Chapter Text
The newlywed Sara and Kokomi didn’t have as much time as they would’ve liked to prepare for their honeymoon. Beidou didn’t have forever to stay in Inazuma and had some business back in Liyue that she had to get to quickly. This meant that the Sangonomiyas’ goodbyes weren’t as thorough as they would’ve liked. They would be back in a month, so it wasn’t like they were leaving everyone forever. Still, time waits for no one, and they left with Beidou and Kazuha on the Crux.
As the boat pulled away from the coast of Watatsumi, Kokomi and Sara stood at the back of the deck, watching as the island shrunk away. When their shared home finally faded over the horizon, Kokomi muttered, “It felt so different when we left Watatsumi for Narukami during the war. Now, though…”
Sara squeezed her wife’s hand, finishing, “It’s still sad, but not scary. All that stress is behind us now.”
“Yeah,” Kokomi agreed as she leaned her head into the crook of Sara’s neck. “It’ll be nice to travel as just a tourist rather than a diplomat for once. Even after stepping back from actually running Watatsumi, it still feels like work has been taking up all my time.”
“You just care too much,” Sara told her, leaning back on Kokomi and kissing her on the forehead. “I’m honestly still shocked you agreed to come on this trip in the first place. You spent so long stressing about how Watatsumi would function without you I was starting to think you might chicken out.”
“Sara!” Kokomi pouted, pushing her wife away in embarrassment.
The two remained apart for a little while before breaking out into fits of delighted laughter. They moved back into one another’s arms as Sara smiled, “I think both of us needed this. I mean, you needed it far more than I did, but still!” Sara’s composure cracked as she stuttered over her words in an attempt to flatter her wife, prompting another laugh from Kokomi.
Kokomi turned to face the front of the boat as she grinned, “It’s really exciting! This is the first time in years I’ve gotten to genuinely relax. I can’t wait to see the sights!”
Sara rolled her eyes as she confirmed, “And I’m sure you already know everywhere you want to go. I’ve seen you putting those Liyue travel guides to good use.”
“If you truly want to see all that Liyue has to offer, travel guides can only get you so far,” Kazuha told them as he stepped out from below deck. “It takes someone with experience with the land to know what the truly impressive locales are.”
The Divine Priestess’s excitement only grew as she listened. Once Kazuha finished speaking, she began, “Are you offering to be our tour guide? If so, that would be great! You’re so well read, so I’m sure you know a lot more about the nation than I ever could!”
Kazuha raised a hand in an attempt to stop Kokomi’s praise, thanking her, “I’m more than happy to help. I can’t exactly be a full-on tour guide, but I can tell you about the best locations. Besides, there are parts of Liyue that I can’t exactly show you. Beidou would be more helpful in that regard.”
Curious, Sara inquired, “Really? What can she help with?”
“Oh, she asked me to keep it a secret,” Kazuha refused as he shook his finger cheekily. “Just trust me and say she’s planning to make this trip one you two can’t forget.”
Kokomi couldn’t help but giggle at this reveal. “This certainly spices things up. Be sure to tell Beidou we’re grateful.”
“Of course,” Kazuha replied before walking off.
Sara and Kokomi went back to staring out at the sea for a few minutes before the tengu suggested, “How about we go treat ourselves? This boat ride is going to take a couple days, so we should make the most of the trip.”
Kokomi agreed, “Sounds perfect. Beidou told me a while back that the food they cook here is quite good.”
~------~
After a few days of traveling, the Alcor and its occupants finally made it to Liyue Harbor. When the boat finally docked, Sara and Kokomi were escorted off by the captain. As they made landfall, Beidou described, “I know you two are excited to get some traveling in, but I have some people I want to introduce you to first. A goddess deserves a warm welcome, after all!” Kokomi rolled her eyes at that, knowing that Beidou was just teasing her by bringing up her dubious divine status. Still, it was little more than a fun jest, so she took it in stride.
Sara smiled and thanked her, “I appreciate all that you’re doing for us, Beidou. We’d love to meet your friends.”
Dismissing the praise, Beidou told them, “Ah, you don’t need to worry about it. It’s par for the course in giving you two the best trip you can imagine.” She then rubbed her palms together, declaring, “I’m sure you two are craving some new food after being stuck with our meals for so long, so how about we start your trip with a meal? There’s a perfect place in town I know you two will love.”
Kokomi enthusiastically nodded, gushing, “Oh, that sounds great! I’d love to try some authentic Liyue cuisine!”
“Oh, I could wait on eating,” Sara stated, doing her best to seem polite. “Besides, I don’t need anything fancy.”
This prompted Kokomi to lightly jab Sara in the side as she chided, “Sara, we talked about this. You’re not in the military anymore. You can eat normal portions at normal times.”
“Sorry, Koko,” Sara quickly apologized before turning back to Beidou and rescinding, “Stopping for a meal is fine.”
From there, the two were taken into Liyue Harbor proper, with Beidou giving them a quick rundown of the initial sights. The clear Inazuman fashion the two Sangonomiyas wore drew some eyes, but they didn’t care if they were attention grabbing. They were simply enjoying themselves. The presence of Beidou helped to dissuade anyone from bothering them, though. The captain was popular enough to push any fear away for the moment.
The group would eventually stop at a small building that looked like a restaurant. As they pulled up, Beidou announced, “This here is Wanmin Restaurant, one of the best places to eat in all of Liyue. Xiangling! It’s Beidou! Prepare two of your best dishes! I brought company!” She shouted the last part to the young woman manning the counter.
The restaurant’s operator, Xiangling, leaned out of the restaurant’s front window to wave to the group. “Hi Beidou, Kazuha! Nice to have you back from Inazuma! Those two must be Sara and Kokomi! I’ll whip up something good that I know you’ll love!”
Beidou thanked her and brought everyone to an empty table out back while Kazuha noted, “I suspected that Wanmin Restaurant would be on the list of places you wanted to take them to. Xiangling’s cooking is without compare.”
Sara smiled but pointed out, “It sounds delicious, but I’m somewhat concerned that she knew about us. Just how much of our story have you told to your friends, Beidou?”
Shaking her head and waving away Sara’s concern, Beidou reassured her, “It was just the parts I was involved with. I couldn’t exactly keep the fact I fought in a war away from the people in my life, now could I?”
Kazuha quickly countered this description of events, correcting, “Beidou has spent a lot of time describing the events of the Second Watatsumi-Narukami War and your love story to most anyone who will listen. I’m sure all the people we encounter have enough knowledge about you to already consider themselves knowledgeable on everything about you.”
Kokomi groaned, “So much for living a normal life while we’re here.”
“Hey, hey! I promise it’s not that bad! You can trust my friends. I’m sure they’ll do their best to make your visit memorable once they realize you’re here,” Beidou told her in an attempt to ease her frustrations, which largely worked as Kokomi took a long breath and snuggled up to Sara.
Sara returned the hug and offered, “We can pay for our own food. We made sure to budget enough for this trip, so you don’t have to pay for us or anything.”
Beidou immediately rejected the notion, insisting, “No, I insist that you let us extend this extra bit of hospitality. Consider this another wedding gift from me.”
“What’s this about a wedding?” a new voice sounded out from the front of the restaurant. Everyone turned to find a pair of young women, one dressed in fancy opera garb and the other with wild hair and dark skin. The latter was the one who spoke and had a distinctly country tang to her speech patterns.
The fancier of the two waved at the group and greeted, “Hello Beidou and Kazuha. I’m sorry to intrude, but Xinyan and I were just passing by when we noticed you were back from Inazuma.” She then faced Sara and Kokomi as she politely curtsied and introduced herself, “Hello. My name is Yun Jin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The other girl, Xinyan, added, “And I’m Xinyan! You two must be the war couple Beidou told us about! Sara and Kokomi, right?”
Kokomi smiled and confirmed, “Your assumption is correct. My name is Sangonomiya Kokomi, and this is my wife, Sara.” She held her hand up to cup Sara’s chin as she said the last part, causing her wife to start blushing.
In an attempt to curtail her embarrassment of being fawned over in public, Sara opined, “You two must be friends of Beidou’s, then?”
Xinyan nodded as she took a seat at the table. “Yeah, Beidou’s a friend. She and her crew make great company and know how to appreciate some good rock ‘n’ roll!”
Yun Jin affirmed Xinyan’s assertion before noting, “From the sounds of things, you two are freshly wed. I must extend my congratulations to you two.”
“Thank you, Miss Yun,” Sara said. “We’re currently on honeymoon here in Liyue. Beidou was showing us around and we stopped to eat here.”
Xinyan’s eyes lit up upon hearing this and she squealed, “Aw, that’s so sweet! I hope you two have a wonderful trip! I’d be more than happy to play you some music to celebrate!”
In an attempt to curtail the rocker’s growing excitement, Yun Jin grabbed Xinyan’s hands and shoved them back down to a resting position, insisting, “That’s something we can discuss later. For now, we should allow them to eat.”
Right on cue, Xiangling came bursting out the door of the restaurant with two full plates of food and a big pot filled with food. “I made sure to prepare the best Wanmin Restaurant has to offer! I can tell this visit has something special about it!” After she set the food on the table, she bowed to Sara and Kokomi, introducing herself, “It’s nice to meet you two. My name is Xiangling! I help run this restaurant with my dad!”
“Thank you for the food, Miss Xiangling. You seem to already know about Sara and I, so I’m afraid I can’t exactly return the introductions,” Kokomi responded as she helped sort the plates.
“Just Xiangling works. Any friend of Beidou is a friend of mine!” Xiangling beamed before gesturing to the food. “Here we have three of our best dishes. The two on the plates are Triple-Layered Consommé and Minty Meat Rolls. Then the pot contains a group-sized serving of Adeptus’ Temptation!”
Kazuha glanced at the food and commented, “When Beidou asked for your best meals you definitely pulled out all the stops. This is quite a feast.”
“Thanks! I happened to overhear the discussion about a wedding so I knew I had to make this meal special!” Xiangling squealed in delight as she brought up the wedding, causing the newlyweds to giggle from her enthusiasm.
Curious, Sara took a quick bite of the Adeptus’ Temptation. As soon as the succulent mix of flavors touched her tongue her eyes lit up and she began to scarf down more and more. Between bites, she praised, “This is delicious! It’s unlike anything I’ve had before!”
“Sara! Slow down and leave some for me!” Kokomi whined as she shoved Sara out of the way and started digging in herself.
The voracity of the eating slowed down after a while and the group turned to pleasant chatter for the remainder of the meal. The newcomers from Inazuma made acquaintance with Beidou’s friends. Everyone told stories about where they came from, with Sara and Kokomi being hounded for the details that Beidou left out of her retelling.
“…of course, Sara never takes to the deeper books,” Kokomi described as she went into detail on a little quirk in their relationship. “She must have gone through every book in my collection and she’s only gotten past the first few chapters in a couple dozen!”
Pouting, Sara countered, “I always read the whole thing if we do it together.”
Giggling, Kokomi refused, “You know that doesn’t count. You keep asking me for new light novels yet you never seem to finish any of them.”
“I can’t imagine having a collection of books so big,” Yun Jin commented in awe. “It sounds amazing.”
Xinyan leaned forward and inquired, “Ya have any books on Inazuman music? I’d love to do some research if you’d lend me one.”
This prompted Xiangling to add, “Oh, and if you have any books on Inazuman cooking I’d love to have them! Beidou brings back ingredients every time she heads out that way but I don’t know the best ways to prepare them.”
Kokomi tapped her chin as she thought over the requests. Thinking out loud, she surmised, “Now that Watatsumi is able to trade freely with other nations again, it wouldn’t hurt to make copies of the books in my collection and sell them overseas. It could help provide some supplementary income.”
“You’re not a politician anymore, Koko. You don’t need to worry about this kind of thing,” Sara reprimanded her.
Embarrassed, Kokomi pulled back and apologized, “Oh, sorry. I mean, it’ll probably be a while before we come back out to Liyue, but I’ll make sure to bring some books you can use.”
The final bits of food were gone by this point, so Beidou got up and announced, “This has been nice, but I want to take these lovebirds someplace special before it gets dark.”
Xinyan leaned back in her seat and wished, “Aw, well I hope y’all enjoy your trip. If you wanna hang out, come talk to us! We’re always up to help our friends have a good time!”
Yun Jin bowed and offered, “The Yun-Han Opera Troupe would love to have you see one of our shows. I can arrange to get you tickets if you’d like.”
“That sounds lovely. I’d love to see some authentic Liyue opera,” Kokomi agreed, returning the bow to Yun Jin.
“Thank you all for showing us such hospitality. If we ever need anything, we’ll be sure to let you know,” Sara added.
With that, the visitors from afar said their goodbyes to their new friends as Beidou guided them further into the city. They saw more of the sights as the sun began to set over the horizon, prompting Beidou to speed up and practically drag them up to a place called Yuehai Pavilion. Beidou told them it was a government building where the Liyue Qixing conducted business, but the place was just a transition point before they would reach their ultimate destination.
They made their way up the steps of the Pavilion and stopped before a middle-aged man with a thin moustache. Beidou leaned on the wall next to him and greeted, “Hey Bu’yun. It’s me. These are the people I was talking about. You mind letting us up?”
“Of course, Captain Beidou,” Bu’yun replied, stepping away and motioning to a floating jade platform. “The Tianquan has been expecting you.”
“The Tianquan!?” Kokomi exclaimed. “We’re going to meet the Tianquan!?”
Beidou sighed in disappointment, grumbling, “Way to spoil the surprise, Bu’yun. To answer your question, Kokomi, kind of. We’re really going where she lives. Step on the platform and you’ll see soon enough.”
Sara cautiously got on the platform, followed shortly by Kokomi, Beidou, and Kazuha. Kazuha noticed the newcomers concern and assured them, “I was confused at first but you can trust me when I say the technology of this platform is practically flawless and perfectly safe.”
Immediately proving Kazuha’s point, the platform began rapidly floating into the sky. Sara and Kokomi hugged one another for safety as they rocketed into the sky toward what initially looked like a small rock. Then, as they got closer, Kokomi’s eyes widened and she shouted, “The Jade Chamber!? We’re going up to the Jade Chamber!?”
“So you’ve heard of it! I’m not surprised,” Beidou chuckled. “Yeah, we are. I have some friends in high places so I figured I should take advantage of that to give you two the best view in all of Liyue.”
The sentiment was registered but no words could be returned. Every thought was devoted to taking in the sigh of Liyue as they were lifted higher and higher into the air. The city and its people grew smaller but no less detailed and vivid. The vast mountains and plains of the country came into view with every passing moment, illuminating the landscape with various shades of yellow and orange. It was like a vast and expansive painting with details so fine no human could ever notice them all.
The two were shocked out of their stupor by the platform coming to a stop, almost causing Sara to fall off. Kokomi reached out to grab her, but Sara extended her wings just in time, flapping them a bit to help her regain her balance. Once she had solid footing, she extended her wings out fully and smiled, “I guess I don’t need to hide these anymore since we’re way up here.”
Kokomi let out a sigh of relief, admonishing, “This platform is too small for four people.”
Raising an eyebrow, Kazuha pointed out, “Sara could’ve easily flown up, and getting up to the Jade Chamber would be equivalent to walking up a set of stairs for you.”
The newlyweds were saved from further ridicule by a newcomer arriving. “Hello, Beidou. I had a feeling you would come crawling up here as soon as you got back,” she said, strutting toward the platform as if she owned the place, which she did.
Beidou stepped onto the Jade Chamber proper and beamed, “Hey Ningguang! Clearly your feeling was wrong, because I’ve been back in town for a while now.”
“A couple hours of delay doesn’t make me wrong. You just can’t resist coming up here to pester me,” Ningguang declared. She gave a wry smirk as she moved past Beidou without a second glance and faced the other guests. She first nodded to Kazuha, greeting him, “It’s nice to see you again Kazuha. I hope the trip went well.”
Kazuha bowed before joining the Tianquan and Captain on the floating palace. “It has, Lady Ningguang. Thank you for letting us visit the Jade Chamber.”
Ningguang nodded in acknowledgement to the young man before finally facing the two newcomers. “You two must be Sara and Kokomi. Beidou has told me a lot about you. I am Ningguang. Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing. Congratulations on your wedding,” she introduced herself before beckoning the two to come forward.
Kokomi immediately stepped forward, dragging Sara along with her, and returned the greeting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ningguang. I must apologize for not having any gifts. I wasn’t expecting to be given the honor of meeting someone as illustrious as yourself. I am indeed Sangonomiya Kokomi, Divine Priestess of Watatsumi Island. This is my wife, Sangonomiya Sara.”
Sensing that politics were afoot, Sara bowed as well and said, “Thank you for allowing us up to the Jade Chamber, Lady Ningguang.”
The three of them stood in a tense silence for a few moments before Ningguang started to chuckle. “There’s no need to be so formal, Mrs. Sangonomiya. I’m aware you’ve stepped back from politics, and I have no intention of forcing you to spend your honeymoon dealing with that. I’ve already taken measures to create more formal relations with Watatsumi and am hoping to schedule an in-person meeting with President Gorou in the near future. You don’t have to worry about impressing me.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it! I already gave Ningguang the details about your situation. You two can just enjoy yourselves up here,” Beidou assured them after sneaking up behind Ninnguang and resting her arms on the Tianquan’s shoulders.
Ninnguang flipped her hair in annoyance and pushed Beidou away, complaining, “You don’t get the privilege of touching me, Captain…”
After letting out a bellowing laugh, Beidou leaned forward and spoke directly into Ningguang’s ear. “Ning, you don’t have to lie. I know you missed me.”
The Tianquan covered her face with her hands and groaned, “We’re going inside to discuss this behavior.” She then turned around in a flash and began dragging Beidou along, her swift movement almost managing to completely hide the blush on her cheeks.
Beidou just laughed more, shouting to her friends, “You guys enjoy the view! I just gotta deal with her for a minute.” She was taken around the corner and into the Jade Chamber proper before her guests could respond.
The three of them just stared at where the Tianquan and Captain disappeared from with confused looks on their faces. Kazuha was the one to break the silence, commenting, “I still can’t tell if they go in there to have an argument or have sex.”
“My vote is on both,” Sara opined.
“We’re not talking about this!” Kokomi shouted in embarrassment before grabbing Sara and taking her over to the edge of the Jade Chamber, leaving Kazuha alone to do whatever he wanted. “Beidou brought us up here to enjoy the view, so we’re going to do that!” she continued, trying her best to change the subject.
Giggling, Sara allowed herself to be taken to the edge, following Kokomi’s example as she sat down and swung her legs over the edge. They stared out over the horizon, enjoying the entirety of Liyue from their spot above the clouds. The sun was about halfway set, coating the sky in a wonderful shade of orange that faded into black the further away the sun got. The tallest of mountains looked tiny from where they sat, with the trees acting as little more than texturing to the canvas below them.
They remained there in silence for a few precious moments, doing nothing else but taking in the sight. Then, Sara muttered, “It’s beautiful.”
“I know,” Kokomi replied from Sara’s side.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Sara described before slowly turning to face her wife. “Well, almost nothing.”
The amber glow of the sun shone beautifully on Kokomi’s skin, practically causing her to glitter. Her hair waved ever so slightly in the light wind, flowing like a serpent’s tail as it swam. Kokomi turned to face Sara directly, showcasing the landscape’s reflection in her stunning eyes, adding further depth and beauty to an already fantastic work of art.
Kokomi smiled warmly as she concurred, “Exactly. There’s one thing I know no sight can ever surpass.”
The kiss that followed was only the first of a long and loving honeymoon.