Happiness (Aether x Ganyu) *Completed*

Chapter 5

AETHER'S POV

"A-Aether?" Ganyu softly tugged at the sleeve of my shirt, grabbing my attention cutely.

"Yes?" I gave her my best smile.

I was vivacious. Me and Ganyu were by the docks taking in the the tranquil silence it boasted. Our legs were at the edge of the small wooden bridge as our feet dangled. Nothing could ruin this night. I didn't tell Ganyu outright but this was the best week of my life. Seriously. Conflict chased me like a wild boar and moments like these were close to extinct for me. We drew our own interpretations of Rex Lapis by painting him (though I already knew what he looked like).

We shared humiliating secrets in a treehouse. Ganyu mentioned in her childhood, she always wanted to build one and live in it with her family. For lack of words, I told her my sister liked the color white and often lashed out at me if I did something stupid. It was a typical sibling relationship. Also, Ganyu wanted to try out clothes in Inazuma. Being the experienced adventurer, I took her there myself and we explored through most of the merchandise. She looked amazing in each dress and robe. If a man wanted to hug a woman in any type of clothing she wore, then that was already obvious indication the clothes were great.

On days of rest and enjoyment, I was lull and only reveled in the sights of the lanterns that were lit atop the moonlit sky on that fateful Lantern Rite.

While I loved my life and living through it has been a scroll of passage, there were those who choose to leave without proper reasoning.

Of course, I didn't stay in other worlds too long. In the land of Teyvat, everything was new, fragile, and splashed with picaresque. I'd met countless people who impacted me. I can be candid if I wanted to, make an incision to whoever caused harm to my loved ones should it be necessary, hack through their unreasonable complaints and silence.

But why was I acting all gloomy thinking those things? I should be happy and combusting in glee at the sight of Ganyu beside me, her aura and eternal gaze mellifluous. Was I starting to feel something? Would Ningguang really win this subtle yet obvious agreement that I wasn't just going to make Ganyu happy, but also one where I'd be affected by her presence this much?

I put forward some stipulations into my dumb brain. What the heck was I thinking?

One day, I'll leave Teyvat.

Ganyu was currently writing about particular sceneries she was looking at right now. It was one of the things she suggested to do with me for a whole day. She'd call for my attention, allowing me to address my opinions on how she wrote her surroundings in a descriptive setting. I'd bump shoulders with her (cause any form of contact was greatly appreciated), and I would lose courage as soon as I saw the words she'd written on paper.

I was no stranger to books and all (I collected a lot of useless stuff all the time, a book was pretty useful too). I didn't care to write. I felt that my words were transparent, too simple, and not worth the glance. My style was tangential and could easily be replaced. I much preferred adventuring and relying on my movements than power with the quill.

I then read how she described the rivers and what it meant to her. I just didn't think she'd write so much in seconds.

Rivers

"Liyue was no stranger to storms and indigence. A time of great peril struck at its cornerstone, millions of lives suffering under an unruly's god's garble. Today, when I see the waters calm, the skies no longer bearing a dark cascade. I grow fond and sorrowful. A multitude of feelings submerge around me, reminding me of the good and bad times, in war and what came afterward. The clear and exorbitant rivers helped us so greatly. My sadness is just like the river. I go on without direction, my reach is unknown but my purpose exists. To help, to survive, and to prosper alongside human and people like I. I dream to one day be as better as the river so that I will no longer be sad. Such a day will provide me so big a calmness. Engrossed in melancholy, do I regret my life? Am I able to live on like always? Do I have a choice in what I do? Only the river can tell me and no one else. For it is the river that provides a wonderful reflection of all species. And that is also why I love it so dearly."