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The ancient, enigmatic, pearlescent caverns that she’d been so keen on visiting were aptly named in Nova’s opinion. Starglow Cavern…it followed the naming conventions of some of the other prominent landmarks of Mondstadt, including but not limited to notable sites like Starsnatch Cliff and Starfall Lake. It was an illustrious title, an elegant description for a striking locale that had Nova wishing she’d known about it sooner; even accounting for Dragonspine’s less than amicable weather patterns, she’d made up her mind that this wouldn’t be the last time she’d set foot in the painting come to life before her.
“You look a bit overwhelmed, are you feeling alright?” Zhongli asked as he brushed a few of her stardusted strands to the side and analyzed her face. Initially, he’d been intent on gauging her reaction as they arrived at the mouth of the cave. But now that he could properly make out the awestruck look in her eye, he hoped the expression stemmed from her excitement rather than anything disappointing or sinister.
Her mahogany eyes grew wide as she studied the breathtaking scene before her: an expansive, twisting network of rugged caves and vast caverns that’d been carved through the rock like veins of stone. The cavern interior seemed to capture both the solitude and the prestige of Dragonspine, the very root of the mountain’s essence, communicating said sentiments through the setting’s chilling silence and indifference. There was something about the air here, the atmosphere, that touched her heart and filled the young woman with…nostalgia, was it? That was interesting in an out of place sort of way, since Nova had never set foot here before now.
“Yes, I’m alright,” she replied as she finally processed his question. “Sorry to worry you, I just--”
Then the deja vu set in. A similar setting, a familiar feeling or sensation that distracted her from fully appreciating what she was meant to be focusing on in the present. Flashes of archaic ruins and tattered memories clouded her mind, and the young immortal turned Adeptus realized she’d visited a place like this before. Several places to be exact, although none were quite as cold or desolate as this one. If she revisited them now, maybe they would be…but that wasn’t a hunch she was particularly interested in verifying. She’d lost enough over the years, and despite knowing she’d eventually have to not only face but embrace the broken pieces of the life she’d left behind, she wasn’t sure she was ready to tackle such an intimidating task quite yet.
“It kind of feels like I’ve been here before…” Nova continued, boldly moving deeper into the cave. “Not here specifically, per say. There’s just something about this place that reminds me of something I’ve seen before. Or somethings.”
“I’m not surprised,” Zhongli chimed in with a firm confidence that would have made her believe anything he said, as long as he said it like that. He settled a hand on her lower back, no hesitance or backtracking this time, and the simple pressure of his palm pressing against her skin made her fur rise. “You have visited similar places in the past; we explored them together. Not all of them, of course. Even I can’t recount the details of every adventure you’ve had with others, outside of the bits and pieces that were shared with me over the years. But I can think of one or two places we’ve investigated before that happen to bear some or even many similarities to this place.”
“How does this one measure up so far?” she prodded with a nudge to his side. “I mean, first impressions and all that.”
Zhongli remained silent as he clasped his eyes behind his back and stepped forward, encouraging her to follow his lead with a slight tilt of the head. Nova trotted after him eagerly, extricating one of his hands and holding it as naturally as she breathed or blinked as they wandered towards the main cavern together. It felt good to hold hands like this again, walk side by side like this again, to just be together like this again. She had no way of knowing what his answer would be, if he was going to give her one at all. Perhaps he was more interested in teasing her with his ever infuriating patience and riddles, or perhaps he wanted to keep the truth of the matter to himself. Both of her guesses were wrong, which ended up working out in her favor, all things considered.
As the two approached the central cavern Nova’s attention was swiftly whisked away by the splendor of the setting. Plentiful formations of ice, crystal, and ore dotted the interior like sculpted decor, joined by isolated camps of hilichurls and the occasional snow fox or weasel hopping about in the powdery snow that blanketed most of the cave. While she was distracted by the scenery, Zhongli found himself preoccupied with a different subject. The Lord of Geo took his time examining her features, admiring the twinkling, impassioned look in her dark eyes as she surveyed the scene. After a moment, he came to the conclusion that there was no point in holding himself back.
Nova let out a yelp of surprise and mild panic as the impulsive man suddenly scooped her up into his arms--none of the other cave inhabitants seemed especially disturbed by the dramatic echo she produced. He twirled them around in a playful spin, lifting her by the waist as she balanced herself using his shoulders as leverage. The look of unrestrained, uncontained contentment and elation on his face almost made her want to cry. But she definitely didn’t want to ruin the mood, even if her tears would have been spilling forth from the wellspring of happiness in her heart. After a few more turns Zhongli set her down, but he didn’t give her much time to adapt as he abruptly cradled her face and leaned in for a kiss.
The way his lips molded to hers was so satisfying, so enchanting, so intoxicating. Nova missed these lips, this face, these hands. She missed this touch, this man that protected her and cherished her and loved her, poured his heart out for her, and for whom she would have given anything and everything; he need only ask. She’d never really had the chance to truly miss him as a result of him being the source of her cure in the first place. She’d been out of the loop, living in blissful ignorance while he suffered for hundreds of years in isolated abandonment. He wasn’t completely alone, but the hole she’d left in his heart was large and deep enough that even Zhongli had no way of overcoming it.
“This place is beautiful,” he murmured against her lips, and her heart fluttered at his words, his tone. Maybe spending time alone with him like this really was more dangerous than she’d thought. He didn’t allow her much time to dwell on it as he kissed her again, somehow more heartfelt, and unfathomably tender despite the distracting impulse she could sense he was barely suppressing just beneath the surface. His lips trailed to her forehead and he left a few kisses there before continuing, “It’s truly remarkable. I’m honored that I could be the one to accompany you on your first visit. But I have to say…”
He leaned back enough for her to glimpse his face, although the flushed nature of both their expressions made them slightly regret having done so. But Zhongli wasn’t going to be deterred. He ran his fingers through the loose, fluffy strands of her starlit locks, admiring the contrast of her cosmic visage against the backdrop of the sparkling snow. She couldn’t necessarily see what he was doing, but the comforting sensation of his hand playing with her hair certainly wasn’t anything to complain about.
“For a cavern bearing such an extravagant title, I must confess that there is no starlight I’ve ever laid eyes on that has proven lovelier than yours. Not even in your absence. I cannot express the true depths of my gratitude and relief in being granted the gift of gazing upon such radiance and splendor once more.”
His words of overwhelming praise only fanned the flames simmering beneath her scarlet features, but as much as she wanted to hide her face, Nova resisted. She didn’t want to shy away anymore, didn’t want to deprive herself of his equally grand, enthralling presence that she was likewise welcome to indulge in whenever and however she liked. Caught up in the tangle of her own musings, what Zhongli did next startled her almost as much as the unexpected twirl and onslaught of heady kisses, gestures she’d originally assumed to be the extent of his mischief.
She felt the unmistakable pressure of his hand cupping one of her ears, rubbing from the edge to the tip in slow, methodical movements. It didn’t take long for a complementary purr to start rumbling in her throat, betraying her feelings whether she wanted to or not. She shouldn’t have been embarrassed, considering it was just the two of them, but the involuntary reaction of her glittery, inky fur fluffing up combined with that innate sound she produced always made her self-conscious.
The worst part was that she couldn’t control any of it, she had no way of deterring or stopping the actions, but she didn’t need to.
Zhongli would have been lying if he said he didn’t find every aspect of her to be positively adorable, even the things she interpreted in a negative light. He hadn’t done anything to purposefully elicit a nervous response from her…it was just going to take some time for them to reacquaint themselves with exchanges of this nature. Zhongli couldn’t help hoping her adjustment would progress sooner rather than later, for both their sakes.
“While this place is undeniably quite the spectacle to behold, I hope you know there is no spectacle more worthy of me offering my appreciation and attention than--”
Nova cut him off with a kiss this time. She had to yank him down to her level, but it was worth it to avoid any more of his increasingly affectionate rambling. She didn’t know how much more she could take, and that was alright…he could always convey such emotions and sentiments in short bursts, working his way back up to the carefree, doting aura they used to give off like a fog or mist of fondness. A faint smile graced his lips as he pressed kisses to her forehead and between her ears once more, giving her other ear a light pet as she watched his movements with unusual intensity.
“You’re just as wonderful, you know?” she admitted, grabbing his hands and leaving soft kisses on the back that compounded the ruddiness in his cheeks. “Thank you for coming here with me, for spending time with me, for being patient with me. Thank you for being here for me, Zhongli, because--”
Her words trailed off as he pulled her close in an unwavering, unbreakable embrace. “You don’t need to thank me for anything. Just being here is more than enough. Sometimes, it still doesn’t feel real…”
The young woman felt the distinct sting of tears prickle in the corners of her eyes as she pushed back just enough to see his face, cradling it as she ran her thumb over his cheek. “It is real. I promise. I’m real, and so are you. And I don’t plan on going anywhere again any time soon…unless it’s with you. Maybe you can consider this little expedition of ours like some form of evidence? Because we’re not technically in Liyue anymore, and I’m still here, still standing right in front of you…”
She dropped her hand the moment she noticed the dark, unambiguously determined expression in his eyes. It wasn’t necessarily something she wanted to confirm out loud; she wasn’t ready for that. He moved in instead, dipping down so she could feel him utter his next words against her lips: “I suppose you have a point. But I believe there are more fitting alternatives for proving said point. Would you like me to show you?”