🖋️Ganyu x Ayato 🖋️ Choking on Ink
written as a birthday present for my old ass friend @hopefulceladon
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Dear Mr. Kamisato,
No, that didn’t sound right.
Dear Mr. Ayato,
That sounded arguably worse.
Dear Kamisato-san,
Still didn’t feel right.
Dear Ayato-san,
That’ll have to do, otherwise, she’ll run out of paper at the rate she was discarding letters.
Ganyu was having far too many problems agonizing over what to write. She could barely get the letter started; writing the rest of it seemed like a virtually impossible task. In all honestly, she would have preferred it to be a super-important-absolutely-must-be-flawless letter to the Inazuma shogunate, as that was something she was far more experienced with. Writing a personal letter to the head of the Kamisato clan, let alone a confession of feelings, was not in her job description.
How such feelings arose began with few and far in between business trips involving the cooperation of Inazuma and Liyue. Their chats were filled with all manner of government nonsense, and anything falling under that umbrella. What little down time they did have, Ganyu usually spent it discussing international relations between the two regions. Or, that was her excuse, at least. Any air of formality with Ayato quickly turned into casual chatter when they would finally have a moment to themselves. His words were smooth and his tone was gentle with her, melting away any lingering anxieties of hers that had yet to dissipate.
The unlikely pair of nerve-wrecked adeptus and smooth-talking clan head evolved into the exchange of letters in between formal visits and other exchanges. One single letter from Ayato was enough to spark enough joy in her to last through the busy week, even if it were simply a tax document penned with his own hand.
Enough waiting, she decided. Who even gets excited over tax documents just because they were in some guy’s handwriting? Ganyu couldn’t hold out any longer, and she’d best confess her feelings to him one way or another before it was too late, or before she delved deeper into insanity. No confessing would be happening if she couldn’t make it past the greeting, however…
I am writing to you to discuss…
What was this, a peace treaty?
There’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.
Not that either. Just cut to the chase.
I apologize in advance if this seems abrupt, but there is something that I must confess to you. I will admit, I have quite enjoyed our long talks together, even outside of the sphere of Inazuma and Liyue formalities.
In a way, your words bring me peace. They go beyond the pots of tea we have shared or the words of reassurance we have exchanged. Even when we are split apart by Teyvat’s vast wasters, joy is bought to my hectic little office upon receival of a letter personally written by your hand.
I deeply regret being unable to tell you this in person, but it seems as if our schedules do not align in the near future for a formal meet up. In order to not waste any more of your precious time, I wish to be straightforward with you and say that I...
By this point, Ganyu’s hands were trembling violently, and she could not manage to write the last few words of her letter. The ink brush quivered in her hands, and she couldn’t quite manage to stabilize herself enough to finish it off with “like you.” While her nerves rendered her immobile, she skimmed over the rest of her letter, which only caused her to become even more unsure of her words. Did it seem too rushed? Was she simply a lost cause? She even thought about scrapping it completely and restarting, but had no better ideas on how to word her feelings.
Being imperfect and genuine was better than obsessive over formality.
She would just have to push herself to finish it.
Ganyu closed her eyes and wrote the two words she had been agonizing herself over for so long.
…like you.
Now, her debate lay in figuring out a proper conclusion to such an admission. Please reply at your earliest convenience? I early await your response? None of it felt right. Maybe she just…shouldn’t have done this in the first place, but there was no turning back now.
I’m sorry if this seems rushed. I don’t know how to tell you these sorts of things. Please let me know what you think. Or you can ignore completely too. That’s fine. I won’t feel bad.
Thank you kindly,
Ganyu
Ganyu didn’t want to look at the letter any longer. After freeing those words from her mind, she concluded it as fast as she could so that her eyes would no longer glaze over the embarrassing words she had admitted to someone who was theoretically a political ally. As she was desperately waiting for the ink to dry, she averted her gaze from the paper, overthinking what she had just done. Ganyu frantically checked for the ink to dry, but looked no longer than she had to.
It felt as if it took far too long to dry, but she breathed a sigh of relief once it was safe to be rolled up and prepared to be mailed. Even with the letter destined for the islands across the sea, out of sight did not necessarily mean out of mind.
He carefully read the letter about three times at this point.
Ganyu? Confessing her feelings? It was a most unexpected, yet rather pleasant surprise. Ayato was convinced that he was going to be the one to make a move, but that little adeptus truly was full of surprises, even going as far as making the first move on this shogi board of love.
He got up from his desk and paced around his office, pondering his next course of action. Being delicate and formal was not fitting for the situation, even with a gentle soul like Ganyu. At the same time, he wanted to assure that his message would be communicated in a proper manner. Walking circles around his desk was, unfortunately, not very productive.
Taking a deep breath, Ayato sat back down at his desk and prepared his pen and scroll. Upon grabbing ahold of his pen, he was made aware of just how sweaty his hands have become under his gloves. That would prove to be most uncomfortable and distracting while writing, so Ayato bit the tips of the gloves and slid them off one at a time, spitting them onto the floor for the time being. Once his uncomfortably damp hands were freed, he shook them to air them out so that he may write with reasonable comfort.
To my dearest Ganyu,
I apologize for my schedule being filled to the brim, unable to allot for a proper confession between the two of us. In truth, I had been holding out on confessing my feelings for you, as I desired to do so in person without any lingering concerns in the air. Our schedules could never quite align, and I apologize if I have caused any anxiety for you with my unintentionally erratic behavior.
Should things clear up in the near future, I would absolutely love to take you on a proper outing. Otherwise, I have to pray that my love is properly conveyed within this letter.
Regards,
Kamisato Ayato.
Ayato looked at the letter, and even his brief, heartfelt words felt overbearing. He wasn’t quite ready for his first exchange of I-love-you’s with her; that was one of many milestones he felt was better reserved for an in-person confrontation. Regrettably, this reply would have to do for the time being.
He rolled up the scroll ever so cautiously and sealed it shut with the utmost care, sliding it onto his backed-up pile of mail to be sent out. Ayato picked up his gloves off of the floor and tossed them onto his desk.
Another day, another waiting game, he thought as he crossed his arms and looked at the neatly rolled letter on top of the mail pile. At least, waiting for his beloved’s admission of love was a sudden yet most welcome conclusion to one romantic game of cat and mouse.
