Desired Prize

Cyno and Nilou walk through the bright and busy streets of Sumeru for their first-ever date. Neither of the two felt nervous in each other's presence, but the issue on their mind is to how to present themselves as a proper couple. Nilou loved her boyfriend's corny jokes and Cyno feels at ease with his girlfriend around, but is there anything more? They hoped to find out by going out on a date by walking around the Sumeru streets.

The red-haired dancer munched down on the delicious hot bun while walking alongside her white-haired boyfriend. "Ah...nothing like the delicious taste of curry bread after dancing practice." She then turned to Cyno and asked, "Would you like some, Cyno?"

Cyno shook his head, "No thanks. I'm not hungry at the moment. Besides, you spent your mora for that. It would be disgraceful of me to take a piece from you."

"Oh don't talk like that. I want to share this with you because I want to." Nilou said.

The boy smiled, "And I'm happy you're willing to do that for me, Nilou, but you worked hard at practice so please eat and regain your energy."

"Aw, alright," Nilou said, a little sad she couldn't share her food with her boyfriend.

Try as she might to not agree with him, Cyno did have a valid point. Today's practice took a lot out of her as the steps and motions she needed to perform were more complex than she was prepared for. She would usually go to the streets to eat a nutritious meal after a long day of work, but this time she had Cyno to accompany her. She didn't know why, but just that alone made her more energetic.

"Where would you like to go next?" Cyno asked.

"Ooh, I heard there's a new Aranara toy stand opening up in the plaza," Nilou said.

"You mean the one at the southern end?" Cyno watched his girlfriend nod quickly, "Alright, let's head there."

"Gladly," Nilou said.

As the two make their way to the plaza, something shined in the corner of Nilou's eye. "Hm?" The red-haired dancer stopped and turned to an antique stand where the blue shine came from. "What's that?" Upon further inspection, she saw what was, in her mind, the prettiest blue gemstone necklace she had ever laid eyes on.

"Did something catch your eye, Nilou?" Cyno asked, noticing that she had stopped.

"Yes, look! Look!" Nilou shouted excitedly as she pulled her boyfriend over to see the gem necklace.

"An antique stand, but not just your average one..." Cyno noticed an octagon-shaped wooden mechanism with a single hole on one of its sides.

Cyno asked the stand owner what it was. It's a new roulette system called the roulette wheel where the player pays a small fee before spinning the mechanism. What comes out of the whole can be a bronze marble, a silver marble, or a gold marble; however there is only one golden marble inside the roulette wheel per winner and the wheel is full of bronze and silvers. The golden marble is needed to obtain the blue gemstone necklace while silver marbles are for constellation prizes. Bronze marbles are only there to laugh at the unlucky person's misery.

"I see..." Cyno said to himself, "If I get a golden ball, the necklace is mine. Okay, Nilou, consider it a challenge."

Nilou raised her eyebrows upon hearing Cyno's declaration, "Wait, what?"

"I'm going to get the necklace for you," Cyno repeated as he took out a wad of mora.

"Wait, Cyno-"

But it was too late for the dancer to stop her boyfriend from attempting to win the roulette. Whenever Cyno has his eyes set on a target or goal, there is little to stop him. He will go the extra mile to fulfill his mission or die trying. In this case, he might go broke for the rest of the week because ten attempts resulted in only one silver.

Slightly ashamed of his failure, Cyno received his constellation and walked back to Nilou. He looked away and presented to her a pocket-sized journal with a purple color scheme on the cover. "Here. I was only able to get this as a consolation prize."

"There, there, Cyno," Nilou smiled while patting Cyno on the head, "There's no need to feel bad." She accepted the notebook and examined it, "Besides, I've been thinking of getting a journal for myself. You never know what you might forget to do, am I right?"

"You're right. Gotta keep track of the journey in the journal." Cyno said. An awkward moment of silence followed between them. The white-haired boy sensed a wave of embarrassment before he tried to explain the joke, "You...get it? Because of journey and journal..."

Nilou's blue eyes widened as she finally got the joke, "Oh! I get it! That one was difficult to understand, Cyno. Have you gotten better at jokes?"

Cyno cleared his throat to hide his blushing face, "I...won't put myself on a pedestal, but I've been practicing."

Nilou let out a giggle which turned into a small laugh. She always found amusement in listening to Cyno's bad jokes, even when other people would question him.

"Well, I think you're on track to be a classic comedian," Nilou said before she held onto Cyno's arm, "Do you have any more jokes to share?"

"...That was just the one I came up with today," Cyno hesitantly admitted.

"Aw...that's a shame. I wanted to hear more, but I understand." Nilou looked at the notebook again and smiled, "Still, this notebook is lovely. I'll be sure to bring it with me everywhere I go."

Cyno felt flattered, but also wondered if she was serious, "You don't have to go that far. Just accepting it is good enough for me."

Nilou pondered for a moment. "Hm...perhaps, but I think gifts are more than simple keepsakes. They are something to treasure every day of your life, like an elegant dance you always remember."

The wolf-boy nodded, "I know what you mean."

The dancer raised an eyebrow and turned to Cyno, "Hm? You do?"

"Yes. I always remember your dances, Nilou." A small smile managed to sneak its way onto Cyno's expression. He didn't feel bad for smiling as long as it was in front of her. "They...help me feel at ease."

Nilou giggled. "I'm glad to hear that from you, Cyno. As long as you are happy, I don't mind dancing for you a million times."

Cyno's smile disappeared. "Wait, but won't that hurt you?"

"N-no...that was just an exaggeration," Nilou said.

Then his eyebrows curved upwards and his lips downwards, "So...you wouldn't dance for me a million times?"

"Oh, now you're just messing with me!" Nilou shouted, lightly smacking his arm.

The two then let out their short laughter before spending the rest of their date on their walk. Watching Nilou happily flip through her new notebook gave the white haired boy a wave of relief, but for some reason to him, it didn't feel enough. After all, this was the girl whose dances always filled his heart and mind with peace. The boy couldn't help but feel some form of obligation to make her feel the same.

"Is something on your mind, Cyno?" Nilou asked.

Cylou looked into her eyes. He didn't want to lie to someone with such a pure heart. "Just that I couldn't get that necklace."

"Can't accept defeat, can you?" Nilou asked.

"Of course not," Cyno said. "I will win that necklace for you, Nilou. You have my word."

The dancer let out a giggle as she locked hands with his. "In that case, we'll just have to come here again tomorrow then for our second date, won't we, Cyno?"

"Second...date?" Cyno asked.

"Of course our second date, but we can save our plans for that later. Now how about a reward for the prize you won."

Before the wolf boy could react, Nilou took Cyno's face into her soft hands and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Cyno's ears perked up as a wave of energy coursed through his body upon feeling the red-haired dancer's soft lips pass through his.

Nilou, however, didn't let that last as she retreated her lips and smiled. "Did you like that, Cyno?"

The white-haired boy was embarrassed to admit that he actually loved it. Putting his hand over his mouth, he answered with a soft tone, "Y-Yes, I did." His eyes remained unchanged, but behind his hand was a smile.

The kind dancer let out a giggle. "That's good. Don't worry about the necklace anymore. I'm happy as long as I have you."

Even so, Cyno found it hard to accept a notebook as a worthy gift for a lovely dancer like Nilou. Just the thought of her smiling as she received the necklace from him made Cyno's confidence go through the roof. After all, he is not the type to ever give up on his mission. In this case, his goal is to make Nilou the happiest girl in the world.

##

Sure enough on the next day, Cyno does win the necklace. At first, Nilou protested, but through extraordinary luck, Cyno obtained the golden marble with five attempts this time.

Upon receiving the blue gemstone necklace, Nilou took Cyno to her residence to try out the gemstone. The smiling dancer examined her new necklace resting comfortably on her chest with joy unlike any she's experienced before. She turned to her boyfriend and hugged him tightly, "Thank you so much, Cyno! It fits perfectly on me!"

Cyno's face heated up from having such close contact with Nilou, "I'm happy to hear that." But he thought to himself, "Guess it's rations until my next payment..."

"It's almost too good to take off," Nilou continued to examine the necklace before looking back up into Cylo's yellow eyes, "I hope it didn't cost too much money. How many attempts did today's make? Oh...how's your mora?"

"No need to worry. I can manage." Cyno said, "Besides...I get to see you smile. That's worth more than a fortune."

"Cyno..." Nilou said as she moved closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, "You're the best."

The wolf-boy closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Nilou's slender waste and gently brushed her lush, red hair with his right hand. He wanted this moment to last forever, but it was about to get even better.

Nilou looked up at Cyno and smiled. "So...how about that reward for such an amazing boyfriend?"

Cyno's eyes widened. He felt Nilou pull him towards her, and then the softness of her lips connected with his. The surge of excitement coursed through Cyno's body, causing his mind to go blank. The only thought going through is the fact the girl he loves is kissing him and this was his chance to reach out and hold onto the happiness he longed for.

He pulled the dancer closer, her abdomen connecting with his. For what he could percieve as a millennium, Cyno was filled with so much joy from the warmth of Nilou's lips. He was also astonished at how demanding Nilou was with the way she kissed. It's almost like she had longed to do this with him. Breathing deeply, he remained standing for as long as he could until he made the push, walking forward. He heard the dancer let out a slight breath that was filled with delight.

She allowed the wolf-boy to push her back until her back connected to the wall. It was at that moment he parted his lips and stared into her bright blue eyes and smiled, "Getting a good look at you, the gemstone matches perfectly with your beautiful face, Nilou."

Nilou's cheeks turned red. She smiled as she rubbed her hand against his cheek, "Wow...you're good at kissing. A little too good at it, huh?"

"A-am I?" Cyno asked, worried he might give her the wrong impression of him. He just loved kissing her in that moment. His brain was starting to experience overload thinking that this might be the end.

Seeing the exasperated look on the white haired boy's face made Nilou giggled. "Relax, Cyno, relax. I'm just kidding."

"Oh...you were...?" Cyno asked, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Sorry to make you worry," Nilou said as she put her forehead against his, "How about we continue as my way of apologizing?"

Cyno smiled, "I would love to, Nilou."

And so the two continued on and on in each other's embrace.

In the end, they both received their most desired prize. Not the victory nor the necklace.

Each other.

Jurabi: Ho! Good people of Cylou! I hope you all enjoyed my tribute to this great ship. I can't believe I am saying this, but this ship has managed to become my top 4 ship in Genshin and neither of these two are out yet! That has never happened before and I have to say, I love it!
Aesthetic: Pleasing to see.
Potential Interactions: Has promise.
Dark/tan-skinned male x light skinned woman: THAT'S THAT GOOD STUFF! GIVE ME MORE!
I know, I know. That's a weird standard to have, but I've been digging those kinds of ships. I'm just like that.
Anyways, peeps, I hope you all enjoyed this lovely chapter and I hope I got Cyno and Nilou down right. I don't know as much about them as I hope, but if I got anything wrong, feel free to tell me.
I was also worried about whether or not I would be able to finish this fic because I was going through...trouble on twitter. So if you did enjoy this short fic, please leave a comment and a kudos. I would definitely love to see how many people are into cylou like I am.
And until next time, I will see you all later~!