mydeerbambi - Tumblr blog

mydeerbambi · 6 months ago

Text

A TRUE TREASURE

'only a true treasure captures the eye of captain beidou, seems i've struck gold with this one'.

SUMMARY: the crux is best known for its devious pirate endeavours, including stealing the eye-catching, expensive trinkets from the richest of teyvat’s most important people. captain beidou, going on a solo mission to steal from none other than liyue’s tianquan herself, ningguang, becomes charmed by her wit, as she seems to have outsmarted beidou at her own deceitful game.

pairing: ningguang x beidou, beiguang word count: 2.2k

NOTES: - had a small idea for one of my favourite ships in the game - i miss this event

----------

The Tianquan. Or as Beidou often referred to her as: ‘Liyue’s Little Princess’.

Ningguang had done nothing wrong, of course. She was consistently admired and awarded for her leadership, making a positive impression on her people with policy and personality. To her, Liyue wasn’t just a nation, it was her home. Which is why she had a considerable talent for preserving its business and culture. Beidou’s issue, however, was that it was hard to steal from the people you didn’t hate to at least a small degree, so she found that one of her main hobbies was nitpicking irrational things about the people she stole from. In Ningguang’s case, Beidou claimed she didn’t like her because she was ‘too fancy’. Which was true, to an extent, though she kept more humble about it than others.

After frequent successful expeditions of stealing the gems from Teyvat’s most important, the Crux proposed a hit against Liyue’s Tianquan. A distracting event was crucial to tasks such as these, and the upcoming Lantern Rite, that Ningguang would have to make an appearance at, made it the perfect opportunity to strike.

The festival saw hundreds of people celebrating in the streets of Liyue Harbor, decorated with dancing bright lights, fluid puppetry of large dragons, floating lanterns, sparking fireworks and street vendors with sweet and savoury aromas you could smell from miles away. Beidou proposed she do this mission alone, giving her crew an opportunity to relax and celebrate for a night.

Beidou sat at the edge of the pristine concrete base of the Jade Chamber, peering down at the blur of lights and festivities she’d be missing out on this year, though she figured that if she was quick enough she might be able to grab a plate of something warm and spicy from the harbor’s bustling restaurants. She stood up and walked to the outside of the Chamber, stealthing its walls to a side-entry door of the building. She twirled the dangling silver keys around her finger that she’d pickpocketed from one of Ningguang’s guards a few hours prior.

‘It really is too easy’, she laughed to herself as she unlocked the door to the Chamber’s main room. It only took looking around once to clearly see which room belonged to the ‘princess’.

*** The doors to Ningguang’s bedroom were grand. A towering curve of an arch, perfectly carved into the wall, patterned with twisting and entwining orange and brown patterns. The detailing of the lines were laced with a smooth gold, forming an accent that set them apart from their surrounding standard wooden walls. Even those with the simplest of minds could easily figure out that these were the doors to Ningguang’s room. Beidou snorted. ‘Typical’. Though she could admit, they did make her quite impressed, even if she couldn't appreciate their true beauty in the dark blue of the night. She rested her fingers on the handles of the doors, giving herself a reassuring moment that she had to be quick and quiet. She knew Ningguang was quite plentiful with whom she employed to work in her Jade Chamber, so Beidou knew she didn’t have long before someone walked in. She pushed the doors open, revealing a large bedroom. The walls towered up, the patterns on them following, meeting in the centre of the ceiling to form into pictures of mythical animals and constellations. The curtains that framed her bed were made with a soft pale-gold fabric. The dark wooden floors were mostly covered by a large carpet, the design of a golden phoenix weaved into it, framing the base of the bed. Beidou was stunned, glancing around and almost forgetting what she was here for. She couldn't possibly imagine ever living in something so luxurious, compared to the conditions of living in a ship. Though, admittedly, she did grant herself the best sleeping quarters of the Crux, even then it had no comparison to the room she was standing in. Looking around the place in awe, the corner of her eye caught sight of the perfectly displayed jewellery sets that her soon-to-be victim owned. Beidou rushed over to them, examining the heavy jewels that gave character to their connected metals and chains.

She set her eyes on a thin stacked necklace, its curved shapes divided by aqua-blue gems. She gently picked them up as they glistened against the moonlight that came from the window behind her. In her admiration, Beidou knew she had struck gold with this endeavour.

Slowly, her eyes couldn’t help but focus on the katanas mounted above the dresser in front of her. Setting the necklace down, she thought of the potential value of blades such as these. There were three mounts stacked above each other, each one holding up its own uniquely designed katana.

All except one of them.

Slightly surprised, Beidou pulled her hand away from the mount with a missing blade. She discovered its new location pretty quickly.

A cold tip travelled curved inches backwards, ending with the handle of the blade being held by pale, soft hands, delicately decorated with bracelets and sharp silver finger guards. The tip of the katana was methodically placed against Beidou’s skin of her upper back, perfectly slotted between the divided pieces of fabric that made up her cape. The coldness of the blade sent a slight shiver up Beidou’s spine. She felt a small amount of fear, as one would do. Though a deviant feeling of excitement was gradually overcoming it. Beidou cursed herself for this, but she knew playfulness was in her nature.

A quietness lingered in the air for a few moments, as if both women were quickly thinking of the next steps in their plan. The armed woman's voice cut through the silence, relaxed, though cunning. ‘Member of the Crux, I suppose?’.

Beidou kept silent, slowly removing her right hand from the edge of the wooden dresser and down to the holstered dagger at her hip. These predicaments weren’t anything new to Beidou, her years of sailing the seas and gaining more enemies than allies proving that. Her movements always became almost cat-like in these situations. In this case, her hands would find the handle of her dagger like a cat stalking its prey, only to then unleash her violence as soon as she had hold of it.

‘Not a smart move’. Ningguang said, her eyes studying the path of movement of Beidou’s right hand.

Beidou stopped, still looking at the empty display mount in front of her. ‘You might want to give up wielding that now, hm? We both know you’re not used to fighting like this’.

‘You don’t know me as well as you think you do.’ She tilted her head, ‘Captain Beidou’.

A smirk creeping up on her face, Beidou turned around to her captor, her hands held up by her sides with an admirable confidence. This was the last situation where she’d want any of her movements to come across as sheepish.

Her eyes met with Ningguang's stern expression. ‘Lady Ningguang,’ Beidou said, straightening her back.

Ningguang’s eyes slowly scanned Beidou, taking her appearance in. ‘I heard talk of my political peers being stolen from in the past few months,’ Ningguang said, amused. ‘My guards suggested we increase security but alas, what sort of power do a group of trinket-hungry pirates really have anyway?’. Beidou sneered, trying her best not to take offence to Ningguang’s words. ‘You pose no threat to me, Beidou’.

She glanced down at the blade pointing to her chest, her eyes trailing the length of it back to the other woman’s face. ‘Really? Why not? A sword like this being used for your own defence, you’d think me the most dangerous woman in Teyvat’.

Ningguang eyed Beidou’s dagger holster once again; she wasn’t sure she could hold a fight against a woman who’d surely dealt in combat affairs more frequently than her. Her expression flickered with the slightest hint of uncertainty as she bit the skin of her lips. Causing harm to someone would only cause Ningguang more problems to deal with than she already had. Beidou also knew this, of course.

‘You didn’t wait here with the intention of killing me’. Beidou stated, lowering her palms to rest on the dresser behind her. ‘Only to interrogate me, right?’.

Ningguang lowered the katana from Beidou’s chest. She examined it before she set it down on her bed behind her. Beidou noticed something then; a change in Ningguang’s expression. The features of her face became softer as she looked back up at Beidou, crossing her arms over her torso. Was it a look of defeat? A look of tiredness? She couldn’t exactly tell. And as much as she hated it, Beidou was starting to feel sorry for her. She was familiar with the stress it took to run an entire pirate crew. She couldn’t fathom the responsibility of handling business endeavours for an entire nation. Her guilt started to get the best of her. ‘I think you’ve won this round, Lady Ningguang, I'll tuck my tail between my legs and leave’. She started adjusting the gloves on her hands. ‘No need to do it for me, your Highn-’.

She was cut off by the quick and sudden movement of Ningguang walking closer to her, stopping as soon as she could practically feel the heat radiating from Beidou’s body. A few seconds of silence followed, Beidou staring intently at Ningguang’s face, wondering what she was up to. Ningguang hesitated, she herself also wondering the same thing.

‘Lady Ninggu-?’ Beidou asked in confusion, as a decorated silver hand slowly traced its way up her arm and face, stopping at her cheekbone.

Ningguang’s eyes met with Beidou’s. ‘I've heard many tales about the criminals you call your crew, yet they all failed to mention the beauty of their captain.’ Her finger guards traced the outer of Beidou’s eye before they glided down her jawline. ‘How could a gem such as yourself be so cruel to the unsuspecting?’.

Beidou found it hard to figure out what to say next, but she can't deny she was enjoying it. Being intimate with people was nothing out of the ordinary to Beidou, but high royalty? This was a new one.

She gave a low hum of a laugh. ‘Except for the simple fact that you were suspecting it’.

Ningguang’s grip tightened, lifting Beidou’s chin up as if she were a trophy to be examined. ‘Precisely’.

Beidou looked down at her face, admiring the warm orange light bouncing off her features, contrasting to the dark blue of the night sky. She found it increasingly hard to keep up a dislike for Ningguang in the position she had her in. She snaked her hand up Ningguang’s arm, gently pulling her hand away from her face. It was her turn to take control. ‘You know, Lady Ningguang, I came here with the intention of stealing inanimate objects, but it seems the most valuable one can talk back to me, why is that?’. Beidou’s hands and eyes found their way to the side of Ningguang’s hip, fidgeting with her glowing geo pendant.

A hint of a smile crept up on Ningguang’s face. ‘You flatter me, Captain Beidou. Do you speak to all of your victims in such a manner?’

Beidou looked back up, meeting Ningguang’s ruby eyes once again. ‘Only the ones who catch my eye, princess’.

A sudden burst of fireworks erupted from outside the window, interrupting the intimacy that both women seemed to be enjoying. A beautiful display of Liyue’s warm red and yellow colours, marking the end of the Lantern Rite festival. Ningguang’s eyes darted to the impressive show and cursed under her breath, knowing that she should be there to celebrate another prosperous year for her nation instead of dealing with more personal affairs.

She swiftly brushed past Beidou, taking her hand and guiding her towards her direction. Ningguang picked up a golden necklace from one of her jewellery mannequins and handed it to Beidou. ‘I suppose I can’t leave you empty handed’.

Beidou inspected it before extending her arm to hand it back. ‘No, really,’ she looked at Ningguang longingly, knowing these were the last moments of their strange, though comforting, interaction. ‘This chat was enough.’

Ningguang encased her hand around Beidou’s, tightening the necklace in her grasp. ‘I insist. It’s worth something for your crew and besides, I can always buy another.’

She made her way hurriedly towards the open doors before she stopped, resting her palm on the frame and taking a glance back at Beidou. ‘Tell me I'll be seeing you again.’

Beidou smirked at her imposing request and rested her hands on her hips. ‘If our greetings will always start with a blade to my back, then hopefully not.’ Beidou replied playfully.

Ningguang smiled, looking out the window at the continuation of fireworks, then walked out the room. ‘A charmer, Captain Beidou, a real charmer.’

It took everything in Beidou not to follow Ningguang and stick with her for the rest of the night. You came here for one thing, remember?, she thought to herself. Beidou studied the necklace in her hand once more, unclasping the back of it and reaching up around her own neck to wear it. She wasn’t sure if her crew would call this a successful mission, but she sure knew it was.

#ningguang #beidou #beiguang #beidou x ningguang #ningguang x beidou #genshin #genshin impact #genshin impact ningguang #genshin impact beidou #ningguang genshin impact #beidou genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin fanfiction #wlw

12 notes · View notes

mydeerbambi · 8 months ago

Text

DEJA VU

SUMMARY: it’s the last night of your spa vacation that you and sylus went on, purely on the basis of being ‘overworked co-workers’. reluctant to develop your relationship any more with him, your spa attendants seem to notice a bubbling romance, even though you don’t see it yourself.

pairing: sylus x fem!reader word count: 2.7k

NOTES: - basically I had a dream of an (almost) intimate spa session with sylus and i don’t know why LMFAO. i wanted to elaborate on it but i’ve only seen edits and have never actually played the game so forgive me if i get anything wrong personality/lore wise!! (or otherwise just too vague) - i’m not really too comfortable writing smut rn so i guess the end is left up to the imagination (apologies) - kinda my first fic so criticism is always welcome! - the attendants are just random ass characters i came up with on the spot (bare w me) - sylus is hot as shit.

----------

Your vacation bedroom was colder than usual. After a while you concluded that the resort staff had just forgotten to turn the heating on, but it also could have been the impending feeling of nausea and deja vu that had crashed over you multiple times within the past ten minutes.

Sylus was the first person in a long time that you had to cooperate on a mission with. After the hurt and betrayal of the last partner you worked with a few years ago, a woman you considered your closest friend, the only thing you forced yourself to do was take on missions that only required one agent. That was until your mentors proposed the biggest gang takedown of a lifetime. You were excited, which was unusual for you, until you realised you had to cooperate with Sylus, a powerful man within your sector, though equally as skilled as you. The shell you encased yourself in against him during your training together was rock solid; the only intention you had was to perform the takedown successfully and move onto your next mission. Though, Sylus seemed to have other plans: perform the takedown successfully, just like you, while simultaneously trying to break down your shell as much as he could. To say the least, he was intrigued by you. Entranced by you. He wanted to know who you really were so he made it his prerogative to do so.

You, while doing your best efforts to avoid phatic communication, couldn’t avoid your unconscious mind taking over. It was only two days after meeting where your lust got the better of you, dreaming about the most romantic scenario of your life with Sylus, before it abruptly ended with heavy breathing and waking up in an uncomfortable cold sweat. Over time, you began to realise that you did actually enjoy his company, though at this point you were way too far into keeping up an image of wanting nothing to do with him. Little did Sylus know that he had already pretty much destroyed your shell and your core was just within his grasp.

So why were you sitting on the edge of your bed in a towel, fidgeting with the skin by your nails with your mind zoned out, watching the minutes tick by on the clock of your bedside table? Because everything that occurred in the past fifteen minutes had all happened exactly as they were in the dream, from the time of day, the organisation of your shared bedroom, all down to the thudding of Sylus’ feet on the floor as he paced around the room in his towel, preparing himself for his final spa session.

The vacation you were on was advertised as a couples getaway, though Sylus knew you were pretty adamant on not having any spa sessions together. So why did you ask him to come with you? Because by the gods and all possibilities in the universe, Sylus was the only person you knew who was available. It seems that going through the stress of completing a hard mission also comes with the benefit of a pretty long break from working.

‘Are you okay, y/n?’, you hadn’t even noticed that Sylus’ footsteps around the room had stopped. He was now sitting next to you on the edge of the bed, an expression like a lost puppy when you turned to him, scanning your face as he desperately tried to figure out what was wrong.

‘I should b- I mean I am’, a pathetic attempt at hiding your fear, truly. There’s no chance he’d leave you alone now.

‘I've not recognised you all day, y/n’, he said in that soft tone of his. ‘Is there anything I can-’.

You cut him off by turning away from him in shame, fighting the war in your mind of whether to tell him the truth or do your best attempt at a lie that he could see through better than a glass window. Taking in a deep breath, you stood up, facing him as he looked up at you. Even after all this time you still found it hard to make eye contact with him.

‘I had a dream’, you started, ‘a few months back’.

‘Hm?’, he questioned. ‘Was it a pleasant dream or a bad one?’

You met his eyes reluctantly. ‘You were in it’.

He relaxed slightly. ‘Well it must have been terrifying in that case’. His humour irked you but you had to admit he did make you laugh.

‘You know what, just forget it’. You were already regretting the conversation as soon as you opened your mouth, ‘it’s not important’.

He stood up, height surpassing you as he held your hands softly, drawing circles into your palms with the tips of his thumbs. ‘It’s you, y/n, it must be important.’

His reassurance really was effective on you.

‘You know how sometimes you'll dream things and they actually happen?’. You were trying to figure out what you could possibly say to not sound crazy.

‘I suppose, it happens quite rarely’.

‘Everything that happened in that dream has all happened in these past few moments, exactly as they were’.

Nope, still crazy.

‘Well if I was in it then shouldn’t it have ended by now? I mean, we’ll both be on our own in a few min-’.

You hopelessly looked up at him, hoping he’d catch on.

‘Hm’, he stayed silent for a few seconds. It felt like hours. ‘How did the dream end, y/n?’.

‘It didn't have an ending, I just kinda woke up in shock’.

The changing lights on the bedside clock caught the attention of your peripherals as it switched to 9PM. By now, your spa attendants would be waiting for you for one last time.

You didn’t want to waste any more time over something that was probably all in your head anyway. ‘Listen, you don't have to say anything right now, but I'll give you the option this time’. You became a lot more nervous. ‘You can either spend your last spa session on your own.. or you can join me if you feel the need to’.

You faced your back to him, dismissive of whatever he was about to say next and opened the door leading to your designated spa cabin.

You managed to get one last glimpse at his defeated expression. ‘The ending of the dream is up to you, Sylus’.

-----

The thing that you assumed you’d miss most about the trip is the aroma of your spa cabin. For the times that you’d already relaxed in there, your designated spa attendants, Kliva and Whitney, would always make it smell like a deep mix of vanilla and cocoa butter; scents that you’d probably worship if they were gods. The routine was the same each time: you’d remove your towel, lower yourself into the warm water and spend around an hour there relaxing and chatting to your attendants, being offered silver-trayed fancy delicacies, massages or other things that made you feel like a pampered queen. This time, you had your shoulders massaged by Whitney, while Kliva asked you to smell interesting scents from different candles and oils.

‘Actually, you know what, try this one’, Kliva said, pulling a cylindrical tube from a case and lifting the contents up to your nose.

‘Lavender, hm?’, you replied as she twisted the cap back on the bottle. ‘The scent is strong but maybe if it was more subtle I’d like it more’.

‘That’s exactly what I was thinking!’, she replied enthusiastically.

‘The only thing I’m thinking is why that jerk of yours hasn’t spent a session with you yet’. You could feel the frustration within Whitney as she massaged your shoulders; a stern, professional grip, but definitely an angry one.

‘He’s not mine’, you laughed. ‘We came here as partners. My friend couldn't use her tickets and Sylus and I were the only ones who happened to be available. Nothing more'.

‘You know, y/n’, you looked up at Kliva as she set her box of scents aside, ‘there’s only so many times you can tell the truth before it becomes a lie’.

‘And what's that supposed to mean?’, you replied, slightly confused.

‘What I mean is that you’ve told us this story about you and him just being co-workers about a billion times but we’ve seen the way he looks at you!’.

‘He looks at me quite normally, thank you’.

Whitney tutted, ‘you know, for a spy, you’re awful at reading people’.

You turned around to meet her eyes in disbelief. You couldn’t tell if you should’ve been offended by her comment on your years of studying the psychology of your enemies or just simply hear her out.

You let her continue. ‘Listen, okay? When he looks at you it’s as if you’re the only woman in the world to him. The sparkle in his eyes when he sees you could be mistaken for the stars in the night sky themselves. You really don’t notice?’.

You thought of the fact that you only ever bothered reading the expressions of others if you knew there was a possibility they'd pull something on you in the next half second. A useful trick for dealing with the face of danger.

The face of love, however? You didn't really bother with that.

‘I don’t think we’ve had a couple in here with more chemistry than you two’, Kliva added.

‘You’re just saying that’, you dismissed their words of overly-sweet romance as you turned back around.

‘We are not!’, they dramatically shouted in concert. The laughter following from all three of you almost made you forget what you were talking about. You were definitely going to miss these two when you left.

After a short silence, Kliva blurted, ‘It’s your last time here! Are you sure he’s not going to accompany you tonight? Like he didn’t ask at all?’.

‘I mean, I gave him a choice. Whether or not he’ll accept it I’m not su-’.

Your words were suddenly cut off by a quiet knock at the door. In all your life a pit in your stomach didn’t form faster than that moment. While your body was overcome with fear, both women couldn’t help but unmask their giddiness as they looked at each other and rushed to the door. You weren’t sure Sylus even got a word in before either of them spoke.

‘It’s about time you showed up’, Whitney said, an attitude in her voice that could send even the strongest of men to the pits of shame. She opened the door wider so they both could usher themselves out. Kliva rushed to pick up her box beside you as she followed her partner out of the room. Leaving you both alone she whispered softly to Sylus, ‘be gentle with her’.

-----

As your spa attendants removed themselves skittishly from the room, while you were sure you heard slight giggles from both of them, you pushed yourself from the edge of the spa’s walls and gently walked towards the centre of the water, mentally preparing yourself for the events to come. The door clicked shut as Sylus stood a few metres behind you, his height towering over the edge of the coping of the spa’s rectangular shape. The presence of only him in here with you made you nervous. That, and the added fact you were facing away from him, unable to read his movements. As the water gently brushed your legs and lower back, you calmly parted the back of your hair in two, placing each section atop your breasts to cover them, cursing yourself that that was the only slight form of protection and decency you had over Sylus’ vision. As the silence seemed to grow, your eyes became heavy, focusing on the slight ripples and movements of the water while your ears focused on the padding of the raindrops outside as they landed on the wood of the cabin’s roof.

‘Am I expected?’, he asked you, his deep voice cutting through the silence that you were enjoying so much.

You knew the answer but remained silent, though you turned your head around ever so slightly to look up at him. The only thing his figure wore was a towel, draped perfectly across his hips, as beads of water highlighted parts of his hopelessly chiselled torso. You assessed him for a moment; everything about him was perfect. Your eyes made their way up to his face as he looked down at you. Everything about his gaze made you feel small, insignificant. Though to him, ‘insignificant’ was nowhere near the right word. Staring into his warm, crimson eyes for a few seconds, his face framed perfectly by wet strands of white hair, you decided to turn your head back around. Because at this very moment you wanted him to take control. Because this is the part where your dream ended and you woke up in a confused sweat a few months ago. Sylus took your gaze at him as an acceptance of his question, as you heard a light thud of his towel dropping to the floor in a pile.

The still movement of the water was slightly disrupted as he slowly walked down the submerged steps, lowering himself gently into the water, only about a metre behind you. He continued until he was only a few inches away, in which you could practically feel his energy radiate from his skin. His breathing was calm, giving you the sense of reassurance that you needed to tell your brain that you weren’t in any danger. You matched your breathing with his as best you could, calming yourself in the process. You could feel his gaze fixed on you, as if he had just captured the prey of a lifetime. Still, despite your newfound calmness, you found it hard to turn around, knowing that as soon as your eyes met he would finally be able to say he achieved his main mission: getting through to you.

His left hand cupped your upper arm ever so slightly, steadying you, as he used his middle finger on his right to lightly trace the scars on your back.

‘I didn’t know you had these’, he asked as you tried not to melt into his warm embrace and the touch of his fingers. ‘What happened? If you don’t mind me asking’.

There was no point in avoiding the personal questions he asked you now.

‘..Betrayal’, though you still hesitated, ‘..the reason I wanted nothing to do with you’.

The small amount of anger still left in your heart caused you to finally turn and face him, ‘..the reason you never gave up on your interest in me’.

Looking into his eyes this close made you feel even weaker as he finished your statement, ‘the reason I’m here right now, right?’. Now that you were this close, you figured out what your attendants were talking about; he really did have a sparkle in his eyes when he looked at you. His presence, paired with his low, breathy voice hypnotised you and the only thing you could do was nod weakly, shyly breaking eye contact with him as you focused on the smooth skin of his chest and shoulders.

His middle finger on his left hand traced up your left arm, making its way up across your shoulder and collarbone, finishing with brushing your hair away from that side of your neck down your back, exposing part of your chest to him, though now you felt more comfortable than ever.

‘At which part did your dream end?’, he asked, scanning your perfect body with his eyes.

Your eyes focused slightly at the door he came through a few metres behind him, ‘I guess when you came in’. His soft touch across your skin made your voice weak, as if your heart was caving into his presence, craving all of him.

‘So I still have the opportunity to decide whether or not to give your dream a good ending?’.

You nodded.

‘And if I decide to walk out, to leave the beautiful deer in front of me with nothing?’.

As you hesitated with the fear he wasn’t joking, his right arm snaked around your waist, his strength grabbing you effortlessly, lifting you up and positioning your hips slightly above his. You held onto his shoulders and arms for stability, looking down at him as you giggled softly, meeting his eyes with a slight smile. ‘Then I suppose all of your efforts would have been worth nothing’.

#sylus x reader #lads #lads sylus #love and deepspace #love and deepspace x reader #lads x reader #love and deepspace sylus #sylus love and deepspace

97 notes · View notes