Work Text:
You are stupid . Yanfei internally judged Hu Tao. Since knowing her, she only knew of the brunette’s mischief and pranks, never a foolish action.
Not even joking. Maybe since the birth of time, this was the first time she see such a stupid act. Honestly, who even goes to Dragonspine alone without bringing supporting equipment?
Seeing Hu Tao lying on the blanket like a pile of black clothes struggling to breathe, Yanfei could do nothing but sigh.
She decided to not add any more firewood into the flickering flame. The cave was snowy, deep and wet so she could not find any dry material.
While busy taking care of the fire, she heard Hu Tao asking. “Hey Feifei, have you ever been to Dragonspine before?”
“Yes, I have, but none of the time I was so careless as you were.”
After being silent for a moment, she continued. “Why have you not told the border guard so they give you some equipment? You could have died, you know?”
Hu Tao gave a heehee laugh. “I was so worried for you that I forgot.”
“Sigh, it’s just doing a bit of terrain investigation with the Knights of Favonius and the Millelith, not going to war.”
“Oh yea, but the moment I found you was when you were stuck in this cave.” Hu Tao said sarcastically.
Yanfei did not roll with the brunette. She was normally a witty and talkative person, but before Hu Tao, all of her wisdoms are out of the window. The girl was just too much for her brain.
“Let’s not go on with that. The meal is done, sit up and eat.”
Hu Tao did not even sit up. She instead simply laid on spot and pointed a finger into her opening mouth.
Seeing that, Yanfei raised her spoon to threaten her girlfriend. “Will you sit or not?”
Hu Tao kept on being sulky. ”My leg hurts. I can’t sit up!”
She said that while pointing at her cloth-covered shank. It was obvious to Yanfei that the little devil was just tripped over a bit. The injury was not serious to the point that she could not sit up.
Ugh, it was so bloodseething to see Hu Tao just lying there and whining. “Lift me up, Feifei~”
But that hit Yanfei’s conscience really hard. Loving Hu Tao, she only felt relief when seeing her healthy, so she gave a hand to help the brunette sit up.
Yanfei ladled a small bowl of rice congee and blew for it to cool down, then gave it to Hu Tao.
“You can eat first, I’m not hungry yet.”
The brunette received the bowl from the pink-haired girl, but chose to not dig in right away and instead just sit there and looked like she was contemplating something.
“What’s the matter?” Yanfei asked.
Hu Tao only smiled and scooped a spoonful of congee. “Come here so I can feed you.”
Yanfei knew immediately what the little devil was going to do, but exposing it from the start was not fun, so she decided to take on the challenge.
And she was correct, this girl did the thing again. Hu Tao took advantage of the moment Yanfei leaned in and pulled the spoon away to get her lips to touch Yanfei’s.
You are too green at this . Yanfei thought.
And as the opportunity arrived, she held Hu Tao’s nape to keep the brunette from pulling her face away. There was no way she would let such an opportunity pass.
When Yanfei backed out, the other girl still looked surprised because she got played back in her own game. Hu Tao just smiled foolishly. So adorkable.
Seeing Hu Tao sitting there ecstatically, Yanfei growled. “Eat now, or the congee will get cold.”
The brunette was startled, but she dug in anyway.
“Is it good?” Yanfei asked.
Hu Tao only nodded, because the congee was already full in her mouth.
“As good as Xiangling’s cooking?”
This time, she swallowed before saying.”Without a doubt.”
“Liar!”
“I’m not lying!” Hu Tao lengthened her words. “Not to the point of world-top cuisines, but it has the spice of love in it.”
God has mercy, her voice was so sweet and the way she said it was enough to fire up the heart. Yanfei’s cheeks turned a ripe tomato color. She knocked the brunette’s forehead. ”All you know are poetic things.”
Even though she said that, she felt really happy. The healthier Hu Tao is, the happier she is.
---
The sky grew so dark that it could be felt even in the deep cave. The fire flickered in Yanfei’s emerald eyes. The two sat next to each other, back against the cave wall and only shared one blanket.
“I wonder if the Knights and the Millelith have realized that I am missing.” Yanfei voiced her worry.
“I don’t know. But what matters now is that we are with each other.” Hu Tao giggled.
“Feifei, do you wanna listen to this tale?”
“What tale?”
“The tale of an ancient funeral.”
“What the, we are stuck in a cave and you suddenly want to talk about burial?”
“You have never once been disappointed listening to my funeral stories.”
“... You’re right.”
“Let me start…. Once upon a time, there was a tribe that lived in the mountains between today’s Sumeru and Liyue. They worshipped the large birds of the highlands, calling them the “angels”, or more poetic, the “harbingers of death”. When a person from the tribe died, they would place their body on a high tower. The monks would then start praying. This is called “the Cleansing”, which involved the “angels”, who would come and eat the dead body. It is considered to be freeing the dead from their dusty mortal body so that they reach heaven in peace. The dead’s bones would then be cleaned and put in a pot, which would be placed inside the house of the family of the dead. They believed that the whiteness of the bones symbolizes purity and would protect the family from disease.”
After Hu Tao stopped, both girls went silent.
Yanfei only broke the silence after a long while. “Why did you tell me this?”
“I just wanna say, I can be your bone!”
With that said, Hu Tao reached one arm out around Yanfei’s waist. Her head also rested on Yanfei’s shoulder.
Yanfei just chuckled. “You scared me with that story just for a reason to hug me?”
“You feel so warm.” Hu Tao whimpered.
“If you want to hug, then why did you need to tell the whole tale?”
“I like it.” The brunette replied curtly.
Yanfei didn’t know what to say, so she just placed a gentle kiss on Hu Tao’s soft hair. The scent of plum blossoms made her sleepy.
“Good night, sweet dreams, darling.”
“Night...”
---
“Hey, girls, sound sleep huh?” A female voice called. “Leaving me in fear trying to find you guys, while you are sitting here having an intimate moment. What a cause for vengeance!”
Yanfei frowned and opened her eyes when realization hit. Meanwhile, Hu Tao was still resting on her shoulder, her mouth filled with Yanfei’s pink hair.
She quietly called the plum head. “It’s morning, Tao, wake up.”
Hu Tao opened her eyes.
When Yanfei recognized the voice, she gave a sigh of relief. They are saved.
---
Sitting still in the tent, Yanfei’s mind was at peace. She was fine, Taotao was still alright. Thanks to Outrider Amber and Eula helping them out of the cave, their fate did not end there.
Afar in the horizon, the dawn was rising, its beams pierced horizontally through her eyesight. Yanfei looked around, seeing the strange blonde guy doing some experiments with a test tube, while Eula joked something about “revenge” with Amber, possibly involving the two Liyuean girls.
The warm milk glass Eula made for the couple was like a reward for successfully escaping death. And as awesome as the milk was, Yanfei did not forget to remind Hu Tao.
“Be more careful next time!”
“Whatever may things turn out...” The brunette replied. “I cannot give you up. After all, I am your bones, you cannot walk without me.”
With that said, she kissed Yanfei’s cheek.
They both giggled at the silly joke.