Zeru & Ember fics

Zeru smiled as they walked along the streets of Liyue, taking in the sights of the city and enjoying the atmosphere of the festival as the people prepared for the time to release the lanterns later that evening.

They had heard of the Lantern Rite festival coming up while organizing some books in the Mondstadt library, and had figured it would be a fun excuse to visit Liyue. They hadn't visited in a while, too busy focusing on their job and studies, so it felt good to get out and explore.

As they continued to wander down the streets, their attention was caught by a person making lanterns behind a stall and they stopped to watch the way they folded the material into different lantern shapes.

However, just as they stopped walking, someone bumped into them, causing them to stumble and almost fall over, but the stranger that bumped into them had caught them with a hand resting around their waist.

Looking up at the person who had bumped into them and then caught them, Zeru stumbled out apologies for not looking where they were going as the stranger chuckled softly, letting go of Zeru now they had got their footing again. The stranger noticed how flustered Zeru was over the whole situation, and couldn't help but tease them just a bit more.

"Я просто рад, что застал тебя там, милашка." It was a pretty safe bet they didn't know Snezhnayan.

She was correct in her assumption as Zeru inwardly panicked a bit, "ah- uhm.. п-извините за... это. uhh.."

The person chuckled and shook her head "it's alright, I speak common. I couldn't help messing around with you a bit. I'm Ember" She greeted with a slight bow.

Zeru blinked and chuckled softly in return, calming down slightly. "I'm Zeru" they introduced.

Ember hummed softly "you come to Liyue often?" She asked curiously.

"Not much nowadays. I hadn't been for a while so I figured it would be nice to come for the Lantern Rite this year for a break. How about you?"

"I pretty much live here for right now. Kind of in between places, so to speak. But it's a lovely place, lots of sights to see. Very different from Snezhnaya." She commented.

Zeru nodded softly as the two of them naturally started to walk along the streets of Liyue together, continuing their conversation. As cheesy and corny as it sounded, the two felt naturally drawn to each other, and seeing they were both visiting the Lantern Rite alone, they figured they could spend it with their new-found friend instead.

The pair got along together quickly, as Zeru talked about their history studies they were doing in the Sumeru Akademiya, but told Ember how they were considering dropping out due to them not finding the studies as fulfilling as they were when done on their own time. And Ember talked about how she had been curious about the other nations and was currently on a journey around the different regions to learn about them.

---

By the time the evening had drawn to a close, it was very late into the evening. Maybe even early morning, depending who you asked.

"Tonight was so much fun! I'm glad I got to spend it with you rather than by myself" Zeru smiled warmly.

Ember smiled back as she nodded in agreement "glad I caught you when I bumped into you. Although I still apologize for bumping into you in the first place."

Zeru shook their head "no don't worry about it, it's fine" they reassured her. "I got to meet you, didn't I?"

"I suppose you did" she smiled.

Neither of them really wanted to say goodbye, but it was time for Zeru to probably start heading back to Mondstadt. They shared ways for them to keep in touch by sending letters, and Ember even told them she was interested in visiting Mondstadt soon, which Zeru was excited about.

Soon the two of them reluctantly went their separate ways with a promise to stay in touch and hang out again soon together.