Keqing had experienced before.
Suddenly, the drumming of rain stopped.
She opened her eyes, and the sight that met her was not the long, dark road and black sky, but Ganyu’s sweet, worried face.
_____
“Keqing! You’re awake!” Ganyu smiled down at her, relieved.
“G-ganyu?” Keqing’s voice was shaking a little, and she looked at the blue-haired girl in disbelief, almost as if she didn’t believe Ganyu really was there.
“You slept for almost an hour”, the girl continued. “You scared me to death, too. How could you just pass out?”
“I-I don’t know... I’m sorry” Keqing replied, the terrible dream still circling in her mind.
“I think you’ve sweated out the whole flu, though. That’s good”.
Neither of them said anything. Ganyu thought about what Keqing mumbled in her sleep, and considered asking her about it. She felt brave, and said: “Keqing? You actually... talked in your sleep”.
The other girls’ face shifted from a relaxed expression to fear the second Ganyu mentioned that she talked in her sleep.
“I didn’t catch everything, but you shouted my name, and then you said ‘I... you. Please don’t reject me’. I didn’t get the word you mumbled between ‘I’ and ‘you’. Do you perhaps... remember what it was?”
If Ganyu hadn’t smiled like that, hadn’t given her that hopeful, sweet smile, Keqing would’ve never said what she said that day.
“Like”, she blurted.
“What?” Ganyu immediately asked, confused. But then she got it, at the same second Keqing’s hand shot up to her mouth, covering it.
Their eyes widened at the same time.
Oh dear Archons.
The two girls stared at each other, two burning red faces, only inches apart.
She would never get this chance again. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Keqing closed her eyes, and leaned forward.
Her lips met Ganyu’s.
_________
The two girls held hands as they sat under the blooming cherry blossom tree. The ground was covered in pink flower petals, making the scene look like it was taken right out of a fairytale.
The blue-haired girl leaned onto the other one, resting her head on her shoulder.
“It’s so pretty”, she whispered, and the purple-haired girl nodded, but not really watching the scenery. She peeked down, taking in the girl beside her.
“Nothing compared to you”, she smiled, and closed her eyes for a brief moment before she opened them again.
The girl with the indigo eyes lifted her head, and the two girls’ noses touched each other lightly.
She placed her hand on the other’s cheek, and captured her in a soft kiss. They closed their eyes. The breeze lightly took hold of their hair and let it play around their face.
Under the cherry tree blossom tree, two girls kissed, alone with the wind as their music.