Moon and stars in the night, be my witness
It was their special day. Years ago they met for the first time and there were a lot of ups and downs on the way but the result of their shared journey was a life of adventure, love and appreciation.
Their first meeting was a frosty one, he did remember it as when it was yesterday. Lady Furina had told him later that they were like a pompous peacock and wall of pure ice water.
Neuvillette was not proud of what had happened, but now he was glad it had happened, because they did not get along pretty well at first.
Kaeya always knew things better than him, even if he didn't know how life in Fontaine was. It unnerved him at that time. Later he understood that Kaeya's network of informants had given him so much information about Fontaine, as if he had lived here his whole life. He even knew about the Archon situation in Fontaine. Maybe it wasn't just good timing, when Mondstadt had reached out to them afterwards. It was calculated. Everything had been suspicious then, and he did not apologise for setting a few melusine on Kaeya. He had to protect his nation after all – and he had to protect Kaeya from himself.
He looked into the mirror he was standing in front of and tugged at his sleeves. They had decided to just wear linen trousers and a nice button down shirt. Just simple things, because they both liked it simple – even if Kaeya was a flashy one; on the outside.
He had learned a lot of things from and about Kaeya in these past years. He was a moody one, when he was alone, quieter and brooded over things he did – asked himself if what he did was right. He wanted to protect the people he loves.
Always asked himself: Did I do the right thing?
Neuvillette had oftentimes, more than he could count assured him – yes he did the right thing.
There was next to nothing that Kaeya could do wrong in his eyes – yes he was biased.
Kaeya loved to break out of his shell of a public figure and laze around in wide pants and a wide shirt – mostly he stole his own, because they are wider on Kaeya's slim figure. Neuvillette tried to feed his lover but it never worked. Kaeya did too much sword training.
It was not like he wanted to overfeed him, but Neuvillette could always feel his bones, when he touched his lover. He sighed and looked into the mirror again. He tried to visualise Kaeya in the loose pants and the shirt – maybe he wore his shirt more open than himself. Neuvillette smiled, in his mind Kaeya looked dashing – as always
It reminded him of their first private date, Kaeya had his most posh clothes on and Neuvillette just donned his cloak. He had taken the cavalry captain to the shore of Court of Fontaine, to see the sea and the landscape – and of course the sun was setting.
The red rays had illuminated Kaeya's frame and had made him look serene.
His soft smile let his heart beat like he ran a marathon, Neuvillette was not a man of big words, but he thought right there and then, that he had to protect this smile.
A knock on his door pulled him out of his thoughts and memories. Navia entered the room and beamed at him. "We are ready for you."
Today they would officiate their bond, share it with their friends and family. Just a small celebration, nothing grand. He stepped out of his room, and then he heard his lover step next to him. He really looked dashing in his white attire and the dark blue scarf.
Of course he had opened his shirt, but it was more moderate than normal. He had to confess that it suited him.
"Are you really sure?" Neuvillette looked into Kaeya's eye and nodded. He was so sure that he would cry if they didn't officiate today.
"Where is...?", he could not end his question, because the flower girl in question came over to them. "You look like two princes from a fairytale my mother told me!" She beamed at them and Kaeya kneeled down to her. "Oh but my princess, you are the most beautiful today. Will you do me the honours of spreading all the flower petals for us?" Eagerly she nodded.
Celestia and Abyss, this man was so good with children, and it made him even more attractive.
"Let's join our family and friends." He held his arm out for Kaeya to take and together they joined their guests. Klee walked in front of them and threw all the petals in her small basket around – it looked more like petal rain, then anything, but they both enjoyed the view.
Smiling faces of their guests greeted them, Adelinde stood next to Jean and Albedo, while Navia was next to Lady Furina. Only the closest ones were invited and Neuvillette was happy that Adelinde took a vacation from her work to attend. It meant so much for Kaeya and him, that the only family Kaeya could count on, was here.
It was not far, to join the circle of family and friends – and put their attention to Sister Rosaria, who would officiate their bond. One of Kaeya's friends was authorised to hold this ceremony.
Long before they planned this day, they thought about the differences between them and what ceremony they wanted. Because with Mondstadt and Fontaine traditions, there was a lot to keep in mind – and thinking of Kaeya's inheritance of Khaenri'ah... so much more that clashes.
A new ceremony had to be thought of, so they just wanted to do it short. They would do their vows and be done with it.
"Welcome, please turn to each other and start with the vows, so we can all get to the wine", Rosaria grumbled.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw their guests smiling and Adelinde cried silently in her tissue. And so he began with his vow. He had long thought about them and asked if Kaeya wanted to bring in some khaenri'ahn vows. "You are my Sun and my stars, shining in the endless night and I want you to shine brightly for the rest of our shared life."
Neuvillette saw how his soon to be bonded teared up– and he had to hold himself back, because it was a really emotional moment. He smiled encouragingly at Kaeya and at the same time suppressed the urge to wipe the tear from his cheek. Kaeya's voice was hoarse but still very happy: "You are my moon and my stars, shining in the endless night of my life and I want you to shine brightly for the rest of our shared life."
Warmth fluttered in his chest and he couldn't say when he had ever been happier than at that moment. Their guests around them smiled and closed the circle around them, each of them holding a red ribbon with which they would symbolically show the bond between Kaeya and him. The ribbons were wrapped around them, and he and Kaeya watched, both with a blissful smile. Klee and Lady Furina giggled most of the time and with a sideways glance he saw that Rosaria was rolling her eyes in annoyance. Aha! So that was already too much for her.
Kaeya and he had made a special effort to make it as un–cheesy as possible – so that they could persuade Rosaria.
The red ribbons brought Kaeya and him very close and with a smile the bluenette said: "Hi~", which he returned. Neuvillette couldn't help but notice that Kaeya's eye was still sparkling and his cheeks had a slight pink tint. Soon their ceremony would be over and they could devote themselves to the food that their guests had brought as a sign of their complete support.
When the guests had walked around them several times and tied them up in the red ribbons, Rosaria addressed them again:
"Connected by the bond of life, only the endless night can separate it. May the sun, the moon and the stars shine for you for eternity. May your souls become one after this lifetime and find a way to get back to you."
This was their sign – now all that was missing was a kiss and that they would put their chosen necklaces on each other. They had decided against the classic rings from Fontaine and Mondstadt – because they both liked wearing gloves too much. Bracelets were also out of the question because they could get caught on something. So the only thing left was an anklet or a necklace – and let's be honest: an anklet with their boot fetish? Not really.
Kaeya had chosen a beautifully braided silver–coloured band and the pendant was a peacock with an indigo–coloured eye that was entwined by a blue–eyed dragon. They could both hide these under their clothes without attracting attention.
They were perfect. As a part of the bonding ceremony one special person to them would be laying the necklaces around their necks. Lady Furina stepped up, took the necklace and laid it around his neck, while Adelinde took the other and laid it around Kaeya’s neck.
If this wasn’t perfection, Neuvillette didn’t know what was.
Kaeya was finally his bonded. Only one thing was missing and as had Kaeya heard his thoughts, he snuggled up to him and nuzzled his throat. "It's time, Llŷris."
Now Neuvillette's cheeks were heating up. With a kiss they would strengthen the bond between them. He swallowed hard – that was what he had always wanted.
He lowered his head and actually they had kissed so often that it was nothing special, but this kiss was different from all the others.
First, it was wet. Kaeya's tears ran freely down his cheek. Second, they had always expressed their tenderness behind closed doors (or there was no one around), so it was their first kiss with an audience – which was also very emotional.
And third, they were tied together – not much room to put his hand on Kaeya's lovely face or to dry his tears.
His lips tingled and when they parted, he had the feeling that little sparks were jumping between them – which of course wasn't the case – but the bond between them was forged and neither Abyss nor Celestia would be able to break it.
"I love you," came softly from his lips and Kaeya smiled and sobbed briefly. "I love you too."
And then suddenly there was a pleasant snort from the side, Rosaria crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Are you finally done?" She turned around and walked away.
Kaeya and he couldn't help but look at her back and start laughing. That was so typical of Rosaria – and they liked that about her. Really. If Neuvillette was honest, he had expected it to be too lovey–dovey for Rosaria much earlier.
The guests were chuckling behind their hands, but it was not with ill intent. Adelinde and Navia took pity on them and detangled the red bands around them, so that they could move freely again.
When they were finally able to move again, their guests gathered around them and congratulated them one by one. Albedo picked up Klee so that she wouldn't get lost in the tangle of hugs and adults.
It only took a little time before they went to the seats and the food just a few metres away and Rosaria came back to them.
"You are disgusting," she mumbled, but it still brought a smile to Neuvillette and Kaeya's faces because they had both seen Rosaria's blush.
It was the best day of their shared lives.