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A pleasant afternoon is in session. Birds are chirping harmoniously, and children laugh and play in the background, while Jing Yuan is at the seat of Divine Foresight, slipping in and out of consciousness as boredom fights to push him to sleep. So much to do in so little time with an additional little rest. Jing Yuan huffs in annoyance, and starts to straighten his figure and gets back to work.
In that moment, Yanqing bursts through the door, huffing like he'd just ran a marathon. "General!" He exclaims. "Could I get 60 more strale? Please? It's for something... really important," Yanqing pleads. Jing Yuan sighs.
"Used up all your money for new swords again? I keep telling you to manage your finances responsibly. I'm not always going to give you the saving grace of extra strale," the general chides.
Yanqing nods his head absently, absolutely, positively *not* listening to whatever the General had to say. "So can I have extra?" the excited boy asks again.
Jing Yuan rolls his eyes, but his smile and playful chuckle betray him. "Fine," he nods, giving him 60 strale. "You will, however, pay it back with extra training later today. No protesting. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, General," Yanqing nods. He doesn't mind the extra practice today. Not if it was all worth it for the new opportunity he had just been given.
Jing Yuan smiles reminiscently at Yanqing. He always noticed the lovestruck expression on the young boy's face when a particular artisan would walk by in town, eventually losing to Jing Yuan out of distraction. Jing Yuan remembers a time when he himself got distracted by love. A sweet, fond memory of his. He may be spoiling the 15-year-old a bit too much, but Yanqing is allowed to live his life just a little freely, especially if it involves his first love, Jing Yuan thinks.
Meanwhile, you're at the artisanship commission, working on a new sword particularly for a certain boy who's known to be the youngest of the cloud knights and Jing Yuan's golden child. The sword you craft is of a sharp, polished blue jade, with a sturdy black and gold handle, and a sky-blue sheen. A fine sword indeed.
"[Name]!" Yanqing calls out to you. You turn to look his way and smile upon seeing him run towards you so eagerly. You're both practically the same age, though you're a couple months older.
You remember your first meeting with him; that day was particularly busy, as you were working hard and a bit quick to meet the wishes of the masters of the Luofu Artisanship Commission.
Suddenly a boy about the same height as you bumped into you a bit too hard as you dropped the box of weapons you had crafted and you nearly shrieked in shock at the state of the weapons. Splayed out on the floor in a busy human traffic jam, some of the poor swords got stepped on. You sighed as you watched in horror the swords breaking from fall damage. You worked quickly to pick up the remaining swords who survived the mini wreck, and as you reached for the last sword, a hand brushed yours to pick up the same one. It was the same boy who'd bumped into you. He smiled meekishly, apologetic at the whole commotion. You looked up at the sight of him, noticing that he'd also been picking up the swords. He grabbed the last sword before you could react and gently put them back in the box. You snapped out of your watchful trance and did the same.
Closing the box, you nodded a 'thank you' to the boy before rushing on your way, but not before he reached for you as he touched your shoulder and said, "you forgot one." He gestured to the blade he had in his hand. Looking him up and down, you admired how elegant and refined he looked just by holding it. You shook your head and smiled.
"You can keep it."
The boy smiled and rushed off on his way, and you quickly hurried across the road. What an eventful, yet cherishable day that was.
The two of you had been meeting with each other ever since, and made an inseparable duo, with you making the swords he wielded in battle.
Snapping out of your flashback, you smile back at the boy who is now by your side. You stand and give him 2 of the same sword; a deep blue one with gold accents, with the name 'Yanqing' carved across the bottom. The handle was black with white streaks, and as you hand them to him you smile proudly.
"I call this one the Cloud Knight Signature Sword. One for battle and one for collection, as requested," you beam. Yanqing smiles hard.
So hard that he sets the swords down (gently, so you wouldn't murder him in his sleep) and grabs you in a hug, lifting you off the ground just a bit as he does. You feel your cheeks heat up and you let a little squeak out to let Yanqing know you're nearly out of breath. He laughs apologetically and puts you down, picking up the swords and sheathing them in the two custom sheaths you also made for him.
Yanqing, out of the blue, quickly lowers his gaze to the floor. "I actually had something I wanted to ask you." His cheeks are a bit pink, and he fidgets with his hands a bit.
"Sure?" You say, quite curious now.
"I was actually wondering if you'd... like to come with me on a trip around the town?" He asks.
You blink at him, and then slowly start to smile. "So it's a date."
He looks away from you, beet red, and coughs. "I suppose you could say that." You giggle with adoration and start to go a little red as well.
"Of course, I'd love to go on a date with you, Yanqing."
Yanqing snaps his head up at that and lights up. "Really?!" He then shifts his demeanor and clears his throat. "Ahem. Yes, of course."
You two walk around the town, craning your head at all the different sights it has to offer. For you, you never tire of seeing the beautiful views and zooming starskiffs.
As you look around in awe, you feel a hand slide to clasp yours. You look to Yanqing and he's looking away, humming to himself. You can't see his expression but you assume he's quite pleased. You clench your hand back, holding his tight.
You both end up at a quaint little café in town and head inside. As the waiter welcomes you both, the two of you sit and catch up on your respective positions in work, with you talking about the swords you'd been creating, and Yanqing responding with how effective they were in battle. You both eventually order sweet drinks and leave once you're finished, with Yanqing, of course, happy to pay the price.
Setting off on your journey again, you go through the little stalls of what people have to offer, looking at art pieces, gushing at impressively built, fancier starskiffs, (well, you are, at least. Yanqing doesn't quite understand the craftsmanship of artisans but gets excited because you're excited.) and ending up at an intimate place on a rail that displays the stars starting to show at a late-evening sunset with the city down below. Gazing at all the beautiful sights with Yanqing is such an honor and a pleasure.
"The stars are amazing above the city like this," you say, struck at the beauty of truly everything about this moment.
"Yeah," Yanqing says offhandedly, yet, he's not quite looking at the stars, and is instead gazing at you, with the way your eyes shine at everything that looks interesting to you, and the way your lips upturn as your mind works its magic, the way you're so crafty at everything. He puts his head on the rail as he crosses his arms underneath it and sighs, blinking slowly as if to drink up this long, loving moment with you.
Though, he's not as sneaky as he thought. Quite the opposite, really, as you'd been watching his looking at you from the corner of your eye.
The young cloud knight brings you back to the commission so you can pick up your stuff and go home. As you gather your things, he says his farewells and turns to leave, but you call out to him before you do. He swivels his head to you, curious. "Yes?"
You walk up to him, grab his face with both hands press your lips against his; though not for long. As you pull away, you clear your throat and smile. "See you tomorrow, Yanqing." Your voice satisfying and easy to fall in love with, Yanqing thinks as you walk away.
As Yanqing walks back to the seat of Divine Foresight, he touches his hand to his lips, blushing at the memory you've now created for him.
Yanqing is one lucky boy if it means spending his time with someone like you.