#anyways !!

Lohen's hands are cold.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to you, yet it does.

While others may fear these hands, you've learnt to treasure them— after all, these are the same hands who hold you close in the middle of the night, whispering quiet reassurances to combat your doubts; the very ones belonging to the person who protects you from every form of harm that threatens to penetrate your skin or mind, letting not a single injury be inflicted upon you.

"Bun, are you sure you don't want me to hunt them down later?"

The way Lohen looks up at you causes a chill to run down the other knights' spines. With a maniacal glint in his eyes spells trouble and his dagger twirling round and round his forefinger like a carousel, it does not take a genius to know what Lohen is planning. However, it is easier for the stomachs of the average person to imagine what the vice captain couldn't do to those foolish men— the ones who hit on you right outside the gates of the city, right in front of him— rather than know what he could do to them.

Luckily, you aren't oblivious nor the average person. If Lohen stands as the blizzard that sweeps across the battlefield with the weight of a thousand winters, you stand as the winds that enable or disable the tempestuous force of nature your lover becomes to all those who cross you. Such is the language of love and trust the two of you speak.

Your hands reach for his cape (just in case he runs off) before you shake your head, prompting a pout to appear on Lohen's face.

"Come onnnn, just a little poison to their drinks won't kill em." He pauses, then grins sadistically. "Ohhh, but there is one concoction I've been dying to test out. Should make the drinker hallucinate everyone around them as a slime before shitting their pants out. Hey bun, are you still upset by them? If you are then—"

"Lohen."

Your voice firmly calling his name is enough to make his shoulder sag, hair drooping downwards like the ears of a disappointed rabbit.

"Fineee. Geez, you're no fun sometimes."

He hides his dagger back into the sleeve before reaching out to push his hand into yours, intertwining your fingers together until he has one of your hands tightly lock in his in a lover's grip.

Even through the thick material of his gloves, you can still feel how frigid his hands are compared to the average person. While the chill of his palm doesn't compare to the chilling words he uttered out earlier, it's still a significant enough difference that you find yourself unconsciously squeezing his fingers in quiet reassurance, conveying how happy you feel knowing that he is willing to do all that and more for you.

Ever a master at detecting your thoughts and emotions, Lohen firmly squeezes your fingers back with a gentleness that people rarely see from the vice captain of the fifth company. Likewise, the smirk on his face softens into a genuine smile, one that melts away the icy exterior he built for himself into something warmer, something more approachable.

(How lucky you are to be one of the few to see this side of him every day. If there truly is a place in the sky for everyone living in Teyvat, you hope that you can rip down the stars from your constellation to place them next to his— before he does the same to his constellation for you.)

"You're blushing, you know that?"

He points out matter of factly, bursting out into laughter when you scramble to cover your face with your free hand. The endearing sight has him reaching out with his other hand to cup your face, turning your head back towards him before landing his lips over yours for a long, deep kiss. Usually, such kisses are reserved for private moments and not in front of the whole city, but none of you could care less. Not in this moment.

After what feels like a century of exchanging the same air in his lungs with yours, you finally pull away to whisper the words he has been longing to hear after that long five year expedition.

"Welcome home."

"Yeah, I'm home."

While the other knights rush past the two of you, eager to head back to their significant other, families or children back at home, you and Lohen remain at the front of the city gate for a while. Long enough to remind each other that this is not another dream in a sleepless night but reality.

Even when his caressesing hand wanders from your face to above your waist, even when the frosty bite of his palm sticks itself to your skin while you're laying in his bed that night, never once do you attempt to move away from him.

Art drawn while thinking about Brand New City !! I wanted to draw more but ended up losing steam.

+ Bonus rough sketches (of the other doodles I didn't finish) below the cut