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“Keqing!”
Ganyu nocks another arrow into her bow and takes aim. Her hands are shivering with anxiety and the fear of hitting Keqing. The purple-haired woman is currently exchanging blows with an Abyss Herald, their movements too fast for a normal person to see. Even for Ganyu, a half-qilin, it’s hard for her to keep up.
Her arrow aims at the Abyss Herald, then Keqing, and back at the Herald again. She can’t say for sure that she will not hit Keqing, so she decides, fuck it, and runs straight at the two. She has no plan, but the only thought in her mind right now is to protect Keqing.
Keqing senses a sudden motion beside her and turns to look, only to see Ganyu running at them. A sudden sense of panic makes itself known in her mind, and she yells, “Ganyu, no!”
But she doesn’t seem to hear.
The next thing Ganyu sees is Keqing jumping off the platform of the Jade Chamber, dragging the Abyss Herald along with her. Her heart drops (and so does Keqing).
“Keqing!”
Ganyu rushes to the edge of the platform, the terror clawing its way up her chest. Keqing is nowhere to be seen, but the Herald is still dropping into the depths below.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a purple flash of light and suddenly Keqing is right in front of her eyes again, kneeling down with her sword as support.
“Hey,” she grins cheekily, panting for air at the same time.
Ganyu stares at her with disbelief and utter shock. Her heart is still pounding against her chest, and in those few seconds where Keqing was falling, she had just gone through a series of so many emotions Ganyu couldn't even begin to explain how utterly terrified she was, and yet this woman still had the audacity to say a simple “Hey,” to her? Right after the most important person in her life had just thrown herself off a platform and into the depths below?
Keqing’s eyes widen and she disappears from view again. Ganyu hears a sword being plunged into flesh and she turns around. A hilichurl had sneaked behind Ganyu and she didn’t even know.
Keqing pulls the sword out and the hilichurl disintegrates into ashes. “You should be more careful of your surroundings, Ganyu. I don’t want anything happening to you,” she says.
What about when you threw yourself off the platform just now? How is that considered careful? Ganyu wants to ask, but the words don’t come out of her mouth.
“I think that was the last of them! Good job, Purple!” a voice yells from afar.
“Don’t call me that, Beidou,” Keqing says with an obvious irritability in her voice.
Beidou is unmoved by the coldness and laughs heartily.
“Keqing.”
Keqing turns around to address her girlfriend, “You’ve been calling my name a lot, ha-”
She’s cut off by a flash of movement and she feels a stinging pain in her cheek. Ganyu just slapped her. She places a hand on her cheek, speechless at Ganyu’s sudden behaviour. There’s a furious look on Ganyu’s face, and Keqing can’t think for the life of her of what she did wrong.
When she finally manages to stutter some words out, Ganyu had already turned on her heels and stormed off. She stays rooted to the ground, hand still on her cheek, trying to process what had just happened.
Beidou walks over cautiously with Ningguang by her side. “Woah, Purple, did you do something? I’ve never seen Ganyu slap anyone. ”
“I must agree. She’s always been very conscious of hurting others. I wonder what’s come to her today,” Ningguang observes.
“I don’t know either,” Keqing mutters, racking her brain for things that she might’ve done wrong. She sighs when she comes up with nothing. “I’ll get going now. I’ll head home after a visit to Bubu Pharmacy, and hopefully Ganyu will talk to me.”
“Good luck, Keqing.”
Beidou nods in approval.
--//--
Keqing reaches back to their shared home and inserts the key into the lock. She twists it and opens the door, and the darkness catches her by surprise. Shouldn’t Ganyu be home already?
She steps into the house silently, closing the door behind her in the same manner. She knows it’s unlikely that there might be invaders in her house, but one could never be too careful. She strains her ears, and instead of hearing the expected rummaging of drawers, she hears soft sniffles and sobs coming from the room furthest down the corridor. It’s their bedroom. Her heart sinks at the possibility.
She approaches the room carefully, despite already knowing that there was no danger.
When she steps into the room, she sees Ganyu hunched over, hugging her knees. Instantly, she can feel guilt clawing up her throat. “Ganyu?” she whispers.
Ganyu raises her head and turns to look at Keqing. The sight breaks Keqing’s heart. There are still fresh tears running down Ganyu’s cheeks. Despite that, she smiles a little - although it looks just a little too fake - like something to mask the fact that she’s breaking piece by piece on the inside, and asks, “How are your injuries? Did you go to Doctor Baizhu to inspect them?”
“They’re fine. Ganyu, I-”
“How’s your cheek? I’m sorry for slapping you, it was an impulsive decision, it’s not painful, is it?” she asks.
“Ganyu.”
The woman in question tilts her head a little, the tiny smile that doesn’t match her red puffy eyes still present on her face. Still, even like this, Ganyu still looks beautiful to Keqing.
“Nothing hurts more than seeing you cry, Ganyu. Do you want to talk about it? Did I do something wrong? Was I the one who made you cry? Please tell me, Ganyu. You know I’ll always be here to listen to you,” Keqing pleads.
Ganyu stares at Keqing for a little while, then she directs her gaze outside the window, a pensive look on her face. Keqing decides that she should give Ganyu some time to open up, so she sits down on the bed slowly, wincing when she fully settles on the bed. Ganyu’s head snaps back immediately.
Keqing laughs softly at the sight, feeling cheeky when she says, “Hello there, my pretty girl.”
She watches as Ganyu’s face erupts with red and she lunges at Keqing to hug her in an attempt to hide her burning face.
“Ow! Ganyu, wait, you’re pressing on my wound!” Keqing yelps out in pain.
Ganyu’s eyes widen and she pulls back with lightning speed, saying, “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?? I’m so sorry.”
Keqing laughs again. “It’s fine. Now come here.”
Ganyu averts her gaze shyly and joins Keqing at the end of the bed. She lies on top of Keqing carefully, avoiding anywhere with bandages on it. She nestles her head underneath Keqing’s chin and Keqing rests her chin on the top of Ganyu’s head.
Keqing runs her hand through Ganyu’s hair slowly, careful not to touch her horns, just the way she likes it. She lightly scratches her scalp with her fingernails, and she knows it’s working because Ganyu is snuggling deeper into the crook of her neck.
They stay in that position for a few more minutes before Ganyu finally breaks the silence.
“I was so worried and scared for you, Keqing,” Ganyu whispers. “Do you know how terrified I felt when I saw you falling off the Jade Chamber? You’re so reckless. What if you couldn’t teleport back in time? What if you fell, and I could never see you again? It terrified me, Keqing, the thought of you dying and no one ever finding your body because you fell from such a high place. It terrifies me that you’ll leave me earlier than you should.”
Oh. So that’s what it’s about, the realisation dawning on Keqing. The guilt was starting to become unbearable and she knows that she can’t even apologise to Ganyu, because the pain that Ganyu had felt could not be reversed with a simple apology. Suddenly it feels as if she’s been stabbed in her heart instead of all the places the Abyss Herald had slashed her, and her heart hurts more than any other wound.
“I can’t imagine a world without you, Keqing. We already have limited time, and I don’t think I’m ready for when you have to go.”
The sentence tears Keqing’s heart in half. She can feel Ganyu holding her just a little tighter and Keqing buries her nose in Ganyu’s soft hair and inhales her scent. She can feel damp tears staining her own cheeks too, and she’s trying not to let Ganyu know that she’s crying, because she shouldn’t be the one hurting now - Ganyu had gone through so much, because of her, and it kills her to know that.
Keqing tries to speak without her voice wavering, and it works to an extent. She mutters into Ganyu’s hair, “Sorry won’t fix anything, but I want you to know that I truly am. I’ll be more careful next time. I’m sorry I was so reckless today. I wasn’t used to having anyone to return to when I’m fighting, so I tend to be more reckless. But I have a home now, and it’s you, Ganyu. I’ll take care of myself, for you, and the sake of our future.”
Ganyu looks up from the crook of Keqing’s neck, and Keqing panics a little, trying to wipe her tears before Ganyu can see them. She fails, of course, and Ganyu takes her hands in hers and leans forward to kiss the tears off of Keqing’s cheeks. She stares straight at Keqing and asks, “Promise me, Keqing.”
“I swear on my life.”
Ganyu sniffles again and laughs quietly. “I love you so much, Keqing. Please don’t leave me sooner than you should.”
“I won’t, Ganyu. You know how stubborn I can be. If death knocks at my door one day, I’ll just tell him that no one’s home, because I haven’t done all the things I want to do with you just yet.”
Ganyu laughs again, and Keqing decides that she doesn’t want to die, because that would mean that she could never hear the melodic sound of Ganyu’s laughter ever again.