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What would a man that lives on a cold mountainous hell called Dragonspine want for the Windblume Festival? Akutagawa wonders as he absentmindedly pulls out a Cecilia.
And out with it comes a whopperflower and a fireball to the face.
“Akutagawa!” Rashomon cries, unfurling from her usual perch around his neck, shooting a fireball back at the whopperflower. The fire dissipates against red leaves. Akutagawa sighs and pulls out his sword in preparation for a long fight.
Ten minutes later, Akutagawa finished what should have been a two-minute fight, he falls to the ground, half in thought, half exhausted as a memory rushes through him.
“I’m a synthetic human. There’s no need to worry about me so.” Atsushi’s hand brushes against Akutagawa’s cheek, knocking off the thin layer of snow, “I do not feel cold. A simple avalanche would not have killed me.”
Akutagawa shivers. He does not know if it’s due to Atsushi’s words, or the imminent frostbite.
“It would have left me worrying for your safety. Don’t speak of yourself like you are just clay in someone’s hands. I would worry about you, skin and bones, or clay and air.” Akutagawa shivers once more, feeling a familiar feeling rising in his chest.
“You are in more danger than me.”
“At least I have my eyes on you.”
What does one give someone that values himself so little?
“What should I get him?” Atsushi asks the snowy mountain. The mountain, of course, does not reply. Nor does the pulsating tiger heart that Atsushi is staring at, but he had hope. Not much hope, of course. Byakko probably hates his existence, but Atsushi cannot help but long for his brother.
His childhood and creation, unlike the rest of his long life, is fuzzy, remembered only through the Headmaster’s teachers before he left for greater things. But he remembers Byakko’s fur, and his brother’s soft attention.
Atsushi knows that Byakko was killed to protect humanity, but the fact that his dear brother had been so corrupted…Atsushi sigh, resting his hand on the pulsating heart, before leaving the cave shaped like a tiger’s mouth.
“What should I get him?” Atsushi asks the flurry outside his lab. The flurry, of course, does not reply. Nor do any of the potions in his lab, even the ones made to increase thinking speed and intelligence. Whatever potion, whatever quick fix he tries, he always comes up short. There’s nothing that Atsushi could give him.
Except Gin. And a statue come to life of one’s missing sibling might strike the wrong chord. Atsushi’s made that mistake before.
Atsushi sighs as snowflakes rush into his throat, the snow extinguishing his fire. While humans would despair at, Atsushi can barely be bothered to get off his workbench. The cold cannot touch him, and never has. While the Knights may think his ability to live at Dragonspine comes from his clothing, no heat or cold has been able to penetrate Atsushi’s skin.
Except the heat that came when Akutagawa was around, a heat that burrowed right into his chest. Sparked first when Atsushi told Akutagawa he wasn’t human, but he kept on looking at Atsushi like he was. Very few things ruffled Akutagawa’s feathers, nothing had rattled Akutagawa more than Atsushi falling off that cliff.
The external injuries were minor, the internal irreversible.
Atsushi taps his chest, right where a human’s heart would be. His fingers brush against the spark in his chest, and from that, an idea is ignited.
“I suppose Atsushi would like something to help him with alchemy.” Rashomon floats around, directing Akutagawa to the stalls covered with materials and potions, “Or you could get him a coat. It’s cold up there in Dragonspine. Or get him a Flaming Flower Stamen lantern to keep him warm.” Akutagawa shakes his head to all Rashomon’s suggestions. His best friend wilts, but all she needs is a pat on her head to be right back to her normal self.
Akutagawa doesn’t want to get Atsushi related to the job he’s bound himself to. The Knights welcomed Atsushi with open arms, but Atsushi chose alchemy due to the circumstances of his birth. Akutagawa wanted to get Atsushi something for Atsushi, as a person, not Atsushi, the homunculus.
“Find me a flower stall.” Akutagawa tells Rashomon, who gives him an odd luck as she unfurls her wings, launching off his shoulder to search. With a quick cry, they’re off, with Akutagawa following her lead to a flower stall.
“Hello, welcome to Lang Jie’s Flowers and Flowery Apparel, may I help you two?”
“I want a flower crown, made out of these.” Akutagawa opens his bag, pouring the dozens of cecilias over the counter, “As soon as possible.”
“We have someone with a Dendro vision in the back, the job should only take a few minutes. Is there anything else you would like for the special someone?”
“Why do you assume that?”
“It’s Windblume time back in Mondstadt, isn’t it?” Lang Jie shrugs as someone takes the flowers to the back, “Most make their trips to Liyue a bit earlier for presents, but there’s still time to make it back home. Also, no one but Mondstadters get Cecilias. The travel time is too long.”
Akutagawa nods along.
“They must truly be special for you to go through all this trouble for them.” She says off-hand. Akutagawa’s face burns, but he cannot find it in himself to disagree.
“Atsushiiii!” The homunculus raises his head, catching the small dragon in his arms before Rashomon could slam into his chest and knock them over, “I found him Akutagawa!”
“I said, find him, not slam into him!” Akutagawa scrambles over a snowbank, “Sorry about her, Atsushi, she’s been excitable all day. I think she missed the sn ow —” Akutagawa trips mid-word, losing his footing and he begins to tumble.
Immediately, Atsushi drops Rashomon, reaching out for Akutagawa before he falls into the snow. Akutagawa falls into his arms like Atsushi was made to hold him.
“Thank you for catching me.” Akutagawa’s voice grows more muffled when Atsushi unconscious turns the hold into a hug, pulling Akutagawa closer to him, “But if you could be so kind and let me go?”
“Right, of course. My apologizes.” Atsushi cannot blush, his physical constitution does not allow it. Somehow, Akutagawa can see it, a light pink underneath chaky skin, “Could you also be so kind and stop touching my face so we can get out of the cold?”
“Oh, right.” Akutagawa pulls his hand away from Atsushi’s face, “Shall we move somewhere warmer?”
The three of them trek to Atsushi’s lab, cloistered away into the sheer mountain face.
“I arranged a fire ahead of time in preparation for your arrival. I hope that it keeps you warm. Please tell me if it doesn’t, I have a few more remedies for the lack of heat around.” Atsushi’s kind smile is blinding, bringing warmth to Akutagawa’s cheeks.
“I’m sure that your remedies are wonderful, but I do not plan to stay for long. Venti says that he has more information for me before my trip to Sumeru, which shall start as immediately as possible. I have come for something simple; to give you my Windblume gift.”
“I’m glad. I got you a gift as well.” Atsushi takes a step forward, right into Akutagawa’s personal space. Akutagawa doesn’t dare think about stepping back.
“I got Atsushi one as well!” Rashomon squawks, breaking the tension between them, “I got you some slime condensate composite! From Xiangling!”
“When did you get that?” Akutagawa questions as Rashomon rustles through his bag, bringing out the…squirming light green mass wrapped in hardened slime condensate, “ Why did you get that?”
“Xiangling said it was a new dish. And Xiangling’s food is always amazing!” Akutagawa stares at the snack and has to disagree.
“Throw it into a snowbank the very first chance you get.” Akutagawa mutters into Atsushi’s ear, “Do not even think of putting that thing in your mouth.”
“Akutagawa!”
“Rashomon, I’m sure it’s fine.” Akutagawa shoots Atsushi a look of I’m very sure it’s not as he takes the treat, laughing as he does so, “I will give Xiangling my review myself.”
“Oh, so you’re finally going to leave this cold hell?” Atsushi chuckles.
“I have to leave sometime. I’ve heard much about Liyue’s alchemy. Also, I’ve heard stories of a master of history. I believe it would be in my best interest to learn everything I can about alchemy’s development.”
Zhongli? Good luck with that…
“Don’t offer to go anywhere without making sure he has mora first.”
“Huh?”
“Akutagawa! I’m cold!” Rashomon shivers, using small fireballs to warm her feet, “I’ll meet you at the adventurer’s camp!” Before Akutagawa can say another word, his dragon has launched himself out of the alcove, right off the edge of a cliff.
“Should we try and catch her?”
“She’ll be fine. If she gets trapped in a pile of snow again, she has herself to blame.” Akutagawa turns back around, just to notice that Atsushi is very close to him. If Atsushi were born human, he’d be able to feel Atsushi’s breath against his face.
“You said you had a gift?” Atsushi prompts. Akutagawa steers his train of thought back on track.
“Yes, I did.” Akutagawa reaches back into his satchel, pulling out the crown of cecilias, “I didn’t make the crown, but I did pick all the flowers myself.”
“Why cecilias?” Atsushi asks, taking the flowers, holding them so delicately Akutagawa wondered if Atsushi expected them to shatter.
“I don’t know if things will be the same this year, but they were windblumes last year. A symbol of freedom. I wanted to get you something that didn’t remind you of your job, or how you were made. So instead, I got you something freeing and beautiful.”
Akutagawa takes the flower from Atsushi, placing on his hair. They were a few shades lighter than his hair. When Akutagawa steps back, it feels like all the air has been knocked out of his lungs. Atsushi looks ethereal, inhumane and beautiful.
“Your staring is starting to make me uncomfortable.” Atsushi says, rubbing his arm. Akutagawa forces himself to tear his eyes away.
“Apologies. You look very good with the crown—please excuse any and all weird comments from me, there is something off with me today. You said that you had a gift for me as well?”
“I feel like I didn’t put as much thought into it as you obviously did, but I feel as if this gift will be something useful.” Atsushi takes a mirror from a shelf, handing it to Akutagawa.
It was small, easily fitting in his palm. It looked quite plain at first glance, with a golden edge, but upon closer inspection, Akutagawa sees that the engraving is made of a vast collection of materials, gold the most abundant.
“Admittedly, it’s not my own idea. But it will useful. When you say someone’s name, they will hear a small alarm in their head. I heard about your experience in Inazuma facing against the Raiden Shogun, and something like this would have been very helpful to keep the Tsaritza from getting her vision as well.
“And…I could make another mirror for myself. If you just wanted to talk. That would be nice—but not at all necessary or useful!”
Atsushi keeps on talking about some thing or other until Akutagawa grabs his face with both hands.
“I love it. Can I kiss you?”
Akutagawa sees the moment Atsushi’s mind stutters and fails him.
Atsushi nods.
“Good.”
Akutagawa presses their lips together. After a moment, Atsushi leans into their kiss.
They part after a moment, Akuatawa red faced and flushing. Atsushi is not, of course, but his eyes keep darting down to Akutagawa’s lips.
“I must take my leave for Sumeru. But I will return as soon as possible.” Akutagawa waves, and then he is gone.
Atsushi bursts with the thrill of kissing him as well as the despair of knowing that between Teyvat and Gin, Akutagawa would choose Gin every time.