Death is a weird concept || Yanfei x Hu Tao ff

Chapter 1

"It's next week, isn't it?" Yanfei examined Hu Tao's expression, not understanding why she seemed so attracted to the small object in her palm. Hu Tao's eyes landed back on Yanfei, clearly not understanding her question. "What do you mean? I don't remember what's going to occur this week." Yanfei sighed gently, knowing she wouldn't remember.

"The Lantern Rite Festival."

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Yanfei found herself caught up in her work once more. Glancing at the clock, she only now just realized it was getting late. She closed her book, clearly in need of sleep. She has been busy with work the past few days, not having time to hang around with her friend, Hu Tao. That girl was a curious one, she's gotten so many complaints about Hu Tao's behavior with the people around Liyue. They get uncomfortable with her choice of topics, some even say it's creepy.

Yanfei wanted to know more about this Hu Tao person, so one day she decided to greet herself at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. The people was correct about her behavior, Yanfei figured that out after they had a meal together, getting to know each other better. But creepy? Yanfei didn't see anything creepy about it, she actually found her way of thinking fascinating.

"People should accept death, embrace it. Instead, these people try to ignore it. Why ignore it when it's a natural occurrence?" Hu Tao picked up the last piece of meat off her plate, taking a bite into it. Yanfei watched her quietly, listening to every word she said. She was weird, but a good kind of weird is what Yanfei put it as.

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Hu Tao looks back at Yanfei, waiting for her to catch up. Yanfei was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice Hu Tao stopping. "Hey, is something on your mind?" Hu Tao gave a concerned expression, dragging Yanfei out of her thoughts. "Work.. I was thinking about work, I apologize-" Hu Tao gripped onto her hand, reassuring her that it's fine, she doesn't need to apologize for something silly like that. Yanfei's eyes seemed to wonder to Hu Tao's, seeing how gentle her eyes looked gave Yanfei a small smile. "Your eyes, they remind me of some flowers I've seen years ago." Hu Tao grinned, letting go of her hands, making Yanfei frown without realizing. "Were they pretty?" Yanfei's face was becoming warm. She didn't understand why it was getting warm, but she decided to brush it off. "They were.." She whispered, nodding lightly. "If you ever find them again, will you show me?" Yanfei already knew her answer, of course she would show her, why wouldn't she? "Yes, I'll show you them some day" With that, Hu Tao placed her hands back into Yanfei's, dragging her farther away from the restaurant they finished eating at.

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After their first meeting, they began to meet up with each other every day after work. Usually they would go eat together, or walk around Liyue, talking about their experiences living here. Today though, it was different. Hu Tao wanted to go have a picnic out side of Liyue, wanting to see something new. Yanfei, of course, didn't reject this offer.

"How far away is this place?" Yanfei's feet started to feel sore, clearly tired of walking, wanting some rest. They've been walking for half an hour now, but Hu Tao was still marching forward, without a care in the world. Yanfei was always so curious why she was so full of energy, why she never seemed to get tired. She seemed so.. perfect.. in Yanfei's eyes, did Hu Tao look at her the same way?

"Come on silly, we haven't been traveling that far. We're almost there, just a few more minutes" Her voice sounded as excited and hyped as ever, showing no exhaustion. Yanfei brought a smile to her lips, hearing her voice gave herself motivation. The motivation to keep moving forward.

Yanfei was so focused on Hu Tao, she didn't notice how she stopped. "We're here, you can rest now" Without wanting to, Yanfei dropped to her knees, exhausted from the walk. Hu Tao set down a small blanket they carried with them, putting the basket full of food on it before sitting down. She gave out a hand, wanting Yanfei to take it, wanting her to get on the blanket with her. Yanfei gripped onto Hu Tao's, climbing onto the blanket.

"Are you hungry?" Without a second thought, Hu Tao grabbed some rice balls, ones that Yanfei helped make with her. She handed the rice balls to her before grabbing her own, removing the wrapper they wrapped it in hours ago. Hu Tao took a bite into it, smiling in satisfaction. "Honestly, if I didn't get help from you, I would of screwed these up." She quickly took another bite, wanting to enjoy the taste while it lasts. Yanfei removed her wrapper, taking a bite into her own. Her eyes light up, clearly surprised with how good they tasted. "Nonsense, these would taste great, even without my help" She glanced up at Hu Tao, seeing a faint blush appear on her cheeks. She guessed Hu Tao was not used to those type of compliments. Hu Tao quickly looked away, embarrassed with how her body was reacting. "S.. Sorry, that caught me off guard." Yanfei gave her a grin, for some reason she seemed proud. Proud that she finally made Hu Tao blush, even if it was almost unnoticeable.