*Disclaimer* - I do not own the copyright or characters of Genshin Impact.
*A/N* - Hey there, hope you're doing well. With the new year already hitting its first quarter, time seems to be flying by. Furthermore, today is also Jean's birthday and there was no way I would miss out on getting a chapter focused on her. Due to this year's birthday letter (2024), I figured why not have this be an interesting birthday celebration with our dear Traveler. It's bound to be an exciting birthday for our Acting Grand Master. Now then, with that brief introduction out of the way, thanks again for checking this story out, and hope you'll enjoy it or at the very least be entertained. Thanks, and enjoy!
On this very special day, standing in the open training ground behind the Knights of Favonius Headquarters was the Acting Grand Master currently taking swipes at one of the training dummies.
*Whoosh!*
*Swish!*
"Hyaah!"
*Whack!*
With both swiftness and guidance of her blade, Jean had managed to disarm the training dummy holding a sword and shield and landing a finishing blow in the dummy's center. Behind the dummy appeared to be other destroyed dummies with blows all over their bodies. It would appear that the ever-respected blonde was busy at work with her blade.
Allowing a pleasant and beautiful smile to grace her lips, Jean raised her blade in front of her and began examining it closely. It had been a gift given to her by her mother. A sense of comfort and strength lay within the weapon. Not to mention, the beauty of it was something to behold. The design was that of a sleek and light blade with a hilt that allowed for mobility and accuracy while being used. In addition, on the bottom of the blade was an insignia that meant a great deal to the blonde maiden.
A dandelion insignia was etched onto the blade.
Such care was taken to making this sword that it warmed Jean's heart. Aside from the fact that it came from one of the most important people in her life, the blade also gave her strength and conviction to her ideals. Furthermore, the itch to test the blade out is what brought her out to the training ground. Usually, Ellin would be back here practicing her sword stance or swinging against the training dummies, but today she was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps something had come up. Nevertheless, Jean took this opportunity to give her new sword some practice swings.
However, even with the many defeated dummies lying around the ground, Jean's growing desire to test her blade rose. Alas, there would be no time to have any real duel. Barbara had informed her that she'd be taking her out to eat for her birthday after having gotten some time away from the Church. A bit of sisterly bonding was something Jean always appreciated.
"*sigh* Well then, I'd best get this cleaned up. Wouldn't want to start picking up bad habits."
"Knowing you, you wouldn't let that happen."
Startled by the sudden voice, Jean quickly turned herself around and narrowed her gaze on a certain individual who brought great joy and… feelings into her life.
The Traveler.
"Happy Birthday, Jean!" Aether enthusiastically boasted.
The rhythmic beating of her heart increased tremendously as she laid eyes on the blonde-haired man standing before her. It had been quite some time since they'd last seen each other. But not even that could stop her from feeling her cheeks become quite warm and her palms twitch nervously. Behavior such as this would never be displayed by the Acting Grand Master in public.
However, alone with someone she cared a great deal about and trusted with not only her life but her heart… she was going to listen to some old advice he gave her. Relax and be yourself.
"Aether. Thank you! You didn't- "
"Stop. None of that. You know we'll always show up for your birthday" the Traveler bluntly stated.
"Speaking of… where's Paimon?"
A sly grin appeared on his face at hearing this, "Oh, you know? Being Paimon. Enjoying life and whatnot. And preparing your birthday cake."
"Birthday… Aether- "
"It wasn't just me. This has been a plan in motion for quite some time now."
Confused by what he meant, Jean tried racking her brain around to remember the last time Aether and Paimon were in Mondstadt.
"But… the last time you were in Mondstadt that I remember was…"
"Haha! There's no need to go into the details, Jean" A relaxed and pleased smile was covering the Traveler's face. "Besides, while they get everything organized inside, why don't we take this time to just hang out? Or…"
Taking notice of the plethora of defeated training dummies sprawled all over the ground, Aether donned a smirk on his face. Based on her letter addressed to him, it was safe to say that she was testing her new sword out on the menacing dummies. Hence, why he could see swords and shields scattered.
"How about I help you with one of your birthday wishes? It is your special day after all."
Confused by what he meant; Jean then followed his eyes which were glancing over at the training dummies. It was then that she realized what he was referring to. While a duel was something she could get behind, dueling against the person she held in high esteem caused her cheeks to turn slightly pink. However, it wasn't every day that the Traveler was offering to duel against her or anyone. Moreover, given what she had heard of his latest adventures, it was safe to say that the Traveler had only gotten stronger.
"You wish to duel?" Jean asked, eyeing him closely to see if he was just being kind or serious. "As in an actual duel?"
"Sure! It's just us now. No real reason to go all out. Plus, I can see it on your face, you want to really try out your new sword" Aether then scratched the side of his cheek. "Plus, it buys everyone some more time."
Unable to beat the shy blush appearing on her face, Jean simply laughed it off before giving Aether a simple nod.
"Hehe… am I that easy to read?"
"Only because I know you so well. From your good or bad reactions, I have a good idea of what you're thinking at a given moment. Some things are harder to comprehend. But that's just because I need to be with you more…" Aether explained with a quick wink.
Laughing at his witty remark, Jean nodded with a content sigh.
"Alright. Let's duel. But first, mind helping me with my mess?"
"Of course!"
The two then began piling up all the broken training dummies while also stacking away the shields and swords that had not been broken by the Dandelion Knight. A brief show of embarrassment was on Jean's face as she picked up all the broken pieces from her montage of strikes against the dummies. Once the area was neatly organized and back to normal, the two then stared at one another for a moment before nodding to themselves.
Jean was the first to summon her weapon to her side and commenced a balanced stance while preparing herself mentally. Consequently, she had never dueled Aether in a one versus one battle before but had paid close attention to the many times he did fight while with her. His strikes were quick but carried a bit of power while also being able to manipulate the various Vision elements.
At this point, Aether had also summoned his dull sword and twirled it in his hand while watching his opponent carefully.
Observing his choice of a weapon caused Jean to voice a question that had appeared in her mind. One that involved his blade and all that he had gone through.
"Aether?"
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Forgive my rudeness but… why is it that you still use a dull blade?" Jean curiously questioned the boy. "You've been to Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and now Fontaine yet you still only use a dull blade. Why is that? Surely, you've come across various blades throughout the regions."
"Ehehe… yeah. I get that question more often than you think" Aether replied while patting the back of his head.
What Jean had said was something that he'd been questioned on so many times now, that he had lost count of how many people asked him that. Even some of the Archons he'd encountered such as Nahida and Ei questioned his choice of weaponry. Those two even offered to gift him a brand-new sword that would fit his preference. However, as kind as that was, he turned the two down. The memory of Nahida wearing a sad but understanding expression and Ei silently judging him before breaking into a smile played out in his head. There was no real reason for why he kept on using just a dull blade. It was just something he did.
"I take it your friends in the other nations asked you the same thing?" Jean guessed, having already known the answer based on his facial expression relaxing.
"Haha. Yeah. I've even been scolded by two Archons for only using my dull blade. And to be honest, I don't really have a reason. I guess I've never really paid it much mind. It's worked so far in dueling against treasure hoarders, monsters, Fatui Harbingers, legendary beasts, an Archon, mechanical Meka, and many more foes. I don't see a reason to get a new blade" reasoned the blonde-haired man as he held onto his weapon's handle tightly.
Content with his answer, Jean had no further reason to question his preference for a weapon. In truth, the fact that he accomplished so many amazing feats and battled against fearsome enemies with only that dull blade made it seem more than meets the eye. A common blade found anywhere yet achieving the impossible had a tune of mystery and suspense behind the tale. It honestly gave Jean goosebumps just thinking about it on a literal level.
Therefore, she would not be pulling any of her punches in this duel against her friend… and crush.
Pointing her sword at him, Jean waited for his next move to see how this battle would progress.
Gripping onto his dull blade's handle, Aether then tapped his sword against hers as a show of accepting the duel. The two then took a few steps back before watching each other's eyes closely. Neither of the blondes made a move as they were becoming even more wary of how this fight would play out.
The cool breeze blowing around them was the only thing moving for a good moment.
That is… until the first move was made.
Dashing right to her, Aether made sure to set his number one priority on disarming her. There was no way he'd ever be willing to hurt Jean. Not when she meant so much to him. However, he would also not be going easy on her. That would be both disrespectful but also a disservice to her desire of wanting to test her blade out truthfully.
*Whoosh*
The Traveler swiped his weapon right at her hand but was then met with a deflection from her blade. Jean then took two slow yet calculated steps at him while thrusting her weapon into his shoulder. This caused Aether to backstep once while quickly blocking the attack. The two were locked in a blade bind and smirking at one another.
Alas, before Aether could react, Jean had managed to loosen the force put into her blade to go against his. This allowed her to strike with her elemental ability.
"Take this!"
A burst of air pushed the Traveler back a bit while also startling him. He hadn't been knocked off his feet, but he was off balance. This provided Jean with the perfect opportunity to gain the advantage.
With a quick dash, she lunged forward right at his hand to disarm him, however, Aether quickly rotated his hand and blade to deflect the incoming attack and forced her to miss. Jean then started swinging right at his upper arm with fast strikes. Fortunately, Aether was prepared and immediately pushed her blade away at every attempt she took.
Deciding to take inspiration from her tactic, he started plotting a way to utilize his own elemental power and get one up on her.
"Hya!"
Slashing right at her side, Aether was able to draw her attention away from his, and caused her to block the attack. However, this is exactly what he wanted as he instantly raised his left hand forward causing blue light to expel from his hand. The light then appeared to water from his water gun ability gained in Fontaine which shot a light spray right at Jean's shoulder which surprised her greatly.
"Huh!?"
She should have expected something like this from the Traveler, but due to his access to the various elements across the nations, she underestimated him. Her attention was mainly focused on anything that he might do centered around Geo or Electro. A Hydro attack was not expected.
Getting his opportunity, Aether dashed right at her and leveled his blade to intertwine with hers so that he could disarm her. Alas, the Dandelion Knight would not fall this easy.
With a sleight of hand on her side, Jean managed to twirl her blade just in time to counter the swipe and became locked in another blade bind with Aether. The two were once again up close to one another and held confident gazes.
*Cling!*
Aether put his weight down on the blade and caused it to slide right along Jean's weapon before waltzing his way back and getting into a more balanced fighting position. The ponytailed girl also did the same while coming to realize that her new sword was doing everything she wanted and more. The weight of the blade felt good along with giving her efficiency in her blocking and deflecting. She was also able to put more strength into her forward strikes. This also gave her an idea.
"I'm not done yet!"
"Neither am I!"
Sprinting right at her, the distance between them wasn't grand, but it did give Jean the insight to pull off one of her more signature moves when it came to her sword fighting.
Pulling her arm back, the Acting Grand Master waited rather intently for the Traveler to get close enough before thrusting her weapon straight forward and up into the air.
Unfortunately, the Honorary Knight had known about Jean's fighting style and was familiar with what actions she might pull. Hence, he was ready to engage with her upward thrust and tried countering with his own forward strike to disarm her.
*Swoooosh!*
The sound and sight of two blades flying into the air and clattering to the ground was the next thing to happen to the blonde duo. Emotions were flying high between the two as Jean could feel her cheeks warming up, and Aether let out a wonderful chuckle.
"I guess we underestimated our attacks. Haha."
Laughing into her hands, Jean couldn't help but agree.
"Yes, looks like we were trying to one-up each other."
"Plus, we were only going for disarms. Makes the fight a bit more interesting and more tactical than say a regular fight" Aether reasoned.
"I concur. Besides…" Reaching down to pick up her blade while also picking up Aether's and handing it to him, Jean examined her new weapon closely. "I think I achieved what my heart set out to do today."
"Really? I'm glad to hear that. Guess the sword checked off all your requirements."
"It truly did. Not only was it a gift from my mother, but it's now had its first bout against someone I admire a great deal. Along with that… this will now be a memory that I never forget."
Smiling at her admission as well as feeling his cheeks take on a darker color, Aether walked up to the blonde-haired beauty and wrapped her in a tight yet comforting hug.
"Happy Birthday, Jean!"
Stammering to reply, Jean did the only thing she could do and reciprocated the hug while feeling her heart get ready to jump out of her chest.
"…Thank you, Aether."
The two then stayed there for a good minute without realizing that time was passing around them. It was a sensational feeling that the two shared now. Feelings had been put out there and by the reaction garnered, it was a success on both sides.
"Heh. Well, c'mon! The others have had plenty of time to get things ready" Aether happily said while grasping onto her hand gently.
"Just what else do you have in store for me today?" Jean asked, smiling ever so brightly at him.
Turning his head to look squarely at her, the blonde-haired Traveler known by many across the various nations of Teyvat sported a giant grin on his face.
"You'll just have to wait and see!"
"Haha! Very well, let's see what's in store for me… together."
And with that, the two blonde-haired Knights of Favonius walked away from the training ground and right into the Knight's Headquarters to see what else was in store for the Acting Grand Master. It was also at this point that Aether looped his hand together with her hand and rested it there comfortably. The two then shared a moment together before continuing to make their way to celebrate a very special someone's birthday.
*A/N* - Thanks again for checking this short story out. I hope it was enjoyable and worth checking out. Have yourself a good one and take care.
