Work Text:
Chapter ?
“Yanfei look!”
The lawyer opens her eyes tiredly. She had been working on the most recent murder case, twenty-four seven, and the never-ending pile of paperwork which Hutao had declared was Mount Aoceng’s number one rival, had made her feel like the one being murdered. Never had she felt she’d relate to Azdaha until those moments where she had stared into the stacks of paper on her kitchen table. So now, sitting away from the city was a breath of fresh air.
They are leaning against some trees near a cliff, overlooking the bustling night life of Liyue harbour. The dark trees sway gently in the background, their leaves glimmering slightly. The moon sits as a pearl white backdrop to the dark gold silhouette of the jade chamber. The golden house is just visible from below, the lack of lit lamps make the silhouette of it rather menacing. Sharp edges and moving shadows of the milleith changing shifts. Green eyes shift their attention away from the scene below.
“Hmm?” She expected Hutao to be pointing at another funny shaped tree or bush, but as soon as she glanced up at her lover, her breath caught in her throat. A group of glowing fireflies were dancing around in random formations. But that wasn’t what made her tiredness dissipate with a new found energy coursing through her thumping heart, they were all but dots in the sky. No, the light emitted from the tiny creatures illuminated a pair of soft crimson eyes. Light brown hair framed a delicate face, bangs fluttering in the wind. Blossoms blooming at the core in excitement, as her wide eyes shine in wonder…
“You’re beautiful.” Yanfei blurts out before she could stop herself. She grimaces at how random her outburst is.
Hutao laughs, her cheeks faintly coloured in the dim light. “You look like you regret saying that.”
“I don’t regret saying what’s true.” Yanfei said. A playful smile makes its way to the lawyer's face as she turns her attention toward the flying critters that have mesmerised her girlfriend. Hutao’s joy is simply infectious. “Your eyes are beautiful, they have such child-like wonder that’s indescribably captivating.”
Hutao’s heart skips too many beats to be humanly possible. Maybe she’s the real adeptus in disguise amongst the Wangsheng workers. But her very human brain had short circuited at Yanfei’s first sentence..
“Thanks.” Hutao squeaks, and curses herself, wishing she could tell Yanfei how ridiculous it is that the other girl had called her beautiful when she’s right there looking unfairly ethereal with her pale complexion shining in the moonlight. Her ungodly slim waist paired with those long thin legs that could wrap…
A voice called her from beside. “Hutao, what do you think of those fireflies? In the daylight they’re not very noticeable, and by themselves they hardly glow very bright. But together, they dance so beautifully even if they’re all just going about their own way. A small civilization that glows brighter together. I can see why you were so captured by them.”
Hutao, who had been snapped out of her…daydream, meets Yanfei’s eyes and fights back a laugh. “I didn’t think about them glowing brighter together. But I did think that I want to glow closer with you.”
She waits for Yanfei to groan like she normally does, to snort and push at her arm a little. But instead Yanfei laughs. A snicker turns into a full blown heartfelt laugh after watching Hutao’s hilariously shocked facial expression, as if she can’t decide whether or not this is a good reaction.
“I didn’t think it was that good of a joke.”
Yanfei blows an exaggerated kiss towards her girlfriend, and then clutches her stomach in laughter again. Her lungs start to complain about the lack of oxygen, so Yanfei tries her best to calm herself. “I don’t know what came over me. But your excitement to tell me a bad joke was so hilariously adorable.”
Hutao, who has been mentally creating a list of similar jokes to make Yanfei laugh like that again, snaps her attention back to the other girl. “Adorable? Psh, I’m not a child.” Hutao whispers, her cheeks flushing redder than her eyes. Her head spins at the flood of emotions, and so she does the only thing she can think of.
She pulls Yanfei toward her, and smothers the other in kisses. Pressing her lips to the small button nose that always grew pink when winter came. Then teasing the other, she deliberately ignores the lips, and slowly kisses her warm cheeks until Yanfei grows impatient and pushes Hutao’s back to the ground. Those legs Hutao had been just day-dreaming about, wrap around her waist as Yanfei straddles the girl beneath her. The sight of Hutao grinning up at her is not lost, little tease.
Soft lips find a match, savouring the sweet taste of mint and chilli from their dinner at Xiangling’s restaurant. Yanfei sucks on Hutao’s bottom lip, a gentle sweep of her tongue is all it took for the other to open her mouth. Nothing smart to say hmm? Yanfei smiles into the kiss. Until Hutao’s hands find its way down Yanfei’s body, securing itself a place that made Yanfei squeak. The two gasp for air, suddenly much warmer than before.
The director swaps their positions, smirking as she pins the other under her. “You look better when you’re blushing so beautifully underneath me, don’t you think?” A blurry memory bubbles just under the surface. The sense of familiarity of their position quickly subsides though as tongues slip past lips, licking every part as if to memorise the crevices and heat, to feel each other fully and remember. To remember.
To remember. They gasp for air. “Hutao.” Yanfei croaks, her throat now dry and her face flushed. But Hutao silences her with a kiss, moaning as the half-adeptus slides her hands downward and squeezes. Unfortunately though, Yanfei’s phone chooses this moment to ring.
At first they just ignore it, thinking it could be a spam call. But the irritating sound of the phone is doubled when Hutao’s phone decides to make it a duet. And it seems this two-phoned choir was not going away anytime soon.
“Ughh why now.” Hutao groans as she hands Yanfei’s phone to its owner. Silencing her own out of spite.
“Hello?”
“What!” Yanfei’s exclamation is enough to startle Hutao who is mid-way in the process of answering her own phone. “Ahem, sorry Yelan I lost my composure, can you say that again?”
“...ok, I will meet you there now.”
“Yanfei…what is it?” Hutao asks nervously, her phone now completely forgotten. Her lover’s face has gone oddly pale.
Yanfei swallows and blinks hard as if her brain is struggling to process. “H-Hutao…the Qixing have ordered your arrest for the murder of Han Zhuwei, and the recent victim…Qiqi from the Bubu Pharmacy.”
For a moment neither of them move. Until Yanfei breaks the silence.
“I need to go. I’m meeting Yelan. Stay safe okay?”
Hutao watches as the silhouette of the pink haired adeptus fades smaller and smaller until her shadow blends into the dark background of the forest.
Two fireflies dance, twirling happily upward towards the moon, before falling apart in different directions. The city lanterns dim, as the nightlife of Liyue comes to a close.