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The sun shone brightly in the sky on the 14th February, painting a content smile onto the face of every Liyue citizen — the Tianquan in particular was pleased with the good weather, as not only was it Valentine’s Day, but it was also her most beloved captain’s birthday.
She hadn’t planned much: a private dinner date at Xinyue Kiosk, a new chess set that she’d had custom made with jade (her current one was getting quite worn down after the many games played, after all), and… a new hairpin. Ningguang did not know entirely why she had chosen a hairpin for Beidou’s final gift, but she felt it suited her lover.
Beidou’s old hairpin had broken while she was at sea, and since she was unable to fix it Beidou’s hair was left loose and wild around her shoulders, much like the ocean she adored so much — to say the least, Ningguang was annoyed by it. Specifically, she was annoyed at how the woman took horrible care of it: when her lover returned from her voyages, it would be tangled and all over the place, and she always took it upon herself to fix it when Beidou inevitably visited the Jade Chamber.
It would be far simpler if the captain simply got a new hairpin, Ningguang had often thought while detangling it: and that is why the thought of just buying Beidou a new hairpin popped into her mind, taking pride of place over her recent business deals (which was a rare occurrence for the busy Tianquan.)
And with that, Ningguang placed an order for a hairpin — designed by her — at Mingxing Jewellery. To say that she was pleased with what Xingxi and her colleagues had been able to make was an understatement: she knew Beidou would like it (although she’d taken a lot of her own tastes into account when designing it, but she figured that wouldn’t be a problem — it would simply remind Beidou of her Tianquan when she was out at sea, which she liked the thought of.)
Ningguang glanced to the side of her desk, looking out of the window at the dock below. Beidou wasn’t back yet still, and it was already early afternoon. Her gaze was caught by the chessboard and hairpin, placed in neat boxes — which she had had made for the occasion — on top of each other: she had been planning this for months, since she only wanted the best for her captain. She was the richest person in Teyvat, after all.
She stood up from her desk with a heavy sigh: she’d reread the same document about 5 times now, and it still wasn’t sticking. All she could think about was Beidou, Beidou, Beidou, and more Beidou. That irritating captain.
Yet, a fond smile wormed its way onto her lips as she caught sight of a familiar blue vase on her shelf: a gift from her captain, one of the items she cared most about in her floating palace, and one of the only items she had saved from the original Jade Chamber.
Deciding that she didn’t really care for doing her work anymore, Ningguang opened the door to her balcony, a cool breeze rustling her hair. Wine-red eyes closely examined the sight of Liyue bustling in the afternoon sun below the Jade Chamber, the white-haired woman they belonged to leaning against the cold metal of the railing.
A content smile wormed its way onto the Tianquan’s rosy lips as she looked over the city she had worked so hard to improve over her years at the Qixing. She often dwelled on just how far she had come since her days picking shells to sell at Yaoguang Shoal, to becoming the richest person in Teyvat, a successful businesswoman, and holding the position of Tianquan. Her attention was eventually caught by the sight of a fleet of ships just edging over the horizon: the Crux Fleet — Beidou.
Ningguang’s smile shone brightly, lighting up her pale face as she watched her lover’s fleet approach the harbour. She quickly hurried back inside her office, and hid Beidou’s presents in a drawer of her desk. Sitting down, she began her work again: she knew the captain took great pleasure in getting to interrupt her lover’s work, and she did want to please her after all.
Just as she thought, several minutes after her first spotting of the Crux, Beidou burst into Ningguang’s office with an excited “Ning!”
Ningguang smiled tenderly up at her. “Beidou. I missed you, my captain.”
She stood up from her desk chair and allowed Beidou’s strong arms to wrap around her slender body, tight enough that it could break the delicate Tianquan in half if the captain wasn’t being incredibly gentle. Ningguang snuggled into her girlfriend’s muscular shoulder, and Beidou pressed a loving kiss to the crown of her head.
“I missed you too, bǎobèi.”
Once they broke apart, Ningguang finally noticed the flowers that Beidou had set on her desk, along with two heart-shaped boxes. She shot the captain an expectant look.
“Ah, right!” Beidou smiled widely. She picked up the bouquet of fragrant glaze lilies and the boxes, and presented them to the Tianquan with a flourish.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.”
A warm smile tugged at the corners of Ningguang’s lips, and she gratefully accepted the presents. “Thank you, Beidou.”
She inhaled the lovely scent of her favourite flower — glaze lilies — and then sent them into an empty vase on her desk: she would find water later so they wouldn’t die too quickly. Then, she turned her attention to the boxes.
They were shaped like love hearts, and were coloured gold with intricate white patterns — she had a feeling Beidou might have had them custom made for her. Ningguang carefully took the lid off of the first box, revealing rows of creamy chocolate. A classic gift, but clearly a quality one.
She hummed contentedly, and then sampled one of the treats in the box. The sweet taste of cocoa filled her mouth, akin to how it filled her with Beidou’s love, warming her entire body from the inside.
“These are excellent,” she said, looking back up at the captain. “Where did you buy them?”
Beidou barked out a laugh, and then grinned at her lover. “Made ‘em myself, in Fontaine. They do chocolate making classes there, ya know.”
Wine-red eyes widened as Ningguang looked at Beidou. “Ah, you did? I’m impressed by your dedication.”
The captain smiled. “Anything for you, my heart.”
Ningguang affectionately rolled her eyes at the other woman’s soppy words, but an indulgent smile crept onto her face all the same.
Turning back to her desk, she opened the next, smaller box: inside was several luminescent Lumitoile.
She sent Beidou a curious look. “Starfish?”
Beidou scratched the back of her head sheepishly. “Uh… yeah. I just thought you’d like ‘em: they’re pretty, and… I thought you might’ve liked to put ‘em in those ponds you have around this floating rock of yours.”
Noticing that Ningguang had yet to speak, Beidou continued. “It’s alright if you don’t want ‘em, it only took me a few minutes to get ‘em so it doesn’t matter too much, I just thought-“
She was abruptly cut off when Ningguang stood up on her tiptoes, throwing her arms around Beidou’s neck, and pressed their lips together passionately — they stayed in that position for a while, before Ningguang ended the kiss, a string of saliva still connecting them. She smirked at the sight of the uncommon blush on Beidou’s cheeks.
“I like them, bǎobèi,” she said simply. “Thank you.”
Beidou chuckled nervously. “That’s good, then.”
Ningguang smiled happily as the thought of Beidou’s birthday returned to mind. She spun on her heel and took the two presents from out of her desk drawer. Standing up straight again, she held them out for Beidou to take.
“Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
The captain grinned as she took the gifts from her lover. “Why thank you, my lady.”
She bowed to the Tianquan, and received an eye roll from her lover in return for her eccentrics.
“Just open them already, honestly, Beidou.” Ningguang giggled softly, covering her lips with her gold fan.
Beidou set down the larger parcel on the table, and then opened the first box: she smiled excitedly as she saw the accessory inside.
“You got me a new hairpin?”
Ningguang nodded. “Yes, I did. I designed it myself, actually.”She couldn’t resist smiling proudly when Beidou looked at her in surprise.
“May I help?” Ningguang asked once Beidou took the hairpin out of its box, and began attempting to position it in her brown locks.
A nod as confirmation from the captain, and the Tianquan stepped forward to help guide Beidou’s calloused hands to put the hairpin in the right spot with her own soft ones.
“There! Perfect.” Ningguang said proudly once it was in place.
Beidou examined her appearance in the mirror, her unruly mane now tamed with the gift from her lover. The gold stem of the pin paired with the turquoise tassel at one end looked stunning with her outfit: it reminded Beidou of not only her style of dressing, but Ningguang’s as well. A perfect way to remember her girlfriend.
The first present opened, Beidou turned to the second box. She lifted the lid to reveal a pristine jade-infused chessboard. Her singular ruby eye gleamed as she took a few of the pieces off the board to examine.
Turning back to Ningguang, she wrapped her lover up in another hug. “Thank you, my heart.”
Ningguang hummed happily. “Of course.”
“Now, I have one final gift to you: we’re going to Xinyue Kiosk tonight for a meal. It’s been a while since we’ve visited them together, after all.”
Beidou chuckled. “Trust you to get a reservation at a restaurant it takes three months to get a reservation at.”
With a smirk, Ningguang spoke again. “My dear Beidou, I am the Tianquan of the Qixing. Of course I got a reservation at Xinyue Kiosk.”
Several hours later, in the early hours of the morning, sweaty naked limbs were entangled and present in the Tianquan’s luxurious bed. A night of pleasure after a relaxing meal. A reward after both captain and Tianquan’s hard work.
A mess of brown curls mixed with white locks, creating a blend of white and dark chocolate in stained sheets, sweet like the love they shared.
The Tianquan’s Valentine’s and the captain’s birthday. Spent together, forevermore.
-fin.