Moonlight Merriment: Aftermath - Under the moonlight

After the cooking contest, Aether noticed there's something wrong with Keqing before she left

"Traveler, Paimon, Xiangling, thank you all very much. I look forward to spending more time together in the future"

The Yuheng waved everyone as she left to Yuehai Pavilion, returning to her daily routine…going back to work.

"See you next time, Lady Keqing" Xiangling said then looked to the Traveler "Let's go back to my restaurant, I think my dad wants to see you"

"Oh yeah, I can't wait to eat more food! "Let's go Aether!" Paimon shouted

"Alright let's go" Aether nodded. Still, his eyes couldn't stop looking at the Yuheng until she was out of his sight. "Something's not right" he thought.

On the way to the restaurant, Aether's mind kept racing trying to figure out why Keqing was acting so strange before, and her sweaty pale face made him even more worried. Was it because she was hungry but didn't tell anyone? The reason he had that thought was because he noticed that Keqing didn't eat much during the competition.

"Hey Aether, are you alright? We've arrived already" The fairy saw Aether continue walking and didn't listen to her nor notice his surroundings and only stopped when she tugged his cape.

"Oh, I forgot...Sorry Paimon"

And then during the talk with Xiangling's father and then Zhongli, Aether kept spacing out of the conversation but luckily no one noticed. He wanted to do something for the Yuheng.

After the meeting was over, Aether went to ask Xiangling one thing to which she agreed "Sure, it was our creation after all. She will love it".

Meanwhile, Yuehai Pavilion

There was a Yuheng currently in her office and working at the moment, she tried to focus on her tasks but there was something that kept distracting and preventing her from doing so.

"It was such a good opportunity to have a hangout with him…what a pity…" Keqing sighed in disappointment.

She hoped this year Moon Chase festival would be a chance that she could go out with Aether all alone as a "date" but due to some circumstance it didn't turn out very well. She had been waiting for this moment since the last Lantern Festival.

"At least the trip wasn't that bad and I've a new friend too" Keqing tried to appease herself while checking the to-do list for the upcoming work. "Let's see if there's anything to do now...I-"

All of a sudden, she felt her head was getting heavier as the headaches and dizziness began to appear. Everything around her became blurry as she could no longer read the text as well as holding the document in her cold sweated hand. The remaining strength left in her slowly diminished away.

"I forgot I haven't eaten anything yet…so hungry" Keqing groaned while her stomach kept rumbling like it was rioting against her.

Before and during the cooking contest in the afternoon, Keqing didn't eat too much and only a few so she could judge the them in the most objective and accurate as possible.

Even after the contest, Xiangling had helped her make the dishes she had been looking for but her formal attitude didn't allow her to enjoy it.

Now this was what happened to her...

"I want to taste that dish again…I should have eaten a bit more"

That special dish was one of the studies her grandfather and Keqing herself had spent so much time together. A childhood memory she couldn't forget no matter how long it was.

She thought her grandfather would stay with her to witness how Liyue had changed since then.

Until one day he passed away...

She realized that nothing could last forever.

"Grandpa…" Keqing muttered within her sobs. Her face is down on the table while clenching her fists, trying to hold herself together "I miss you so much…"

She cried a lot during her grandfather's funeral, she always wondered why the people she cared so much always left her alone in the end.

Knock…Knock…Knock

A few knockings at Keqing's door interrupted her train of thought as she heard a familiar voice coming from outside her room. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, the door is not locked" Keqing responded.

As the door was opened, she saw not only Aether and the fairy but several dishes in his hand. The delicious smell from these foods were enough for Keqing to realize one of them was Golden Shrimp Ball. Still, there was a dish that did much to her surprise.

"Is that…" Keqing pointed at the dish that was no strange to her rather than the Chili-Mince Cornbread Buns.

"We made some food for you, lady Keqing" Paimon said

"I noticed you are still hungry after the contest so I cooked these" Aether put those warm dishes into her desk "It was late so I only asked Xiangling about the cooking's instruction, therefore I can make by my own"

"But this one is really difficult to make" Keqing kept staring at the well-cooked dishes and eye-catching too. She wondered how did he was able to cook these in such a short time.

"You said "In contests of food, always follow your heart" right? So, I just thought about making it for you" Aether said, smiling.

He made this for me? He might have noticed my behavior at that time…I thought I had hidden it so well…Her face started to heat up rapidly even though the cold inside her from hunger was still there,

"Looks like you're very busy at the moment," Aether glanced around at her desk with a lot of papers "I will see myself out for you to have some space...Don't forget to eat, alright. Health mattered after all".

With that he began to walk out "See you tomorrow"

For normal people, they would see this was just a simple good bye, meanwhile for her right now it felt like this was his final farewell before he left her for good…She was afraid that one day, Aether would leave this world and her after he found his sister. Just like her grandfather, once he was gone, she probably never saw him again.

She didn't want to see the person she loved so much leave her like this anymore…

"Don't leave me…" Keqing muttered weakly, she could feel the pain inside her chest, telling her to call him back.

She had to do something to end this cycle.

Just as he was about to open the door to leave, Aether heard a loud voice from Keqing's office as well as hurried footsteps.

"No, wait!"

Before Aether could react, he felt someone was tugging his cape followed by an embrace from behind. When he turned his head to the side, he saw Keqing was hugging him tightly with her shivering arm.

"Don't leave…yet…" Keqing mumbled weakly, she wasn't sure about herself why she did this for as she knew this was a selfish action.

"Keqing are y-" Aether was stunned to see Keqing's eyes widening with fear.

"Please…" She begged him.

Perhaps every human had their own soft side after all and the Yuheng was no exception.

Aether didn't understand what happened to Keqing but seeing her in the current state made him worried so he eventually agreed.

"Alright, I will stay with you…" He nodded and went back to her office.

"Paimon will go outside for a while..." The fairy winked and disappeared into thin air "See you two later"

Keqing dragged Aether to sit right next to her and only started to eat after staring at him for a short moment. She then left out a sigh of relief to know that he was still here:

"Don't worry I won't leave you…" Aether said while smiling at her. His warm smile had comforted Keqing a lot, helping her wipe all the worries away.

"The food is so great…" Keqing munched deliciously between her words. Having food to eat when you're hungry is really great especially if It's about your favorite one. "Have some with me" she used chopsticks and picked up the food to him "Open your mouth please. Say Ahhhhh…"

"Uhhh…"Aether's face turned red in an instant for what she just suddenly did but he still did like what she said and ate it "Mhm…It's taste good"

"So much for the self-praising" Keqing chuckled.

"Well, you ate all of my dishes, didn't you?" Aether grinned.

"I was only hungry, but it wasn't bad though"

"So how much did I score for these dishes, Ms. Judge?"

"8 out of 10" Keqing looked at Aether, smiling "But since you brought these when I was hungry so I will give you another point"

"It's my pleasure to have such a compliment from miss Yuheng" Aether said.

"Alright enough with the teasing, thank you for being here Aether" Keqing said after she finished her meal "I mean it"

"Can you tell me what happened?" Aether asked, wondering why did she act like that earlier.

Keqing took a deep breath then looked at Aether "You know about my grandfather about the search for this recipe, right? Well…"

Keqing began to tell Aether about the stories about her grandfather, he was one of the famous historians in Liyue. Also, along with his great career, he was like the first teacher of her life. He had taught her a lot since she was young, especially about historian. Since then, she started to know more about Liyue, Rex Lapis as well as the desire to lead and build Liyue for the people.

"That's why part of my attitude is like this" Keqing said "What I've learned from the past from him is the foundation of my motivation today…I want to see Liyue change just like my dream when I was a kid"

For a strong and reliable Yuheng, as one of the representatives of Liyue she must always strict with herself…All for the sake of Liyue as well as her dream. A very glorious but also a stressful duty. She didn't hate it; on the contrary she loved her job to be an extract.

"You have a lot of dedication since then" Aether said

"Yes, I have to push myself on studying and working hard non-stop, to pursue my purpose…With the knowledge I had learnt from my grandfather and from myself, I have reached the title Yuheng as you know for today and I had achieved so many things"

Keqing paused for a while, eyes looked down at the desk "But it also led to my ignorant and stubborn as I thought I could handle everything…Until the incident happened and then…the moment I met you"

What she had achieved today wasn't came from her nor the Qixing alone only but a blonde Traveler which wasn't even from Liyue. He was the one who had changed their perspective and opinion about the way of leading their country almost completely…that was the moment they realized, they had to change.

If her grandfather is the one who helped her build her idea and dream of the new Liyue, then Aether is the one who shaped her idea into reality. And it kept telling Keqing that Aether was the person she had been looking for a long time ago.

"Every time I remember about my grandfather…It reminds me how important you are to me…" Keqing tried to continue but then getting lost in her line "I…I can't see you go away like him again"

"I won't leave you… I promise" Aether came close and gave her a gentle hug "Even after my journey about my sister is over…I will still stay with you"

"And I want to show you something" Aether took Keqing's hand and walked out onto the balcony of her room.

And the scene outside had made her gasp in surprise.

The night sky was vastly clear with white clouds floating in the air. Within time the moon had reached the top of tallest building in Liyue, giving light to the whole city and Yujin Terrance. Under the moonlight, the roofs seem to be covered with a layer of iridescent gold. The moonlight spreads everywhere in the Harbor as well as on the tree arches creating unique and fancy shapes.

"It's so beautiful...just like the whole time before…" Keqing looked at the clear bright moon as she recalled all the happy childhood memories she had long missed, feeling like she had just become a child once again.

"This is the time when the moon is at the brightest of the year so I don't want you to miss it" said Aether as he was standing next to her while holding her hand firmly. "I hope you enjoy the festival to the fullest."

"Not only if you are here with me" Keqing leaned close next to his shoulder, smiling…She now not only had her family and friend but most importantly, she had someone she loved to be with.

"Please stay with me by my side…Aether" Keqing mumbled her word while snuggling into Aether's chest, enjoying the warmth and scent around him, reminding how much she cared and loved him

"I will always be with you no matter what" Aether patted Keqing's head then pulled her close to him and wrapped his hand around her waist. The softness of her skin and her cheerful smile, especially those words that just came out from Keqing always made him feel so happy and relieved. After such a long adventure together with her, she had become an important person in his life along with his sister.

They both just simply stood there enjoying the view of the city at night under the fanciful moonlight, savoring every moment they could have together. The festival might have come to an end but their feelings for each other would still continue to grow ever after.

Meanwhile right outside the door of Keqing's office…

There were two women were quietly watching Aether and Keqing embracing each other happily on the balcony, and of course they didn't notice their presence.

"Is this the right thing to do Lady Ningguang ?" Ganyu asked nervously since she knew this was so wrong but still exciting to see "I mean we are disturbing their privacy…"

"Well yes but actually no, since they haven't seen us yet and beside...we have this little friend here" Ningguang looked at the Traveler's companion who was peaking along with them "You still have to learn more, Ganyu...There will be a lot of fun tomorrow"

End

Hey, it's Lantern Festival again. After I saw the scene, I really wanted to write a small fic so I decided to write…a Moon chase festival fic xD