You return to your home country a little early and pay your darling Twilight Sword a visit, concocting a plan to spend the day with him
A/N: OK SO... The title is fancy for no reason other than this was GOING to be a multi-parter with angst at the end until I decided it best to just leave it as is with fluff. lest I ramble for 5k words about how I personally envision the land of Khaenri’ah and who our beloved Reader is. It is my first time writing for Dainsleif as well!
Warnings: Probably light spoilers dotted around here and there in terms of what is revealed as of now for the fallen country, warning for softer Dain because pain has not yet happened.
Pairing: Dainsleif x GN!Reader
“My sweetest Moonlight, it is time to wake up~” The weight of his mattress dipped at the front in response to another body clambering atop it. He grunted once but made no motion to leave the comfort of his blankets. It was early, likely too early as he heard a soft voice filter through his senses like a pleasant dream. Upon hearing such familiar cadences, there was always one of two explanations. Either he was dreaming of his life partner once more on a lonely night and yearning for their touch, or they were actually right here with him on the bed with gentle fingers threading through his light blond locks. Usually it was the former. A warm, weighted kiss under his eyelids beckoned him to finally open his eyes. The sight of his beloved daybreak, his Starlight, graced his vision for only a moment before he fell deep into the mattress as someone dived into his touch.
“Dain!” You cried gleefully, nuzzling into his chest affectionately as he caged your body in a loving embrace. “Welcome to the waking world, at last. I missed you so.” And in truth, he missed you too. So so much. However…
“We did not expect you back so soon, their majesties will be pleased. Though, is everything alright in Teyvat?” A wondrously brilliant glimmer overtook your eyes as your hand wrapped around his own and guided him out of his bed. You led Dainsleif to sit on a stool in front of his vanity, facing the mirror as you picked up a brush and dutifully combed the knots out of his hair. He could remember the first time you did this to him, practically begging him to let you do this, do anything for that matter as a display of affection. Only after serious convincing did he allow you to lift a finger in his name, but now he could never think of another way to go about your shared morning rituals. It was comforting, intimate, absolutely divine.
“That is precisely what I wish to speak to you about! My Moonlight, I found the most beautiful little city in the middle of a lake that is blessed by fair winds and kind people. I set up Waypoints nearby before racing back home to you and to Khaenri’ah.” Dainsleif’s lips quirked upwards at his partner’s enthusiasm, you always were fascinated by the world of Teyvat above. Perfect, considering your position in the Eclipse Dynasty required frequent travel to all corners of the world. And the city you mentioned…
“This city you found, is it perhaps Mondstadt, the city of freedom?” Recognition swirled in your eyes before you nodded quickly.
“That’s the one! Have you ever been?” You always asked this, curious and awestruck. And he always felt guilty when he shook his head in response. The act of saying no to you, in any capacity, seemed to feel almost wrong.
“I know of only what I have been told by their majesties and what I have read in the royal archives.” He looked into the mirror to gaze fondly at your reflection. You stopped brushing his hair to smile back at him.
“Then we will go together! The Mondstadt waypoints are charged and ready for travel, and it is your day off, correct?” You pleaded silently at his mirror image, puppy-dog eyes pulling out all the stops you could think of.
“Starlight… You know that I do not have the privilege to have a day to myself.” You huffed, putting down the brush on the vanity.
“Then I as the right hand of their majesties hereby decree Dainsleif, the Twilight Sword of the Eclipse Dynasty, dedicate all of his time on this day, the day I returned from my overworldly duties, to be my personal escort around our beloved city of Khaenri’ah! Besides, I have already spoken to her highness to recruit your services for the day and she agreed.” You dropped your professional royal servant voice at the final statement and shot a smile at your love, who wondered why he even questioned your carefully structured plans for today in the first place. He stood up from his stool and guided you to sit down next, wherein he took the brush he always used for your hair and began to straighten your own knotted locks with the same care you gave him moments ago. It was unspoken tradition to alternate like this, and you melted into his touch.
“If this is by your decree, then you must don your official garb, my love.” You crossed your arms and whined indignantly while pouting at Dainsleif’s face in the mirror. It seems, he has won this battle. He could not help but smile affectionately as he pressed a kiss into your hair and hear your garbled response. “We must make it official after all.”
~*~
While getting you into your official attire had always been a mission of its own, he unfailingly believed it only made you all the more breathtaking to behold. It was a modest set of clothes save for its lack of sleeves. This, however, was intentional. And while you wore everything without much a fuss, Dainsleif could never get you to wear the shoes that came with it. It was stifling, you had once said, before meeting him one-on-one and he had always wondered why. It was a secret you revealed in your own time, and he has never questioned it since. When both of you stepped outside the safety and intimacy of his quarters, everyone took note.
“The Heart of Daybreak has returned! They’re back!” It was still early but even still those that were out and about and living their day-to-day lives stopped to greet the one they called Daybreak, and Dainsleif was ready to redirect the gathering crowd when he felt you stiffen beside him. You loved your people, but he knew that sometimes large and growing crowds unnerved you. He lowered his defensive posture when you subtly squeezed his hand behind your garments and allowed you to interact with them.
“We missed you so much!”
“How is the surface? Are they really as kind as you say?”
“Will you tell us more stories of your travels?”
“There is a gargantuan package by the plaza, more supplies from the surface? We will be able to stock our shops for many moons to come thanks to your tireless endeavors!” It was mostly the children who spoke over one another, seeking to give and receive affection. You were something of a hero to them all, bringing them all manner of trinkets and treats on top of your usual deliveries to Khaenri’ah, they adored you. Yet you straightened up as Dainsleif stood beside you. You were asked a question, and he always brought you back to the present when you needed it. You nodded once.
“Yes, that is correct. We should all hurry to the plaza before the goods we imported go to waste, shouldn’t we?” You directed the question playfully to the children, who cheered and scrambled ahead, leading you by wrapping their little hands around your wrists. And Dainsleif watched, as he always did, unable to tear his eyes away from you when the runes on your exposed arms flickered to life in a brilliant amber light. He remembered the day he first met you, and the events that led up to that fateful meeting.
The people of Khaenri’ah worked to be as powerful and independent as they could be in a country without an Archon, and so the royal families poured all they could onto creating what they needed. An army of automatons, a way to create life from just the essence of the earth below and the stars above, and living keys to activate these creations. All of this, in the name of progress and protection of the people. For years the most proficient practitioners of Khemia were commissioned to create these powerful keys, creatures that could live and breathe like humans but would not erode with time. Beings that could learn and experience emotion and strategy in order to plan the best ways to retaliate should war ever break loose. Dainsleif was already the sword of the royal family when the renown alchemist Gold stepped foot into their majesties’ royal chamber. Behind them was a dim-eyed individual wearing nothing but torn rags. ‘Homunculus’ is what Gold called it. A creature made from soil and stardust. There were faded white runes almost etched into the skin of two flimsy arms that could not be hidden by the rags. His ocean eyes met with dull and faded amber, contained and muted much like the person before him. Though when you stared back at him, your eyes flared to life with what looked like speckled stars in your irises that chased his gaze like stars chased the moon. Since then, he had never left your side.
Dainsleif had many reservations when he first met you, something created by Gold who was an individual he already disliked for their feverish ambitions and morally questionable methods of experimentation. Not only that, but it was you and you alone who commanded the automatons you affectionately referred to as ‘Graders.’ On a whim alone you could destroy half of the country, and the royal family knew this. So you were raised by the Eclipse Dynasty to be loyal to Khaenri’ah and not to your creator, he was the equivalent of your retainer upon that first meeting. And he treated you as such. Yet… somewhere along the line that professional relationship had dissolved. He would oft wonder how that happened but now, as he watched your favorite Grader approach you with relatively careful steps he can list but a few reasons why.
“Leaf!” You called, and Dainsleif still found your attempt at subtlety amusing. Though he could never call you out on it, nor would he want to. The sound of your voice was one reason. ‘Leaf’ extended a long arm to you, offering a beautiful crystal flower that you took in your hands and gently tucked behind your ear. Your kindness to even that which cannot feel was another.
“Thank you. Now, can you help me unpack this for the citizens?” At the request, both your runes and the Grader’s flickered in sync for a moment and the automaton’s hand came to rest on the ground before you. You hopped on without hesitation and allowed it to place you on its shoulder before it began to tear open the packages which you brought underground with your own strength. You looked back to him and blessed him with a smile, lingering for a moment before you turned back to face the others that had gathered with similar delight. That was his third reason. The biggest reason, perhaps, was how whenever you wanted to go exploring, he was always your first and only option.
“Are you ready, Moonlight?” You looked so giddy standing beside the sheer cliff that led you both to the surface. A powerful wind current that was used for gas exchange between the surface and the underground country was the only obstacle in the way. You, however, had a way around this. Dainsleif nodded, affectionately clasping your hand in his own. You almost opted to go home and just relish in his presence the rest of the day, but you wanted to share the experience of exploring Mondstadt together.
“With you? Always, Starlight.” You wrapped your arms around him once for a tight embrace which he returned instantly, pressing his face into the crick of your neck. There was an excited and quick sort of giggle that erupted from your mouth.
“Alright. Hold onto me. Count down from three?” Both of you counted down together.
Three. Dainsleif adjusted his position to wrap around under your arms, he faced the current.
Two. He felt something strong wrap around his waist, tufted at the end. Your muscles braced for what came next.
One. You both leaped into the wind current and he managed to look back at you just as he watched your arms transfigured before his very eyes. Feathers burst forth from your skin, taking on the colors of their home. Feathers glistened like starlight under the low light of their home and the current led you both to the surface. In moments like these as a transfigured tail wrapped around him to safe him should his grip slip and as your unique wings took the wind seamlessly underneath them, he remembered another thing he loved about you. Such a blatant disregard for Gold’s ambitions and principles, wanting to protect the country you both belonged to. You were no mindless creature. You had a curiosity for the world, and followed your own ambitions to explore it.
That you chose him to be the one you experienced the world with brought him a happiness he could never properly articulate, and he wished that you and he would always be together as you both watched the world of Khaenri’ah fade while looking up at the light from above.
