Archive of Our Own

When the sun rises is Teyvat, all is quiet. It paints Lisa’s apartment in a subtle glow, in golden streaks that caress over her bare skin beneath the sheets, and her slumbering lover in her arms. Jean is peaceful like the wind passing through the clouds of the morning light, her lips pressed against Lisa’s collarbone as she dreams. It’s the brunette that wakes first with a content sigh and a languid stretch. Jean stirs and her arms tighten around Lisa’s slim waist, making the librarian giggle endearingly beneath her breath. Lisa settles into her pillow once again, her fingers combing over the blonde tresses that are splayed messily over Jean’s shoulders. 

She’s beautiful and Lisa is happy. 

In the dim hours, she glances around her apartment and spots the parts of the space that welcomed Jean with an open heart. She knows there’s a section in her dresser that is filled with Jean’s work clothes and another drawer with cozy matching pajama sets they would wear on the weekends, cradling mugs of tea and coffee on the couch. Jean’s blue toothbrush is next to hers in the bathroom and her shoes are lined up by the door. The coffee table in the living room is filled with Lisa’s books, bookmarks scattered between the three novels she’s reading all at once, right next to all of Jean’s case files with her neat notes written in the margins. 

Before Lisa knew it, Jean was taking up every inch of her heart, and she never minds it. Every day, she just selfishly wants more. In a manner of months, Jean became her home. 

The sky opens up and Jean’s baby blues are looking back at her, love swimming in every ocean wave that glints beneath the sun.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” Lisa whispers softly, her breath skimming Jean’s lips before closing the distance. Jean hums contentedly returning the kiss, her palms smoothing over to the small of Lisa’s back, and pulling her that much closer. They part and Jean laughs in a way that tugs at Lisa’s heart.

“Good morning, love.”

Lisa hums and drops a kiss on her jaw. 

It had only been a matter of months but to Lisa, waking up this way every morning felt as though they had shared this love for an eternity. Then the morning continues as it always does, Jean dropping one last kiss on Lisa’s forehead before sliding out of bed, right into the shower. Lisa pads over to the kitchen, slipping on one of Jean’s button up shirts with her bare legs exposed, the tea kettle coming to life with a whistle along with the coffee brewer churning. 

The toaster rings and Jean emerges. 

“Have I ever told you how much I love seeing you in my clothes?” Jean says aloud with a cheeky smile as she takes a sip at the coffee Lisa sets down. The brunette leans in, a smirk on her face as the collar dips. The way Jean’s eyes widen minutely isn’t lost on her. 

“Maybe once or twice,” Lisa replies with a playful tilt, her palm curving over Jean’s cheek, and her thumb stroking over the smooth skin. 

They enjoy their breakfast together, Jean sipping on her coffee mug while reviewing her case notes and jotting things down in her planner weeks and weeks in advance. Lisa pages through a book and hums to the soft tune of acoustic playing through their speakers. 

“The caseload is light today, I should be back on time today. Dinner, on me?” Jean prompts, checking her watch. She adds, “Pizza? Cat’s Tail?” 

Lisa can’t help but laugh because pizza is one of Jean’s favorite things in the world - but being dressed down to the nines with her hair tied into a neat ponytail and suggesting such a thing is adorable to her, to this day. 

“It’s a date,” Lisa replies, amused. 

Jean immediately brightens. “Great!” She checks her watch again and rises from her seat. “I should get going, I’ll see you later.” 

Lisa rises and steps into Jean’s embrace, the refreshing scent of her dandelion perfume filling up her space as she tucks her head beneath Jean’s chin. Jean’s arm squeezes around her, dropping a kiss to the crown of her hair, and Lisa sighs. 

“I love you,” Jean murmurs. 

Lisa sinks in a bit more. “I love you too.” 

A sweet kiss is shared then Jean is out the door with a wide grin, waving at Lisa as she goes. The librarian wiggles her fingers in a goodbye and thinks about how lucky she truly is. Love never came easy before, not until her. Jean was the only person that made it seem seamless, like she was free to breathe and be exactly as she was, and the blonde would cherish every facet of her soul. Lisa didn’t have to chase her down for Jean to love her back, it happened as easily as the sun rose, and Lisa would bask in its light. The days would pass uncounted like a blissful dream without an end. 

As an added bonus to domestic life, it was a relief that she would never have a first date ever again. The thought made Lisa laugh to herself.

Then another thought came, the date.  

Lisa bounds over to her desk and flips a few pages in her own planner. Just two weeks away, the square of February 10th is outlined in elegant gold embroidered washi tape, and in her neat cursive, a reminder. Their first anniversary. 

Fuck.

Then she panics, because Lisa’s never had an anniversary before. She’s never gotten this far, fallen this far. Knowing Jean, she probably had a whole plan, just brimming with ideas. Lisa groans, she doesn’t deserve this woman. 

She pulls up her phone and dials the only person who can help her.

When she picks up, her voice is like practical birds chirping in her ears, full of delight and spewing sunshine.“Lisa! Good morning! It’s a little early but I’m not complaining, don’t worry! It’s really nice to hear from you! How’s Jean? How are you?”

Lisa settles on the couch and laughs beneath her breath. Yet another spot of light in her life that Jean brought with her. “It’s nice to hear from you too, little bee. Jean’s good, she just left for work. But listen, I called because I need your help.”

“Oh? Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine, more than fine, really,” Lisa admits, twirling a few strands of her hair on her finger. “I need help with what to get Jean for our first anniversary. Can you meet me?”

She can just hear how Barbara perks up at this and pictures the young blonde in her pigtail glory pumping a fist into the air in victory.

“You got it, Lisa, just leave it to me! Operation Dandelion is a go!” 

Lisa chuckles. “Dandelion?” 

“For Jean! It suits her, don’t you think?” Barbara asks brightly. 

Lisa peers at the windowsill where a singular vase of dandelions lay - stark against the backdrop of snow. Jean had given them to her with her charming grin. 

To make your home look brighter, even in the winter time.

She smiles. “Yes, it does.”

Lisa should’ve expected things to go this way. Barbara strolls in the apartment hours later, with various items stacked to her chin. From the looks of it, it’s several photo albums, a pencil case, and a box of sweets. Lisa invites her in and Barbara shuffles towards the living room, depositing the items on the table with a triumphant hum.

“What’s all this?” Lisa asks, peering over Barbara’s shoulder. 

Barbara plops down on the couch and swings her legs. “I brought all sorts of references! I have photo albums from when Jean was little all the way up through high school that I thought could help.” She leans over and opens the box, the smell of the bakery wafting into the space. “These are for you, too.”

Lisa sits down beside her and takes a pastry into her hands. Barbara pulls an album onto her lap and opens it, Lisa immediately softens at the pictures. There’s collages of a young Jean, her blonde hair messy and her smile just as bright. Barbara points at a particular picture and Lisa can’t help but laugh out loud, Barbara giggling along with her.

It’s a picture of a much tinier Jean, in denim overalls clipped over a shirt dotted with yellow flowers. Her shoes were glowing as were her eyes, her mouth wide open and a snarl on her face as she looked at a full grown lion behind the glass at the zoo. Lisa could imagine how fearsome she thought she must’ve been, roaring at a predator. 

Oh, how she loves her even more. 

“Jean loves lions. She had a big stuffed animal one the size of her body when we were younger,” Barbara says fondly. “Getting a lion for your first anniversary is a little much though.”

Lisa chokes over the bite of her pastry, coughing slightly. Barbara looks at her with a worried expression which she waves off with her hand as she swallows. The blues of Barbara’s eyes continue to twinkle with innocent and Lisa wonders - when on earth would it ever be suitable to present a lion as a gift, on any occasion?

Instead she agrees to spare her. “Yeah, I think so too. A lion is a bit much.” 

Barbara nods as she flips through a few more pages. Lisa isn’t quite sure how to describe the feeling she experiences as Barbara takes her through a timeline of Jean’s life. There’s parts of the pictures that still show in the Jean she knows today. The vibrancy of her presence, the calculating looks when she was really thinking about something, and that adorably charming smile when she would rub the back of her neck. It’s comforting to know that even if Lisa had met her long ago, she would’ve fallen in love with her anyway.

Another page flips and Barbara pauses with a scowl on her face. It’s another picture of Jean in a navy blue dress. Lisa stares for a moment because Jean is stunning. The mermaid dress hugs the gentle curves of her waist down her long legs, a teasing slit running up her toned calf. Her platinum blonde hair falls like silk to frame her face, twisted with white roses that match corsage donned on her wrist. She notices the wrinkle of disapproval on Barbara’s face and Lisa wasn’t sure if she’s ever seen such an expression before on the younger girl’s face. Before she can ask, Barbara speaks up.

“This was Jean’s senior prom. There was a boy in her grade that didn’t have anyone to go with and she felt bad. She was just planning on going with her friends but ended up going with him,” Barbara explains. “Jean was way out of his league and he wasn’t even nice to her! I think his name was Pallad or something.”

Lisa looks back at the picture and cringes in understanding. To put it nicely, he was just extremely average. He wasn’t even looking fully at the camera, practically cowering at the sight of it while Jean looked like a goddess walking the earth with her windswept hair and a sparkling dawn smile. 

“I don’t think he even danced with her! The nerve of him,” Barbara huffs and then another lightbulb seems to go off in her head. “Oh! Jean told me you’re a good dancer, why don’t you take her dancing?”

Lisa blinks at her and ponders the thought because the brunette is confused on why Jean would say such a thing. The only kind of dancing we do is… Then the memories flood in, of silk and lace underneath a dim glow of red lights, and the thrum of a bass. 

Oh, Archons.

“Lisa? Are you okay? Your face is all red, do you need some water?”

“Let’s… think of something else.”

For someone who prides herself for always being prepared and with an eye for detail, Jean is surprisingly caught off guard by the large purple heart in the middle of her planner. Vaguely, she remembers Lisa mentioning that she had marked down their one year anniversary for Jean in the planner months ago. Good thing she’s trying to plan out next month’s meetings,and she managed to catch the little reminder that Lisa left her early.

Early.

A month is hardly enough time, not if Jean wants to find something perfect for their first anniversary. It’s their first anniversary. Arguably the most important one, and she absolutely must have the best gift ready for Lisa. She can hardly believe that a year has already passed since they first started dating. 

A year feels too short, yet like an entire lifetime in and of itself. Jean wouldn’t trade it for the world though.

She picks up the pen from her desk and begins making a list of potential gifts that she could buy for Lisa. There were a few books that Jean remembers Lisa mentioning- the latest volumes in a few series that she’s been reading. The stack of books that Lisa keeps on her bedside table has dwindled down to just four. Hopefully, Jean can find a few books to help supplement that.

Lisa is also fond of different accessories, Jean notes. The small closet in Lisa’s apartment is filled to the brim with all kinds of different hats, scarves, and other pieces of jewellery. Despite the overflowing closet, Lisa has made room for Jean’s things- an entire drawer dedicated to Jean’s belongings while the rest of Jean’s clothes have become impossibly mixed into Lisa’s wardrobe until sometimes even she couldn’t tell which clothes were actually hers and which were Lisa’s. Not that it mattered, and definitely not that Jean cared. Lisa looked good in Jean’s clothes (and also without Jean’s clothes but she was never going to admit that out loud).

While a drawer doesn’t seem like a lot to some people, Jean is undeniably pleased with this. She understands that Lisa has a particular way of doing things, of organizing things. Lisa has a routine of sorts, everything kept neat and orderly and it meant a lot to Jean when Lisa purposefully included her in her daily life. 

Lisa purposefully made space for Jean in her life, something that was and is, freely given. This isn’t something that Jean had to fight tooth and nail for, something that she is so used to doing at work. The feeling is wonderful, to know that you were wanted and your presence appreciated. Being with Lisa made Jean comfortable, at home, and she wanted Lisa to know how much that meant to her, even though a gift would convey only a fraction of how she truly felt.

Jean adds a new kettle to her list as well. The one that currently sits on the stove is beat up and doesn’t hold heat all that well. Lisa had been complaining about it for a while,something about the temperature for her tea and Jean’s coffee was all wrong.

Maybe some new teacups and some new tea leaves? Jean could swing by Lisa's favourite specialty tea shop and pick some out. That is worth adding to the list. Maybe even a matching sauce pan, now that Jean thinks about it. Sometimes the fried eggs that they make in the morning are a little burnt and the bits like to stick to the pan no matter how much oil they add, and she prefers her eggs fried, not deep fried.

The sheet of paper is quickly filled with various ideas which are crossed out and edited and then crossed out again. It takes a few drafts, but eventually, Jean has a neat and orderly list of gifts to buy. 

Seeing the list fills Jean with a sense of confidence. She caps her pen satisfactorily. This is like a list of tasks, and Jean is quite fond of tasks. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought.

This is not going to be easy.

Despite Jean’s clear plan of attack, things were not going as well as she had hoped when she originally made the list. 

It all started when she spotted the very familiar cover of the latest volume of The Fox in the Dandelion Sea on the dining room table, left behind next to two cups of tea and coffee, respectively, from breakfast. Lisa must have started reading while Jean was in the shower. Jean probably wouldn’t have registered that the book was even on the dining room table if she hadn’t been staring at the cover in her online shopping cart for the last few days, debating on which book to order. 

It turns out that it didn’t matter which book to order because Jean spots the full set of The Legend of Vennessa sitting on Lisa’s bookshelf a few seconds later. The books, first edition,  gilded in gold, were definitely not there the night before- Lisa had been opening some kind of package the night before. 

Jean curses quietly under her breath, glaring at the empty box from the Wanwen Bookhouse. Of course Lisa already bought the books that she wanted already. She carries the empty cups to the sink and is about to start washing them when, out of the corner of her eye, Jean spots something else that makes her stomach drop. Something purple… Jean pads the few short steps from the sink to the stove. It’s something purple and very tea kettle-y. 

Lisa had gotten the tea kettle that Jean was going to get her. 

Eyes wide, Jean scrambles across the apartment. She nearly trips over the coffee table in her haste, banging her shin against the edge of it instead. 

“Jean?” Lisa’s voice calls out from the bathroom. The hair dryer pauses for a moment, and Lisa sticks her head out the bathroom door, a big cloud of steam escaping from the partially opened door. Lisa is clad in only a towel, hair unstyled and still damp but Jean thinks she’s the most beautiful person that she has ever laid eyes on.

“Everything okay?” Lisa smiles and Jean feels her cheeks warm, even now, after a whole year, the sight of Lisa’s smile is enough to lift her mood.

“Uh, yep!” Jean smiles back, trying to keep her tone light, “Totally fine, I just stubbed my toe on the coffee table.”

Lisa shoots her a look that Jean can’t quite read but doesn’t otherwise comment. She does pull Jean across the hallway to press a kiss against the corner of her lips though. The scent of vanilla and chai with some kind of subtle floral undertone that Jean can’t quite place, is a mixture that is so distinctly Lisa. 

Jean can’t help but hum contentedly into the kiss, even as droplets of water from Lisa’s hair dripped onto her shirt. She kisses Lisa back, just as tenderly, brushing a few stray strands of hair away from her eyes. 

“You’re going to be late for work if you don’t hurry,” Jean teases.

“Well if someone would stop being so distracting,” Lisa quips back and retreats back into the bathroom.

The door clicks shut softly, and Jean spends another moment there, just basking in the remnants of that brief moment, just staring after Lisa for a beat longer. Only for a moment though, left alone again in the rest of the apartment, Jean scrambles down the hall to Lisa’s desk. 

Heart in her throat, she sees it. What she had once thought would be her failsafe. Looking at it now, Jean feels nothing but safe that she had failed in her goal already.

It was an old fashioned typewriter that Jean had been looking into buying for Lisa. They were discontinued a long time ago and hard to find but she knew that Lisa had mentioned this specific model being one that she had her eye one. There was something about the actuation of this particular typewriter’s keys that were ideal for Lisa’s hands. Jean doesn’t know how she missed it the past few times she had been in the room, but it’s clear as day now, sitting on the corner of Lisa’s desk, taunting her.

“How does she already have this too?” Jean murmurs to herself, frowning. Her list has been cut to size now, and her confidence along with it.

“Darling? What are you doing?” Lisa’s voice from behind Jean nearly makes her jump. Two arms wind around Jean’s waist and Lisa’s chin comes to rest on Jean’s shoulder as she peers over Jean’s shoulder at whatever is so interesting on the desk.

“Oh, I’m just looking at the typewriter,” Jean gestures helplessly at said item, she resists the urge to just melt into Lisa’s embrace. She can’t let Lisa see her mild disappointment and minor panic at finding out that Lisa literally has everything on Jean’s preplanned list.

“Do you like it? I saw it the other day in the window of an antique store and it was in such good condition. She’s practically a steal. You know how much I wanted one of these,” Lisa purrs in Jean’s ear as she reaches around Jean to lovingly stroke the side of the little machine.

Jean winces, “Yep, I sure do.” She had been looking at a specialty store over in Springvale too, they had this exact one on sale on their website. “I’m impressed you managed to find one in this day and age.” 

Lisa presses another kiss against Jean’s cheek, “I am very resourceful, darling. What I want, I will get.”

With that, Lisa heads back to their shared bedroom with a smile, leaving Jean to stare tiredly at her list, gone down in flames.

Jean is going to need help.

“What in the name of Barbatos is this?” Jean glares at Kaeya over the piece of paper that he has slid across her desk.

Kaeya smirks, “I gave your issue a lot of thought and here are my solutions.” 

Jean never intended to ask Kaeya for help. Far from it, actually. But in a moment of weakness and sleep deprivation (so maybe she had spent the last few nights browsing different stores and catalogues online), she told Kaeya of her current predicament. She didn’t think that he would actually put in any effort. 

Nope, she takes that back, there is no effort in this list.

“I am not getting her a gift card to Teycy’s,” Jean flicks the list back across her desk at Kaeya.

“Why not?” Kaeya takes the rejected list and scans it over again, like he could find what was wrong with it. 

“Kaeya, it’s Teycy’s. Lisa does not shop at Teycy’s. She cannot be bothered to shop there. Besides that is definitely not an anniversary gift,” Jean rubs her temples tiredly, this was exactly why she didn’t want to bring this up with Kaeya in the first place. 

“Listen why don’t you get her some nice massage oil? Or maybe some lingerie?” Kaeya points at some of the other things on his list, his smile growing ever wider. 

Jean groans, he is definitely the wrong person to ask. “Absolutely not, I am not discussing this with you anymore.” 

“Look, you could always go down to that really nice -” Kaeya throws in an exaggerated wink, sliding his finger further down the list “-store near your house and buy her a nice stra-”

“Kaeya if you finish that sentence I will post that picture of me carrying your drunk ass to a taxi at the company holiday party on my social media.” Jean waves her phone at him threateningly. It was an entire ordeal to go through the company holiday party without Lisa to begin with- the holidays were an unfortunate mess of overlapping commitments. It was something else to have to literally throw Kaeya into the back of a taxi at the end of the night after carrying him down three flights of stairs because he was too drunk to move and too nauseous to get in the elevator.

Jean was also fortunate enough that Varka had a sense of humour and took pictures of the entire Kaeya wrangling event. They are very handy for situations like this one.

Kaeya shuts up, but not for long. “Listen, I don’t know why you’re stressing out over this. Anything you would give her, she would love. Don’t worry so much about it, Jean. You’ll figure it out.” He folds the list into a paper airplane with a few deft movements. He’s gotten more than enough practice making them, by the looks of the airplane hanger that is now his wastebasket.

Jean smiles at his sincerity, not expecting this from him at all.

“That being said, have you considered just wrapping yourself up naked in a bow and-”

 “Kaeya, please, shut the fuck up.”   

Barbara had been so earnest and it’s clear to Lisa that Jean means a lot to her. The brainstorm of ideas had Lisa dizzy but she smiles through it regardless as Barbara cleans up her belongings. As she’s clearing the coffee table and getting ready to leave, she turns to Lisa again with a small smile, almost shy. 

“I can tell Jean’s really happy with you, so I wish you both the absolute best!”

Lisa didn’t have any siblings but she knew Barbara made one of the best little sisters.

“Thank you, little bee. I’ll be sure to get her something wonderful.”

She says the statement with a lot of confidence and bravado but it dims when she’s faced with the several shops of the mall near her apartment. Jean had apologized profusely to her that morning, something about how the day was going to run late with the new case she was handling. Lisa kissed her cheek and brushed her worries away, reassuring the blonde that it was fine and that she wasn’t going anywhere. Truthfully, it was good luck that Jean was busy because now she could fully commit to shopping and hopefully living up to the expectations Barbara had set out for her. 

Lisa had been researching at work, scrolling through online searches on what to do for first anniversaries, and in all honesty, all the ideas she was presented with seemed much too plain for the occasion. Jean is special and should be treated as such. She shouldn’t be summed up in premade books that she fills with 100 reasons why she loves her (bold of them to assume that Lisa could be limited to a mere hundred), or sterling silver puzzle piece necklaces, or shiny red boxes of chocolate with a fuzzy teddy bear to match.

She wanders the entire mall and there’s nothing that catches her eye. She promptly ignores every kiosk individual that attempts to block her path, especially the merchant with questionable fashion sense beneath the neon light sign of “Marvelous Merchandise”. He greets her with a booming voice and dives into a whole sales pitch that leaves Lisa mildly irritated.

“So what do you say, beautiful miss?” She can practically see the greedy glint off his knock off sunglasses. She narrows her gaze to the nametag on his shirt, Liben.

She smiles sweetly at him but there’s an air of doom about her which makes Liben gulp unconsciously. “No.”

She struts off and leaves him behind, about ready to give up on finding anything suitable. Towards the ends of the mall, she finds a secondhand bookshop and spots a familiar face. The bell rings when she enters and the cashier turns to greet her, her face initially bored, but immediately brightens once she realizes who it is.

“Miss Lisa! What brings you here?” the girl, who Lisa recognizes as Fischl. She's a curious girl who proved to be quite the avid reader, her black and purple shadow frequenting the library with stacks of novels in her arms that Lisa notes she always returns to them three days before its due date. 

“Oh, just browsing. It’s my anniversary coming up and I just can’t seem to find the right thing,” Lisa admits with a little exasperation and a half-hearted smile.

“I have the perfect gift idea for you,” Fischl announces with a flair, her eyes holding an air of mischief in them. Lisa is walking the line between whether or not she should ask. Fischl doesn’t wait for her response. “You should get her a skull.”

Lisa feels her eyebrow twitch as she tries to keep a straight face, just waiting for some sort of explanation. Surely, Fischl knows that her suggested gift should come with an explanation?

“It represents a love that shall extend beyond death, a love neverending, unchained from this mortal coil!”

Lisa knows Jean secretly loves romance stories and the little novellas filled with tiny poems, but even this is a little much. “I… haven’t considered such a thing. You have quite the imagination for romance, Fischl. I’m impressed.”

The young girl beams but then quickly dissolves into a troubled look. Lisa tilts her head and Fischl sighs, “Sadly, we don’t sell those here. If I was in charge, I would demand a bit more cultural diversity. I wish you luck on your endeavors, though, Miss Lisa!” 

Lisa takes that as her cue to leave and she’s back in the walkways of the mall, still empty handed. She’ll have to come up with something else. 

As she makes her exit from the building, a bulletin board catches her eye on the way. There’s a flier pinned to the corkboard for a flower shop not too far off, “Once and Floral”. She chuckles at the name and peers at the picture, a two story building with a giant bronze tea kettle sprouting flowers from its spout. In the bottom corner of the flier, there’s a set of blonde twins with cheesy grins and aprons, holding the cutest cat with white fur and brown patches. It’s extremely endearing and Lisa feels a bit lighter, despite her lack of progress.

Flowers were as good a place to start as any. 

When she makes her way out of the mall, there’s buzz from her phone in her hand. Her eyes narrow at the notification of who it’s from.

Library Fine: $4.20

She sighs. Kaeya. How irritating - not just the text but also the fact that he still hadn’t paid his library fines from last year.

The message is a picture of a fairly crumpled list that looks like it’s past life had been as a paper airplane. She can vaguely make out the word Teycy’s that had been struck through with a bold black marker. She scans the list and then the message. 

Anniversary ideas for my two favorite love birds! 

She scoffs at her phone and tosses her phone into her purse before walking on.

“Who does he think I am?” Lisa mutters beneath her breath.

As if she hadn’t thought of it all already. 

The shopping mall near Lisa’s apartment isn’t particularly busy on the afternoon that Jean finally makes the trip out to it. Lisa is busy at work- Jean has double and tripled checked Lisa’s schedule for the day so there are no chances of her catching Jean shopping for her anniversary gift. 

Methodically, Jean starts at one end of the mall, wandering down past all the different stores before doubling back down the other side. Nothing quite catches Jean’s eye though. Sure, there were many things here that she is certain that Lisa would like, none of them have quite the right vibe for an anniversary gift. 

Jean is about to give up on the whole thing and just return to her endless scrolling online when a very fashionable young woman catches her eye. The woman is dressed in an elegant purple floral skirt with a matching cardigan over a white blouse. Lisa would look fantastic in something similar to that, Jean thinks.

Perhaps she could buy Lisa a new skirt? The one that the woman is wearing is very nice… With that, Jean heads over to the woman who is now beckoning her over.

“Why aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” the woman practically purrs as Jean draws near. “I couldn’t help but notice you looking this way. And I must say you have fine taste.” 

“Uhm… thank you?” Jean tries to look around the woman and into the shop that she is clearly trying to entice potential customers into. 

The lower portion of the shop windows are covered in frosted glass, and the gaudy red velvet curtains that hang behind them seem redundant given that nobody can see into the store because of the glass anyway. Jean pales, she had seen a few stores like this scattered into the far corners of the mall, away from prying eyes. They were usually very inconspicuous, and Jean never really paid them any mind.

“The Scent of Spring,” Jean reads the large sign above the shop clerk’s head to herself. What a strange name as well. 

“So what will it be, cutie. We have lots of different things here, sure to find something that you’ll find satisfactory,” the smile that- Jean squinted at the name tag pinned to the front of the woman's cardigan- Ying’er gives her is far too flirty for Jean’s liking.

Despite her feelings of uncertainty, Jean remains composed. “Uhm, I’m alright thank-you.” This is admittedly not the kind of store that she is looking for. She definitely does not want to be taking any of Kaeya’s suggestions to heart. 

“I think you’ll find-” Ying’er bites her bottom lip in a pout, “-things that you didn’t even know you needed here. And I would love to get to know you better as well.” 

Nope, nope, nope. Jean definitely does not like that, she doesn’t want to get to know anything about Ying’er. She makes an exaggerated show of checking her phone. “You know, I’d love to stay and chat but I’m going to be late for an important meeting.” Jean puts on her most polite smile, the one that she usually uses when handling frustrating clients at work and sometimes for faking out Kaeya.

Before Ying’er can say anything further, Jean hurries away, walking at a pace just shy of a run. 

The mall is definitely not the place to look for Lisa’s anniversary gift. She’s making her way back to the parking lot when she spots the bright red and yellow advertisement flashing on a screen next to the information kiosk. It appears to be for a special event at the fancy revolving restaurant in downtown Monstadt.

Jean frowns as she looks over the advertisement. Xiangling, the head chef of the famous Wanmin Restaurant in Liyue would be the guest chef for a week. It’s an exclusive event, only accessible through ticket purchases and invitation. Lisa likes trying new dishes and even if Jean isn’t the most adventurous eater, this feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Tickets were almost sold out, Jean notes with some disappointment as she looks up the event on her phone. There were some tickets for sale for days which were decidedly not the anniversary day. That meant…  Jean groans internally, he is going to be so insufferable about this.

For Lisa though, she would be willing to put up with his smug grin. With a sigh, she scrolls through her contacts and presses his name, “Hello, Kaeya? I have a favour to ask of you.”

The night of the anniversary rolls up on Jean a lot quicker than she expected. Kaeya, for all his smugness and smirks, did come through and get her a pair of tickets for the very exclusive dinner. Jean has no idea how he managed such a feat but she definitely wasn’t going to look this gift horse in the mouth. 

Even armed with this dinner, Jean still feels very uncomfortable showing up to the actual event empty handed. That’s how she finds herself at a strange little flower shop- ‘Once and Floral’, according to the sign above the door, just hours before she’s supposed to pick up Lisa. They agreed to get ready separately, to keep things as much of a surprise as they could.

It felt strange to return to her own apartment at the end of the day sometimes- especially if it was one of those nights that Lisa wasn’t staying over. Strange how comfortable and natural it felt just to have Lisa around… strange in a good way though. Jean could hardly bring herself to call her own apartment home if Lisa isn’t there as well. 

Co-habituation thoughts aside, Jean is on a very important mission. She has to find the perfect bouquet of flowers for Lisa. It might be a little cheesy but Jean is a big believer in romance and flowers and romance always go hand in hand. The language of flowers might not be something that she is fluent in, but they speak volumes all the same.

Despite the flower shop’s strange exterior- Jean remembers passing by the giant teapot on the street a few times before but paid no mind to it, just another oddity in a city full of weird and wonderful things. Today though, she is extremely grateful for the teapot and its two very helpful florists that have Jean seeing double. She’s quite certain they’re twins at least.

“We just got a really pretty shipment of cecilias today!” 

Jean lets one of the florists lead her over to a carefully arranged display of flowers- Lumine, Jean is pretty sure. The other florist has disappeared somewhere further into the store to help someone else. The white flowers are reminiscent of a fresh snowfall, untouched by the busyness of the day. “These are very pretty,” Jean agrees. They smell delightful too, just a light floral scent that isn’t too overwhelming. 

“We can add some other flowers in there for a little more colour as well.” Lumine hums thoughtfully to herself, twirling on the spot as she looks for other things to add to a bouquet. “Oh, here we go, how about some lampgrass?” 

She holds up a blue flower next to a few of the cecelias. The faint blue glow that the lampgrass gives off makes the cecilias almost seem ethereal. Jean nods appreciatively, she didn’t know a lot about flowers but she knows that this would be a gorgeous bouquet. 

“I think that will be excellent,” Jean smiles easily. “Can I ask you a question…” She tilts her head to double check the name on the lopsided name tag, “Lumine?”

“Sure!” Lumine chirps as she busies herself with ringing up the flowers and arranging the bouquet. 

“What do these flowers mean?” Jean almost feels silly for asking such a question. Do people even care about the language of flowers anymore? She takes the card reader from Lumine so that the florist can return to arranging the flowers. The little device  beeps joyously as Jean taps her card against the screen. 

“Well the cecilia grows on top of mountains and they’re pretty hard to find and gather because you have to climb so high to get them. They represent a resilient love that stands against hardship and time.” Lumine carefully tucks a lampgrass behind a cecilia in a way that maximizes the glow of the lampgrass against the delicate white petals. “The lampgrass are a lot easier to find at night and represent a promise to light each other’s path and to remain by each other’s side.”

“Oh, that’s very touching. I’m getting them for my girlfriend, it’s our one year anniversary so this is perfect actually.” Of all the cliche things that Jean expected Lumine to tell her, this is definitely not one of them. Perhaps she could recount these meanings to Lisa later, Jean is certain that Lisa would find this interesting and also a little cheesy, but the flowers- meaning and all fit so well. 

“Your one year anniversary? Congratulations!” Lumine finishes arranging the bouquet and wraps up the flowers in a neat little brown paper bundle. “There you go. I hope your girlfriend likes these flowers and their meaning, then.”

Jean picks up the bundle reverently like she might accidentally crush the flowers otherwise. “Thank you so much!” 

“Thank you for your business!” Lumine waves cheerily from behind the counter. Somewhere deeper in the shop, Jean can hear her twin echo the farewell.

With a long exhale, Jean steps out of the shop and back out into the street, her breath immediately drifts away in the cold evening air. She feels more prepared now, flowers in hand. Smiling, she glances up at the shop sign above her head. It’s time to pick Lisa up and finally see all this planning pay off, once and floral indeed.

Jean thinks that Lisa looks absolutely stunning. She steps out of the front doors of her apartment building to where Jean is parked and Jean nearly trips in her haste to get around to the otherside of the car, the bundle of flowers hidden behind her back. 

When Lisa reaches the car, Jean finds herself staring directly at a bouquet of cecilias and lampgrass. She has to glance down at the bouquet behind her back, the now unwrapped paper crinkling noisily in her grip, to make sure that she still has her bouquet and Lisa hasn’t somehow managed to steal the bouquet from her while she wasn’t paying attention. 

It’s the exact same bouquet. 

Lisa has the exact same bouquet in her arms that Jean bought. 

She really does have everything, Jean smiles at Lisa anyway and reveals the bouquet that she is also carrying like a magician at the end of their magic trick. “Surprise?”

You’ve got to be joking, Lisa thinks as she stares back at her. 

“Did you-”

“I can’t believe-” 

Both of them pause mid-sentence, their smiles growing ever wider as realization fully settled in over them like gentle snowflakes. They burst into laughter at the same time, leaning into each other as they realized the ridiculousness of the entire situation. 

It takes them a moment longer to regain their composure, with Lisa finally dabbing at the tears in the corners of her eyes. “You are going to ruin my makeup!”

“Nonsense,” Jean takes the bouquet from Lisa’s arms so that she can pull her close, “I think you look amazing.” 

Lisa takes a moment to look Jean up and down, to say she looked amazing or stunning would be a severe understatement, an insult at best. Jean is wearing a slim fit, three piece cream colored suit that hugs every curve to her waist and the length of her legs. The pale blue undershirt is clasped with a navy blue tie and Lisa swears Jean’s eyes are brighter. Lisa certainly doesn’t miss the way Jean’s eyes drift up and down her body - catching onto the deep mauve of her blazer that drapes over the line of her shoulders, with a black lace bralette that dips into her chest, and tucks into the dress pants that hug her thighs in the way she knows Jean loves. 

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Lisa breathes a little shakily because even after all this time, Jean easily steals it away. 

Standing in each other’s space, after weeks of agonizing over the perfect gift and the perfect moment, they wonder why they ever worried at all. 

Jean manages to keep it a secret from Lisa the entire ride to the downtown area; despite some of her attempts being borderline what Jean considers cheating. She catches one of Lisa’s stray hands that makes her leg twitch beneath her touch, slotting their fingers together and planting a kiss on her knuckles.

Lisa seems to be satisfied with that, for now.

“Take a picture,” Jean teases, after what must have been the sixty-nineth time. “It’ll last longer, I promise.” 

“Why have a photo, when I can have you?” Lisa responds with a fond eye-roll but she decides to give in to a different question that’s on her mind. “So, where’d you get the flowers?” 

The matching bouquets are shining in the backseat even beneath the city night lights. 

“A magical teapot. It grants quite the floral wishes,” Jean replies cheekily, fingertips drumming against the steering wheel. “So magical in fact that I’m pretty sure I was seeing double.”

“The twins, you mean, dear.”

“Ah, so you experienced one of their tricks as well.”

The serious expression on Jean’s face draws a chuckle out of Lisa’s pretty pink lips. The brunette looks at all the streetlights passing by the window for a moment before speaking again.

“So, why cecilias and lampgrass?”

Jean blushes at the question because while Lumine’s explanation had been perfect and everything she wanted to express to Lisa, a year to say such a statement isn’t so long. But to Jean it feels like an eternity has passed and then no time at all; with Lisa it feels like a space of their own to share. A feeling she can’t quite put a name to but she knows what it means for her.

Lisa is it for Jean, and that’s all there is. 

“For resilient love and a promise to stay with you,” Jean answers. Lisa squeezes their hands and Jean is relieved.

“Thank you, Jean. They’re beautiful, if I do say so myself.”

Jean laughs again and then tilts her head towards her lover, a curious look in her eyes as well. “And you? Why’d you pick them?”

“Well Lumine told me that the cecilias were especially beautiful today and then when I decided on them, she said something about lampgrass working once already in a bouquet and not fixing something that wasn’t broken.” Lisa glances back at the two bouquets of flowers again, “I see you were the ‘lampgrass working once already bouquet’.”

“Perhaps,” Jean replies, trying to keep a sense of mysteriousness that she knows will only make Lisa laugh.

“Besides the way that the two of them were teasing each other, was just so cute,” Lisa continues, swatting at Jean’s arm gently. “They’re both cuties, really. And I mean, the flowers are beautiful.”

Jean blinks and then tosses her head back with an outright laugh. Cuties, indeed.  

It’s moments later that their destination slowly comes into view and Jean can feel the way Lisa’s hand loosens in her own. Lisa’s eyes are glittering with the lights from the tower that panes over the windshield. 

The restaurant, the renowned Midsummer Courtyard, is scraping the sky and rotating like a diamond on display. The car finally comes to a gentle stop in front of the sight, its engine settling down into comfortable silence. 

Lisa breathes,“You’re joking.”

The way Jean smiles reminds Lisa of their first date, dazzling and full of sincerity, but there’s a little nervousness there too. As if Lisa weren’t in deep enough to ever let her go. Lisa should’ve known Jean would plan something like this. 

But Jean is a special kind of love and in a spur of a moment in her mind, she thinks forever is not such a cliche idea. Not if it’s Jean. 

“Happy anniversary, my love,” Jean whispers and what else can Lisa do but pull her in, kissing her with a promise that, yes, she was hers for as long as Jean would have her.

They have dinner with an ocean of lights below, high on a devotion that’s heaven sent as they dance in the stars of their eyes. When they return to Lisa’s home, the bouquet’s join the dandelions on the windowsill, almost looking painted against the moonlit snow with promises of a thousand springs. 

In a burst of a moment like summer, the lights dim to a crimson glow and the shadows catch every curve of Lisa’s body that leaves Jean dizzy. There’s a bass in the air that drives a rhythm through her heart and makes her lips part in a gasp when Lisa touches her jaw. Silk skims over the edge, over the curve of her cheek, and then a grip over her throat that drags out a groan.

Lisa laughs low in her ear and Jean can’t keep her hands away, palms sliding over strips of lace and heated skin that just begs to be touched. 

It’s then she feels it, the gift Lisa intended for her. Jean curses beneath her breath because she knows, she can already feel the places she’s going to reach.

(But there’s no fucking chance she will thank Kaeya for this.)

“Happy anniversary, baby,” Lisa drawls between the barest space of their lips and Jean shivers.

When Jean crumbles and Lisa holds her tight and whispers sweet praises, she sees forever at the end of it all.