my north star

SUMMARY

Beidou comes home after a long, arduous journey.

NOTES

This is Baby’s First Smut, and also Completely Self Indulgent. Enjoy!

The lively streets of Liyue Harbor are lit up with bright red lanterns, the color of luck and prosperity as per tradition, and in Beidou’s case, she has indeed prospered once again from slaying another sea monster. She strolled around the wharf, greeting people and children, and accepting the occasional challenge from already inebriated men to a drinking contest. As always, she wins.

Every time they come back to Liyue Harbor from a long voyage, the Crux holds a customary celebratory banquet. This time, their mission has been to eliminate a monstrous sea serpent that had been relentlessly attacking the residents of Mingyun Village. When anyone asks why, Beidou says, “I don’t forget where I come from. If I cannot help the common folk, then what else is there?” And when anyone asks if she works for the Liyue Qixing, she laughs it off and calls for another drink.

No, Beidou does not work for the Liyue Qixing, but if a certain girlfriend of hers—who, coincidentally, is the Tianquan of the Qixing—asks her to take home some ores and jades from Mingyun Village since she was heading there anyway, she is inclined to do so.

The banquet typically lasts until the sun rises, but it’s barely midnight and Beidou is already itching to leave. She has had her fair share of drinks and stories and drunken stories, as is tradition, but she has been here for too long, and there’s only one person she wants to see right now.

Beidou finally finds the opportunity and slips away, heading for the Jade Chamber. When she arrives, Ningguang is still at her desk, working tirelessly to no surprise from Beidou.

“Darling, I’m home,” Beidou calls to her.

Ningguang barely looks up. “Beidou, what brings you here at this hour?”

Beidou walks over to her desk, placing her hands right above Ningguang’s pile of papers. Before Ningguang could protest, Beidou leans over and kisses her right on the lips.

“Apologies, love,” Ningguang murmurs. “You know how work is.”

Beidou nods, raising an eyebrow. “Uh-huh.”

Ningguang stands up from her desk. “The Fatui has been gaining more and more influence in Liyue recently, and I am seriously concerned at what they might be up to. I’ve already sent Keqing and my spies at Wangshu Inn to watch over their behavior but so far I have heard nothing, and I—”

She abruptly stops talking when she sees Beidou looking at her intently. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t come here to listen to me complain about my work. How was your trip?”

Beidou lets out a hearty laugh. “Gods, you’re cute.” She reaches for Ningguang’s hand and leads her out the Chamber. “Let’s pack it up, Ning. We’ve got catching up to do.”

They settle down just outside the Chamber, up at the hallway balcony, peering over the great expanse of Liyue. Beidou takes a swig from her flask, relishing the searing heat of the alcohol gliding down her throat.

“Your absurd drinking habit will kill you some day,” Ningguang says.

“Not if the ocean claims me first,” Beidou replies. “Besides, it’s not like your tobacco addiction is adding years to your life.”

Ningguang only laughs and says, “Fair enough.” She nudges closer to Beidou. “Well, you haven’t told me about your trip yet, love.”

Beidou is not one to boast about her journey; she knows of her stories being greatly exaggerated and romanticized when the truth is far from the romanticized fantasy that the people love. So when she tells Ningguang about her voyage, it’s objective and matter-of-factly, like she’s giving a report instead of telling a story. “The sea serpent took no civilian casualties, thankfully, but it caused minimal environmental damage in the area. Nothing that the Crux can’t fix, of course. And the jade and ore you requested has already been received by Master Zhang, to be processed—”

Ningguang doesn’t let her finish. She leans in, kissing her mid-sentence. It’s a short, abrupt kiss, teeth hitting lips, and when Ningguang pulls away, Beidou sees the flush of her cheeks under the moonlight.

“What was that about?” Beidou asks, smiling amusedly.

“You should take some storytelling lessons from Master Liusu down at the teahouse,” Ningguang says with a wry smile.

Beidou raises a hand to her chest in mock offense. “Master Liusu? The man who can’t even keep track of his own stories? You wound me, darling.”

Ningguang laughs, and it is a graceful and delicate laugh that makes Beidou elated, a laugh she knows is reserved for her and her only. Ningguang would never let her subordinates rouse any emotions from her, even if that emotion is happiness itself. Beidou has always thought it foolish of her to be so tightly wound, but the idea of anyone else making her laugh like this… No, Beidou definitely wants it all to herself, though she supposes she isn’t averse to Ningguang actually making friends that isn’t for the sake of politicking.

Beidou sighs contentedly and pulls her in for a longer, softer kiss. Like everything else about Ningguang, her kisses are tender and delicate and Beidou just wants to melt into her. She snakes her hands around her hips, pulling her closer and eliciting a low moan from Ningguang, who promptly pulls away.

“Beidou, not here,” she whispers, her voice husky. “The Millelith…”

“...aren’t here,” Beidou continues, bringing a finger to Ningguang’s lips. “Don’t worry, none of them are patrolling right now.”

“What?”

A smirk dances at her lips. “I bribed them.”

“What?” Ningguang repeats in a more incredulous tone. She huffs, “I will definitely reprimand them tomorrow for taking such petty bribes. Maybe a suspension or two to really drive the point home—”

This time, Beidou is the one who interrupts, kissing her hungrily like a wolf devouring her prey. Her hand makes its way between Ningguang’s thighs, thankful for the easy access her qipao gives her, while the other hand rests on the small of her back, holding her till she is leaning on the rails of the balcony.

Beidou is pleasantly surprised at the way Ningguang gives in to her touch, knees almost buckling. Ningguang doesn’t relinquish control so easily; even in sex she proves to be a control freak, fighting Beidou for dominance in bed. So when Ningguang yields, and what a rare, delicious sight it was, Beidou doesn’t hesitate in pushing aside her underwear and finds that she is already drenched.

Ningguang chases her lips when she pulls away from their kiss.

“Let me look at you, darling,” Beidou purrs.

Ningguang complies, so needy with the way she hooks her leg around her waist, and Beidou hasn’t even started yet. But she knows better than to keep a lady waiting, and so she starts to work at her vigorously, rubbing her clit in small, firm circles.

Ningguang’s face contorts in the most delicate manner, with short, shallow gasps leaving her mouth as Beidou steps up the pace. The sight of Ningguang slowly becoming undone from beneath her fingers like this is so positively obscene and delightful. Beidou feels that familiar itch between her legs, waiting to be scratched, but she doesn’t stop. Instead, she inserts her fingers, crooking them in just the right way, earning a desperate moan from Ningguang.

“Just like that, love,” Ningguang pleads, grasping at Beidou’s arms for purchase, painted nails digging into her biceps. She repeats her plea until it fades into whispers of Beidou’s name again and again like a frantic litany, until her prayer dies out into a single quivering gasp, pulling Beidou close as she comes. Even in her orgasm, Ningguang remains the most beautiful woman Beidou has seen, and she’s been with her fair share of women for her to be absolutely certain of this.

Beidou pulls her fingers away and wraps her arms around Ningguang in an embrace. She could feel Ningguang’s heartbeat, so fast and strong, even from beneath the fabric of her dress. Beidou feels so comfortable, so at home like this, and the thought almost seems blasphemous. She is a sailor after all, and a sailor’s home will always be the turbulent ocean. Even so, nothing beats being in Ningguang’s arms, with the way their bodies meld so perfectly in this embrace; she’d gladly be damned by her fellow sailors if she considers Ningguang her home.

Sailors and adventurers alike often stress the importance of the North Star, a prominent celestial body that guides them home when they’re lost at land and sea. Beidou would joke amongst her crew how the Jade Chamber was so high in the sky, it might as well be their North Star. When Beidou sighs into the crook of Ningguang’s shoulder, caressing her pale white hair, she wonders when it stopped being a joke and started being real, as real and true as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Ningguang was, undoubtedly, her North Star, her guiding light that she would always, always, come home to.

“I missed you, Ning,” Beidou whispers in the shell of her ear.

“I could tell,” Ningguang says with a mellow laugh. “And well, I suppose I missed you, too.”

Beidou chuckles, planting a soft kiss to her cheek. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t miss me with how quickly you came.”

Ningguang huffs. “How unappreciative. Next time, I won’t submit so easily. Next time, you will yield.”

“Why don’t you prove it then, darling?”

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