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It was common knowledge for sailors that each one needed a landmark, a north star of some sort. For captain Beidou of the Crux fleet, it was the jade chamber. Ningguang knew that all too well when she had made up her mind to destroy the Jade Chamber. Out of everything, the money she spent, effort, blueprints, paperwork, furniture, gems, everything, the only thing that made Ningguang hesitate in her sacrifice was the thought of Beidou getting lost at sea without her north star. She knew for a fact that once Beidou set off to Liyue harbor once again after picking up some vagrants from Inazuma, she would look at the sky in search of the Jade chamber, only to find stars twinkling in its absence. Her face would scrunch up in confusion, her eyebrows would knit together in that way where Ningguang could run her thumb in between her eyebrows and smoothen the lines, her lips would turn downwards slightly, her head would tilt to the right in the tiniest way. Then in that split second of realization, her face would go blank, and then as the horror and fear finally sinks in she maintains her perfectly imperfect poker face, carefully blank in that unsettling way, her hands would sweat, she would be jittery, her temper would burn so much hotter and so much easier. She would become irrational, gnaw on her lip until it bleeds, hurry back to Liyue harbor as fast as possible. Ningguang knows that Beidou would never crash, no matter how irrational she may become. But just the mere thought of Beidou sinking under the waves never to be seen again, possibly even relieved, believing that Ningguang was gone was almost enough to keep her from sacrificing the Jade Chamber.
And yet she still does, for the greater good the rational side of her said calmly. The other, irrational part of her, the one that held a certain pirate so close to her heart whispered quietly, what happiness can the greater good ever bring me that can compare to that of Beidou. She tucked that irrational part of her securely behind her ribcage to be ignored until a certain ship with maroon sails inevitably scratched the decks of Liyue harbor.
It had to.
• • •
Now, Ningguang was well aware of the unsavory effects of smoking but this was the one moment she absolutely and irrevocably needed it. Standing on the docks, waiting for a ship that may never even come was absolute hell. Exhaling another puff of smoke, she looked up to see maroon red sails floating in the distance. She stood up straighter, taller, and began to walk towards the ship which had just docked (scratching against the decks again unsurprisingly) meeting Beidou in the middle. Poker faces plastered on poorly, Ningguang sighed in relief but passed it off as exasperation and recounted all of the fines, and paperwork Beidou will have to deal with for damaging public property. Beidou rolled her eyes and nodded attentively in return, relief softening the rigid lines of her shoulders.
"Let's head to my office to discuss your fines and your ah…affairs." They both knew that wasn't what they would be doing in there, it was bending the truth at best. Mostly, it was a ruse, a confirmation of sorts that Ninghuang had managed to hold the fort and do her work despite the loss of her Jade Chamber. Her pipe had long been snuffed out, all evidence of it's usage lost in the wind, or simply smothered by the scent of her perfume. And still, Beidou's eyes narrowed once they walked into Ningguang's temporary office.
"I thought you'd stopped that." She muttered, as she sat down in front of the desk.
"Relapses. They happen when one is stressed. You would know wouldn't you?" Ningguang said, pointedly raising an eyebrow. They both had problems regarding substances but they weren't so serious that they depended on them. It was simply a…crutch of sorts.
"Nah, I was too focused on heading back to the harbor to drink any type of liquor." She waved her hand in the air nonchalantly.
Ningguang hummed in response, twirling her pipe absentmindedly.
Beidou stood in front of her and reached out to hold both of her shoulders. "You're alive." She breathed, as if the fact had only just sunk in. "You're okay."
Ningguang reached out to place a hand on Beidou's cheek, swiping a thumb under her eye. "Of course I am, have you no trust in me, my captain?"
Beidou leaned into her touch, "Can you blame me?"
Ningguang thought of losing Beidou amongst the waves and shook her head slightly, "No. No, I suppose not."
Beidou's arms moved down, resting on her waist. "Indeed."
A beat of silence. And like how the waves crashed against each other when the Jade Chamber fell from it's rightful place in the sky, so did their lips. Beidou's lips were chapped, and dry, and bleeding but she was perfect. Beidou pushed against her until her back hit her desk, Ningguang was lifted easily and placed on top of the wooden surface, they were certainly rumpling important documents. Neither of them could care less, noth when their lips were moving against each other, a sense of urgency and relief in each push, communicating without speaking. "You're okay, you're alive, I was so worried, I love you." when they pulled apart for air, there was an audible click, as if they were two puzzle pieces forcefully torn apart from each other.
Beidou's hair was a mess and Ningguang's probably was too. She looked pretty that way, eye half-lidded, lips shiny and kiss swollen, hair a mess, hands gripping Ningguang's waist as if afraid that if she dared let go, Ningguang would disappear like a sweet dream.
For a while there was only silence, their breathing being the only sound in the room. And then Beidou leaned in and rested her forehead atop Ningguang's shoulder, who then proceeded to run a hand through her hair, humming an old Liyuean lullaby softly. There was still paperwork to do, fines to pay, but for now they will stay like this, so close together that one could not tell where Ningguang ended and Beidou began. In the quiet of the night, all that was left was peace and quiet.