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Kazuha sighed as he watched Yunjin enter with Beidou. He’d agreed to go on a blind date after months of barely interacting at all, and he assumed Yunjin was there to doll him up a little, like some said. He got up to ggreet them as sweetly as he could, And within seconds from greetings, Yunjin sat him down.
“We needn’t do much, I can assure you she’ll love you the way you are,” Yunjin gushed with a gentle smile as she helped him to some facial products. “I’ll mostly focus on making you look like you haven’t died three times.” She explained, and Kazuha felt a wave of embarrasment as he could tell she was sugarcoating her words. Beidou made it no better.
“Yunjin you can admit he looks like a moldy trashcan with no sleep and five yars of radiation exposure,” She chuckled, but gave Kazuha a reassuring smile. He knew she was eggsaturating, but he got the point. He wasn’t in his best condition.
Yunjin was quick to hype him back up, as expected. “Don’t say that, he’s a handsome young man, just not in his best state,” She shushed before wiping some cream off his face. She was gentle, of course, and Kazuha could tell she’d worked with others before.
“Thank you, Yunjin,” Kazuha chuckled a little, finding amusement in her attitude. She was acting like he had showered much and taken care of himself more than once a week. Like he wasn’t a complete mess, or like his entire life hadn’t flipped upside down.
Yunjin only hummed as she applied a cool substance Kazuha had never seen before to his face. “Please close youreyes.” She hummed way before getting close to his eyes, and Kazuha obliged.
Ganyu was almost in tears from pure stress as she stared at the dress options laid in front of her. How had she ever agreed to this? How had Keqing gotten the best of her so easily, and agreed to go on a date with a person she didn’t even know. It felt absurd.
Had she agreed to get over Kazuha finally, or was she genuine about it? Maybe it was something else, and she’d only have to wait and figure out. Curses. She was so close to telling Keqing she couldn’t go, when she couldn’t even decide which dress to wear.
There was a knock at her door, and as she hurried on a tshirt to open it, she was hoping it was keqing so she could cancel everything. But as she opened the door, a few of Ningguang’s stylists greeted her while stepping in. Ganyu sighed, at least it was help.
“Miss Ganyu, have you even picked out your dress yet?” One of them asked with a reassuring smile, and Ganyu felt lightly embarrassed to shake her head. She had no idea what would suit her the best, if she was being honest.
The girls gushed together, almost squealing. Ganyu didn’t quite get it, but one of them pulled out sets of undergarments from the many bags they had brought. Ganyu felt like her face was completely white, as well as completely red all at once.
“No no no, that’s not-” She tried to explain, but the women were quick to shut her off.
“Miss Ganyu, even if nothing like that happens, it can help with your confidence,” One of them expressed, pushing her glasses up while doing so. “I recommend you pick this set, what do you think?” She chuckled at Ganyu’s red face as she presented her with a light blue lacey set.It wasn’t anything over the top, and Ganyu really liked the colour.
She reached to hold the garments in her own hands, a bit stunned by the situation. The fabric felt soft, the lace didn’t feel scratchy… It was worth the try. She was sold by the small bow with a miniature cowbell hanging from it. It made her giggle a little. “I can try it on at least…” she hadn’t even noticed the lace being snowflake patterned yet. A bit cliche, but she appreciated the thoughtfulness.
The women were over the moon when Ganyu stepped in and out of her bathroom. She was trying to hide herself to the best of her abilities, and the women were quick to catch on. They picked her a dress right then and there, this time not even asking questions. Ganyu accepted the dress, and slipped right back into the bathroom.
She stared at herself in the mirror with doubt. It wasn’t everyday she dressed like this. The silky material wrapped around her body like a hug, and the slit down her chest… It almost exposed the bow of the bra, for god’s sake? It had sleeves, at least. And they were pretty at that, made her almost look like a goddess.
The dress was gorgeous, a red silk dress reaching to the mid of her thigh, with flowy extensions at the back, there was nothing she could complain about, but was it her dress? Would it impress this mystery person? Was she enough to impress them?
She thought the dress was more for Ningguang, shewas the sexy goddess everyone drooled over. But as she stepped out once more to show herself, the stylists were staring like they were looking at treasure. It made Ganyu feel a bit self conscious, despite them meaning no harm.
“It looks perfect, miss Ganyu”, “You look amazing”, and “Bet he can’t keep his h- eyes off of you!” The last lady got nudged for her words, but Ganyu only thanked them.
Kazuha walked nervously towards the spot Beidou had told him of. His palms were sweaty, and he was hoping to not ruin everything within seconds. His heart was thundering as he got closer. This kind of anxiety was unusual for him, as he would’ve only smoked his worries away before.
The small “Oh…” flew from his mouth as he saw the familiar figure. She turned around just as surprised, and they both stood there in silence for multiple seconds, but to them that was hours.
Kazuha took in all of her. The way the sunset made her look like she was glowing, the way she was trying to blink away her surprise. It was just as he'd remembered her, the most gorgeous creature to ever walk on earth.
He noticed the new dress as well. It hugged her body in all the places he loved, just in the right ways as well. The red looked gorgeous on her, and to him, she looked like something worth worshiping. A goddess in her true form, the only form he'd ever known.
He didn't forget to note the golden accessories she had.
She was stunning. He saw the way his staring made her blush, and he remembered the way he'd always made her flustered by looking at her. Every second they stood there in silence, Kazuha's longing for her touch only grew stronger.
Ganyu was staring right back. Kazuha looked so well kept to her. She wanted to curse him out and get away from her, but maybe this was fate. Or Keqing and Beidou, who knew.
She looked him up and down. He looked like such a good boy in his dress shirt and red vest with golden embroidery. She wanted to tell him he looked perfect, she wanted to let him know how much the outfit fit him.
He looked stunning, like the same man she'd fallen in love with all that time ago… her Kazuha. She noted down the way he looked at her, it was almost like he was hurting. But positively. She could tell he was checking her out, and just like always, she blushed.
"Hello," she finally squeaked out, feeling like the tension was impossible to cut even with the sharpest of swords. She looked for an answer from him, and was relieved to get one as well.
"Hello," he said, and she didn't miss the gentle smile he gave her. It gave her the courage to smile as well. "It seems we're on a date," he chuckled a little awkwardly, and Ganyu noticed his nervousness. She understood.
"Kazuha…" she started, immediately wanting to tell him how much she missed him, but she wasn't expecting him to speak up first.
Kazuha was straightforward, and spoke as he got closer to her finally. "I'm sorry I caused you so much heartache. I was a coward, I really did- do love you." If his voice wasn't so shaky, Ganyu would've almost thought he was confident while speaking.
"You- I've missed you everyday since. Suddenly things that you weren't even related to felt like you were supposed to be there and I- I've given up on anx kind of substances, you really opened my eyes," Kazuha didn't have his usual poetic way of speech. His voice was unsure and it was almost like the entire man was trembling.
Ganyu took his hands into hers as soon as he was close enough. They were a bit sweaty, but she could love him past something so minor. She held on tightly as she listened to him. Her mind was racing. This was not entirely alright, he still hurt her badly, what if it goes back to the same old way?
Kazuha held onto her hands just as tightly. He felt as though she'd run away if he let go. The fear of this going south was overpowering, and he felt almost lightheaded as he spoke. "You're the most beautifully designed flower, specifically made to resemble a goddess, and I'm merely a lone traveler, I felt as though you were too good for my kind, and only had the courage to contact you when there was something else involved." He explained, truthfully, but horrified for her response.
"It doesn't excuse anything, but I felt as though you needed to know…" he explained, really not knowing how she would react. Not well, he anticipated. He was really ashamed of himself, and couldn't get over just how she had looked the night they separated.
"Kazuha…" Ganyu finally started again. She plied her hand from their hold, and reached to caress his cheek. "Your kind is a silly thing to say, I think you're one of a kind." She decided forgiving him would be the best thing for her.
Truth be told, she'd been losing her mind for months by now, spending sleepless nights just trying to place some pillows behind her to make her brain think he was still there, randomly forgetting to only make one mug of tea… she was still surprised when she had only her own laundry to worry about.
"Please don't think so highly of me, it doesn't leave a very healthy dynamic for a relationship…" she spoke softly, expecting some poetic response back since he'd gotten back into his way of words.
Instead, he kissed her. She was starstruck for a moment. It wasn't quite like the usual, gentle and patient Kazuha she knew. Instead, he felt almost desperate to get closer to her, like he'd been waiting for it for months. And she couldn't be any less desperate for the same closeness.
She dug her nails into his back in an attempt to basically infuse them, and she could feel him smile into the kiss. He pulled her closer by her waist as well, and if anyone were to see them, it might've looked like they were trying to devour each other.
Ganyu finally pulled back for air, and to meet Kazuha's eyes. He looked as beautiful as ever while his eyes shined with joy, and to say she was overjoyed as well was an understatement.
Kazuha cupped her cheek with a grin, watching as it turned pink right under his touch. He felt pride as she leaned against his hand. "You look stunning in that dress" he finally admitted,and watched as she got even redder.
"The vest suits you as well, we're matching…" Ganyu murmured as she hid her face into the crook of his neck.
They stayed out for hours that night. Welcoming the familiarity and warmth back into each other's lives. It was a cool night, but neither of them could feel it through their shared warm, fuzzy chests.