Chapter Text
Her mind wanders, along with her eyes, and Ganyu can’t help but watch the handfuls of sakura petals that drift their way downwards and around her. They swirl like a dream, twisting and fluttering in the calm air. She reaches to touch one, and the movement of her hand propels the cherry blossom away, dancing around on an invisible river of calm before settling down on yumemiru flooring, a pink drop on a red ocean. The grassy aroma of the tea in front of a pair of acquaintances mixes with the flowers’ sweet scent, and in that moment, a single breath feels like an eternity of serenity.
Across from her, the curious Guuji of the surrounding shrine looks on amusedly. These sights are quite familiar to her, and have been for quite a while, but she still enjoys the chance to observe the fresh wonder of an unfamiliar gaze. Stillness for most would be boring; that much still resonated true with the kitsune, but the stillness of a moment as such can be its own kind of engaging. It’s not often she gets this chance, so Yae Miko allows the quiet to stay for a while longer.
Purple and gold trace a petal down, and then another, this way and that. Ganyu watches a teardrop tumble, faster than most, from a low-lying branch down towards the ground, spinning around a sturdy railing before disappearing from sight, either down into the pool below or the open sky around. Shuffling from nearby, along with a faint breeze that blows the light aroma of a warm cup her way, snaps her out of the trance with a gentle nudge. She has to look around to reorient herself, barely awake where she stands. Right, she was here for…
“This really is a wonderful time of year for the blossoms, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Ah!”
To Ganyu’s embarrassment, it takes a bit of effort to get her shoulders to relax from the startle, one that couldn’t have gone unnoticed. A quick, all-too-anxious glance around proves her suspicions right; the shrine maiden idly gazes over with an amused smirk. “Oh– uh, my apologies, Miss Yae– I believe I… spaced out there.” It’s only after she says that she realizes she was supposed to respond to the sudden question.
With the fondness of someone only too accustomed to the antics of a self-destructive busybody, Lady Yae only smiles, sighs, and takes a patient sip of tea. “It’s quite alright.” Her eyes spark with a vitality Ganyu’s only ever seen in the adepti, in the immortal. “And besides, I was rather hoping to cover more— casual topics. It has been quite a while, you know.”
“Right. Of course.” It doesn’t feel like a recent development for Ganyu at all; she’s had her hands full for months, as have her colleagues, trying to wrangle in affairs with Inazuma. The Sakoku Decree, and its absolvement, halted any standing agreements with Liyue, and reinstated them all just as suddenly. Trade and commerce, bi-lateral legislation, transportation policies, all topics exhaustingly familiar to the officials of the Qixing. Just the thought of all her unfinished work makes her want to collapse into a field of flowers and sleep for a century.
All that to say, their meetings had been complicated by the isolationist policy. In the past (and, she guesses, the future) the two would meet somewhat regularly to discuss affairs. Ganyu had found a kindred spirit, wise to the ways of her human companions and easily able to read their intentions, an ability she could only dream of grasping. The Lady Guuji, too, found something in their meetings, although the qilin could never quite get an admission as to why. Even if she does not understand the motivation to break from critical affairs, busy as she is, she understands that her coy companion surely has her reasons.
(If said reasons are curiosity, boredom, and nothing else, Ganyu doesn’t need to know that.)
“So, uh… what is it you wish to know?” Immediately regretting trying to ever speak again, her awkwardly formal question draws a chuckle from Miko. When she grins, it shows fangs.
“I thought I already said there’s no need to be so formal.” The lack of venom in her words is a welcome reassurance. “These meetings aren’t professional or official. As far as anyone knows, we’re just a couple of friends meeting up to share some tea.” With her later anecdote, Ganyu catches an ear flick amusedly from behind Yae, as if giddily whispering about a shared little secret among friends.
“Right! Well, aside from work, I don’t really have much going on…”
“No tales of vengeful sea monsters or treacherous depths on the mainland? Not even a festival or two? Aw, what a pity…”
“Ah!” She must be more tired than she thought, every non-border issue in Liyue completely slipped her mind the second she tried to think of a topic. Great battles at sea, everything around the Chasm (that she heard second hand, at least; it sounded terrifying, and certainly was a logistical nightmare), festivals and partnerships, the whole basket. And, to exacerbate her anxieties, her mental slip can’t possibly be brushed off at this point, considering Miko’s response. She already knows the state of things in Liyue, and based on her tone, quite fully. “Well– ah, I suppose there’s no point in me echoing what you already know.” There’s no way she can salvage her end of the conversation now; she might as well move the focus away from herself and alleviate some of the pressure weighing on her neck. “So, how about you?”
(The tradesmen brought word of the seas and festivities in Liyue with ease. As for the Chasm, getting the story from Miyuki’s little sister proved to be difficult; prying the tale from an entertainingly energetic oni was much easier.)
Yae looks satisfied. “Well, where to begin?” It’s quite terrifying to think that this might have been her intention all along, so Ganyu shoves the thought back where it came from, never to be seen again. “Shrine matters have been relatively straightforward,” she says, gazing outwards towards the distant city below, “barring the occasional troublesome rumor or wayward soul.” She gets the peculiar sense there’s a story to those words, but not one she has any right to ask about, so she lets it be. Yae Miko seems to glow, trilling out “Yae Publishing House, on the other hand, is quite busy with new novels and writers. Not only are we getting the usual submissions, but also gaining renown outside of Inazuma, thanks to the wonderfully-organized Irodori Festival.”
If Ganyu reads her right, Yae is satisfied with that development. “Our editors receive more submissions by the day, and not all of them turn out to be entirely horrible.”
“I’d heard that light novels had become popular in Inazuma, but just that amount of submissions is incredible. I haven’t read for myself in a while, actually… Would you happen to have any recommendations?” A smile creeps onto her face, infected by the grin of her friend. She’d heard of some of this from the Traveler, but her hands had been too full to write down a note at the time. It may not be a bad idea to listen more to Yaoyao’s lectures, and take more frequent breaks when on the clock.
“Ahhhhh, I see. Let me think…” Her voice gives an engaged rise, and her eyes look now to the red painted yumemiru of her domain as she swivels the tea. Her mouth opens several times as if to speak, but it always clamps back shut with an apprehensive thought. “Hm…”
(If she took a bit too long to think about suitable, and well written, novel recommendations, that was Miko’s business and Miko’s only. Nevermind it if she searched her consciousness for the perfect hook, unsatisfied with the usual topics for this purpose. That’s nothing of concern to you, anyway.)
It takes a minute, unusually long for a lull in their conversation on her end, for Yae to generate a response. “You know, I’m having trouble picking a few out. I suppose there’s just too many to sort through without a filter, then.”
“Alright, what about… more recent works? It would be nice to get a look into how Inazuma’s creatives are doing at the moment.”
“Recent novels, then… Well, most of them are focused romances, but there’ve been a few adventures and intrigues with love as a subplot. Seems the masses are eager for company. The Shogun’s Soft Spot, I Have to Finish My Essay, but I Love My Girlfriend Too Much!!!, Fish, Fishing, Fished, and Heart of the Deep-Sea Monster have sold well this past week, but Taste of My Future and Sabotaged in Love… by a Sumeran Parrot? haven’t fallen far from their places in the week before.”
“All– romances?” Something about those makes Ganyu waver further. “As in, every single one?”
A second’s pause is enough to tip off Yae.
“What, love stories not your cup of tea?” Satisfied with her play on words, she takes a sip.
“Well, I’ve– never actually–” she stammers, “it’s not like I have anything against romance. I just…” She stops, unsure of herself, if she should continue. A reassuring glance from Miko, sudden and inquisitive, says everything and nothing at all. It’s alright, Ms. Secretary. Just talk.
“I’ve never actually… been in a relationship– like that– before. I’ve seen them, and– even helped a few along, but I can’t help but feel completely lost when it comes to them.”
“Never? No fools with more heart than sense stumbling along your path? No enemies turned lovers, or workplace romances? No one-night– well, you get the jist of that.” She looks pensive, and quite focused on Ganyu’s expression, every change through every word. “It’s not like I don’t think you’d be a catch; am I to assume that no one’s tried?”
“Wh– well, no, there’ve been a… few… chances, but I haven’t reciprocated anything the other way– or at least, on the level I understand it to be…” Even with the comfort from across her, anxiety sets in again.
“Hm…”
Miko doesn’t look disappointed, or show any sign of pity. That’s certainly new; in the past, whenever she tried to express these feelings, they’ve garnered mixed responses, even from the adepti. No, this is quite the opposite, really. Her kindred kitsune looks to have pieced together something within the expanse of her mind, enigmatic as it is.
“Have you ever stopped to think about why that is?”
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