Work Text:
Dusk settled over Mondstadt, the city's windmills turning lazily as lamps began to glow along the cobblestone streets. Eula had just finished her reconnaissance patrol—posture still proud, steps measured—but exhaustion tugged at the edges of her composure.
Near the Knights of Favonius headquarters, a familiar figure caught her eye.
"Eula." Jean's voice was warm despite her own tired expression. "Long patrol?"
Eula inclined her head. "Nothing the Spindrift Knight cannot handle."
Jean's lips quirked slightly. "You seem to be in good spirits despite the long hours."
"Amber returned from Sumeru today," Eula said, reaching into her coat pocket. "She brought back gifts for everyone. These, apparently, are surprise-flavor candies—you never know what taste you'll get until you try one."
She held out a wrapped candy, and Jean's eyes lit up with uncharacteristic interest.
"Surprise flavors?" Jean leaned in slightly, examining the innocent-looking wrapper. "How intriguing."
"Care to test your luck, Acting Grand Master?" Eula's tone was playful, almost challenging. "Unless you're too cautious for such frivolous gambles."
"I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of taking risks," Jean replied, accepting the candy with a slight smile. "Thank you, Eula."
Jean unwrapped it with more eagerness than she usually displayed for such things, placing it on her tongue. Her expression shifted—pleasant surprise, then contemplation as she tried to identify the flavor.
"Well?" Eula asked, watching her with amusement.
"It's actually quite—"
"Acting Grand Master!" Kaeya's voice cut through the moment, urgent for once. "We need you at headquarters. Situation with the transport convoy."
Jean's expression shifted immediately to professional concern. "I'll be right there."
But the candy sat on her tongue. She glanced at Eula, then at Kaeya's waiting form, then back at Eula—and panic flickered across her usually composed features.
I can't show up to an emergency briefing with candy in my mouth. I can't spit it out in front of Eula. I can't swallow it whole and choke. I can't—
Oh, Barbatos help me.
This is absolutely improper, Jean thought—right before doing it anyway.
Jean stepped forward, cupped Eula's chin with one hand, and pressed her thumb against Eula's lower lip. Eula's breath caught as Jean leaned in close—close enough that Eula could see the flecks of gold in her eyes.
Jean removed the candy from her own mouth and placed it deliberately between Eula's parted lips, her fingers lingering for just a heartbeat too long.
"Keep this safe for me," Jean murmured, her voice dropping lower.
Then she pulled away and strode toward Kaeya with perfect military bearing, leaving Eula standing there in shock.
Kaeya's visible eye gleamed with amusement as Jean approached. "My, my. You okay, Jean?"
"Perfectly fine." She absolutely was not.
Behind her, Eula stood frozen, the candy dissolving slowly on her tongue, Jean's warmth still searing against her lips.
Eula's hand trembled slightly as she touched her mouth.
The candy dissolved slowly—sweet, unexpectedly so. She let it melt, savoring the flavor Jean had tasted moments before, the warmth that had transferred from Jean's mouth to hers.
It's so sweet...
But whether she meant the candy or something else entirely, Eula couldn't say.
Jean's touch still burned against her lips. The casual intimacy of it. The way Jean had looked at her—intense, almost possessive—before walking away like it was perfectly normal to do such things in the middle of Mondstadt's streets.
Keep this safe, Jean had said.
Too late. Everything was melting—the candy, her composure, the careful walls she'd maintained.
By the time Jean returned, the plaza was quieter. The evening had deepened, stars beginning to pierce the darkening sky. A cool breeze carried the scent of windwheel asters from the city walls, and somewhere nearby, a bard was playing a gentle tune. The candy was long gone. Eula had composed herself—mostly—though her cheeks were still faintly flushed.
"Eula." Jean's voice was carefully neutral. "About earlier—"
"Are you going to apologize?" Eula interrupted, tilting her head with aristocratic grace. "Because I'm not certain I'll accept it. Such a transgression demands proper vengeance."
Jean faltered. "I... acted impulsively. It was inappropriate for someone in my position."
"Was it?" Eula stepped closer. "You seemed quite certain at the time, Acting Grand Master."
Jean's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "The situation required immediate—"
"Did Amber happen to give you candies as well?" Eula asked suddenly, her tone deceptively light.
"I—what?"
"Since you seemed to enjoy mine so much." Eula's eyes glinted with something dangerous. "I thought you might want another. Or perhaps... you'd like that one back?"
Jean's face colored. "That's not—I couldn't possibly—"
"No?" Eula took another step forward. They were close now, close enough that Jean could smell the faint sweetness still on her breath. "Pity. I still have the taste on my tongue, you know."
Jean's hand shot out and gently tapped the top of Eula's head with her knuckles.
"Eula." Her voice was strangled.
"My, such violence from the Acting Grand Master..." Eula's smile was wicked. "I'll have vengeance for this, mark my words."
"You're being deliberately difficult."
"Am I?" Eula's expression softened slightly, becoming more genuine. "Or am I simply... curious what you'll do the next time there's an emergency?"
Jean stared at her, caught between mortification and something far more dangerous.
"There won't be a next time," she said firmly, though her voice lacked conviction.
"Mm." Eula hummed, clearly unconvinced. "We'll see about that."
They stood there in the lamp-lit plaza, the evening breeze carrying the scent of windwheel asters between them. The bard's melody drifted closer, something sweet and melancholy.
"I should go home," Eula said softly, though she didn't move immediately. "It's getting late."
Jean nodded, not trusting her voice beyond a simple, "...Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Acting Grand Master." Eula's smile was knowing.
Jean watched her walk away, disappearing into the lamp-lit streets, before turning toward her own quarters in the Knights headquarters.
***
Inside her modest home in the city, Eula finally let out the breath she'd been holding.
Her heart was still racing as she removed her reconnaissance gear. When she reached into her coat pocket to empty it, her fingers brushed against something small and wrapped.
She pulled it out, staring at it in surprise.
Another candy.
One of the ones Amber had given her—she'd forgotten she still had more in her pocket.
Eula unwrapped it slowly and placed it on her tongue.
Sweet. It was sweet, objectively so.
But something quietly sank in her chest.
She sat there, perfectly still, as the flavor dissolved.
It tasted... different. Emptier somehow. Missing something essential.
Missing the warmth of Jean's fingers against her lips. Missing the way Jean had looked at her—controlled yet desperate all at once. Missing the intimacy of something shared between them, however brief, however improper.
Eula touched her lips again, remembering.
"So that's what it was," she whispered to the empty room, a flush creeping up her neck.
The first candy had been sweet.
But this one?
This one was just sugar.
***
In her quarters at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, Jean sat at her desk, staring blankly at reports she should have been reading hours ago.
She pressed her fingers to her own lips, still feeling the ghost of warmth there, still tasting something sweeter than any candy.
What have I done?
But even as the thought formed, she found herself smiling despite everything—soft and helpless and utterly improper for an Acting Grand Master.
Outside her window, the windmills turned slowly against the starlit sky, and somewhere in the city below, she knew Eula was thinking of her too.