Dreaming Fantasies

“Momma! Momma! Look over here!” A giggling girl tugged on the hem of Jean’s sleeve, pulling the Grandmaster’s attention towards the child.

The girl held up a bunny plush, shaking as she eagerly presented it to Jean. “Auntie Amber made it for me!” She gave an excited jump.

Jean smiled softly and knelt so she was eye level with her daughter. “That’s wonderful, Millie. Did you say thank you to her?” She cupped her child’s face gently as she spoke.

Millie nodded. “Just like you and Mom taught me,” she smiled brightly.

Jean stood again, ruffling her child’s golden hair affectionately. “Speaking of your mother… where is she?” Her gaze darted around the massive room that was the Knights of Favonius’ library, searching and scanning for her wife.

However, it didn’t take long for Jean to find her.

“Right here, darling,” Lisa’s lips brushed gently against Jean’s ear as she stepped in front of her wife. She scooped Millie off the ground and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her daughter’s head. “How have you been, sweetie?” Lisa murmured softly to her child.

Millie thrust her plushie bunny between them, displaying it proudly to her mother. “Auntie Amber made me this.”

Lisa laughed as she lightly bounced Millie in her arms. “Auntie Amber is a sweet lady, isn’t she?” Her emerald gaze glimmered with affection, and she moved to place another kiss on her daughter’s forehead.

A dim warmth in Jean’s chest rose as she saw a softness rise in Lisa’s sweet eyes, something that she’d only ever seen her wife gift Millie.

“Mhm,” Millie nodded before she dove her face into the plush. “It’s so soft!” She squealed, words half muffled.

Lisa laughed adoringly and set her daughter down again, patting Millie’s head. “Engela just fell asleep. Keep everyone away from the nursery. Barbatos forbid someone disturbs her in her sleep.” She said as she turned to Jean.

Jean nearly winced as she remembered all the effort Lisa had gone through to get their newborn to fall asleep. “Amber, Kaeya, and Lumine are all outside. The weather is excellent today, especially for a quick lunch together,” she suggested as she took Millie’s hand in hers.

Lisa seemed to brighten at the thought, grabbing hold of Jean’s other free hand. “Well then lead the way, darling,” she smiled. Her hand was soft, her touch gentle and warm.

As Jean led her daughter and wife outside, Millie began to skip happily. She hummed a vaguely familiar tune, golden hair bouncing in the wind. When she stepped out into the sun, her hair was set ablaze, turning into a brilliant beam of light.

Lisa laughed fondly as her daughter skipped towards a collection of nearby tables, where three familiar figures sat. “Somebody’s very happy, hm?” She said to Jean, her gaze glittering with affection.

Jean stared into her wife’s eyes, suddenly feeling her breath catch. That damn emerald gaze, Jean cursed in her head. The goddess of beauty didn’t take on a the form of a brunette librarian, did she?

“Jean, darling?” Lisa squeezed her wife’s hand in an attempt to grab Jean’s attention.

The Grandmaster blinked, the rest of her reality filling itself in around her at Lisa’s voice. “Lisa,” she said, guiding her wife towards the table in front of them.

Millie had already taken a seat next to Amber, who seemed deep in a conversation with Lumine and Kaeya.

“Would you care to explain the dandelions here, Kaeya?” Amber crossed her arms, head tilting towards a set of… interestingly shaped bushes.

Kaeya smirked and held his hands up, as if surrendering to a police officer. “Ah… I’m afraid I’m not responsible for those, lovely Outrider.”

He was a smooth liar, Jean admitted to herself as she quietly took a seat next to Millie, Lisa on the other side of their child.

Yet, Amber was having none of it. She shook her head and sighed, reaching to take a swig of her drink. Though, before she could grab her glass, Kaeya lunged for it and replaced the bottle with a different one.

“This is dandelion wine,” Kaeya said as he held up the glass Amber had been reaching for. “That glass over there is water.” He pointed at the bottle he’d placed in front of Amber. “I wouldn’t want you to drink too much, especially after what happened last time,” he murmured to her.

Amber flushed, though Jean wasn’t sure whether it was from the Captain’s show of affection or her memories of what had happened the last time she’d drunk wine.

“Thank you,” she nodded at Kaeya, taking a sip of her water.

Lisa nudged Jean gently as she watched the two, a teasing smile crossing her face. “I remember when we were like them, darling. Young and so shyly in love with each other,” she laughed.

A deep rose crossed Kaeya’s cheeks at Lisa’s words, and Lumine smiled, quiet eyes alight with laughter. Amber hadn’t seemed to notice, helping Millie cut up a piece of meat.

She carefully speared a piece of meat on a fork and handed it to Millie, who gobbled it up instantly. Amber smiled softly at the child, reaching for another bite of meat.

Kaeya’s gaze seemed glued to Amber now. His eyes never left the Outrider, his gaze filling with a gentle affection.

“Mom! That’s the way Momma looks at you!” Millie giggled as she pointed at Kaeya. The Calvary Captain tore his gaze from Amber almost immediately.

Lisa laughed as she turned to Jean. “Did you hear that, darling? You’re the sweetest thing,” she leaned forward to give her wife a gentle kiss.

“Millie’s not wrong,” Lumine softly chimed in. The Traveler didn’t speak often, but when she did, she seemed to command everyone’s attention with a marvelous ease.

For all the brilliant sentences he could craft together, Kaeya suddenly seemed speechless. Amber let out a soft laugh, embarrassed. “How have your studies been going, Millie?” She asked the child, suddenly changing the subject.

Millie clapped her hands together excitedly. “Amazing! My teacher taught me…”

As their child launched into a rant about her studies, Jean turned to Lisa and scraped her fruit off onto her wife’s plate. Lisa leaned forward to give Jean another kiss. “I love you, darling,” she murmured.

Jean smiled. “Those are your favorites, aren’t they?”

Lisa nodded and reached to brush a strand of her wife’s hair away. “Jean.” She said. Her voice sounded strangely distant.

“Jean,” she repeated, her voice too high to belong to her.

“Jean.” Barbara’s voice repeated.

Jean opened her eyes, blinking rapidly. As she pushed herself up in her bed, the familiar walls of her room greeted her.

Her sister stood at the door of her room.

A small wave of disappointment washed over Jean as her gaze darted around her.

It had all been a dream. A fantastical, hurtfully beautiful dream.