Work Text:
Ayato welcomed the silence that surrounded him, though the almost brutal sunshine of the morning felt highly inappropriate to cast its glow down upon the bouquet tightly clasped in his hands. The white petals seemed to catch the sun’s rays though, soaking them in and faintly glittering under the warm embrace from above. He hoped his mother would like them; she had always been fond of camellias, even if they had no scent.
The gate was too familiar under his palm. He knew just what angle to push it, exactly how much force he should use to keep it from creaking, and every groove beneath his fingertips felt like the greeting of an old friend. Sometimes, Ayato felt as though he got along with the dead better than he did the living.
“Good morning, Mother,” he murmured to the empty graveyard, a soft smile overtaking his features as he swept down the rows of tombstones towards the one he knew better than he did his own soul. “I apologize for being late. Ayaka was feeling unwell, so I wanted to ensure that the servants had tended to her before I left.”
Ayato came to a stop in front of the gravestone he cleaned routinely, a faint tremor spreading through his hands as he set the bouquet of flowers in front of the grave. It hadn’t been long, and yet so much had changed that he hardly knew how to begin. Should he start with the recent political transitions? The new predicament of the Kujou clan? The Tenryou Commission’s disgrace? No, his mother had rarely cared for that. She had always been more entranced by the news in the family, craving the stories he would bring back from the fields and stores as he and Ayaka had once ran freely. There had been laughter and love then, so much joy between the two that it felt tangible at times. It had been such a treat to bring back to his mother.
“You will hardly believe the things that have happened in this week alone,” he managed, shaking his head as he crouched carefully in front of the words that he could never bring himself to read. “Thoma has gone to Mondstadt for two weeks to secure a deal trading wine with the master of the Dawn Winery himself. Apparently they once knew each other, so Thoma is quite confident in his ability to acquire a fair deal. The Sakoku Decree has been lifted, so many people are planning trips. That, uh…”
Ayato gulped, shoulders hunching as the next words lodged in his throat. Would his parents be disappointed? Would his mother have frowned if she were here in person, that silent scorn waging in her eyes that she looked at fools with? Would she have wished this had all gone a different way?
Ayato sighed, shaking his head and adjusting the bouquet. Perhaps it was hasty, but…this match would give their family almost unlimited diplomatic power, and she had begged him for it.
“That includes Ayaka,” managed Ayato, forcing the words past his lips, “who is planning her honeymoon with Lady Sangonomiya. The two of them will be married in approximately three months…and then Ayaka shall depart to Watatsumi Island. She will still assist with the clan’s duties, but……”
Ayato groaned, running a hand down his face. “I am unsure about this, Mother. It is an arranged marriage, one that is made as a show of peace between Watatsumi Island and Narukami Island. I know that you and father never wanted that for either of us. I didn’t either. I had no intention of arranging for Ayaka to be involved in it at all, but she…”
He let out a puff of air and glanced over his shoulder to ensure that the graveyard was as deserted as always. “She insisted. No, she…she pleaded with me. Mother, I’ve never seen Ayaka look like that before…like her heart, her future, her everything was on the line. I thought I knew her desperation when she dueled me to take over our clan’s duties so long ago, but this…this was something different. And when I gave in, she looked so happy. I…I wonder how long it has been since I saw her truly smile like that.”
Ayato sighed, smiling thinly as the sun began to climb over the horizon, and smoothed a hand over the top of his mother’s grave. She had always indulged him when he played with her hair as a child…and now this cold concrete was the closest he would ever get to those silken strands.
“I do not understand why she was so insistent upon marrying Lady Sangonomiya, but she has been quite different ever since their betrothal. It is like someone has lit a lamp within her soul and she cannot help but light up every room that she is in. She…she reminds me of how you used to smile at Father.”
Ayato chuckled, standing and cracking his back. “I suppose it is the look of a woman in love, though I know not how she transpired to fall in love with Lady Sangonomiya so quickly. The wedding preparations should be stressful…but they are not. They cannot be when she smiles so brightly upon everything that will tie her to Lady Sangonomiya. I suppose I am just…already missing my baby sister.”
He couldn’t help the little laugh that fell from his lips at that. “This would be the part where you tell me to find someone, I suppose. Well…maybe someday. For now…”
Ayato turned, casting a final, fleeting smile over his shoulder at the grave as sunshine began to dapple those painful, painful words, painting it over in warmth. Much like the warmth he was to return to.
“For now, I will pass on your best wishes for Ayaka’s wedding. Do not worry, I shall ensure she is happy with her marriage.”