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It had been another long day for Lumine. Another day of fighting slimes, treasure hoarders, hilichurls, you name it. Her and Paimon had left Inazuma not too long ago and they are now on their way to Sumeru. Lumine feels a bit off today, she has been easily exhausted which is something she doesn’t feel after a few minutes run ins with hilichurls and other things. She let’s out a huff and leans against the tree she’s standing by.
“Traveler! Are you okay?” Paimon asks, voice full of worry. She had turned to look at Lumine.
“Yeah, I’m fine, just a little tired is all,” the blonde replies, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning her head against the tree.
“Paimon doesn’t think we should walk anymore. Maybe we should rest,” the floating fairy says.
“Just a little further and then I’ll get the teapot ready, okay?” Lumine says, opening her eyes to look at Paimon.
“Mmm, okay. Paimon’s worried though so rest immediately when we get in the teapot!”
Lumine let’s out a soft giggle and smiles at Paimon. “I promise I will.”
They travel a little further up the path they were on, enjoying the scenery around them. At some point, Lumine had to use the elemental powers of electro to wipe out a few treasure hoarders blocking their way. It didn’t take Lumine long to do so. After that, they continue up the path a little more.
“I think this should be a good place to rest,” Lumine says.
“Paimon agrees!”
The blonde begins to set up the teapot and minutes later they are both entering it. They are immediately sent inside the little mansion in the teapot, directly at the entrance. Lumnie removes all her belongings off her, like her weapon and other things, before heading to the room she sat up as her bedroom.
She glances at the door that’s across from her room's door. That bedroom is for Aether, she decorated it in a way she hopes he would like. Lumine hopes that when they do meet again, Aether wouldn’t mind using the teapot as a home. She misses him dearly.
After entering her room, she strips down and puts something a little more comfier on for bed. When she’s done, she gets in her bed and lays down. Paimon lays down in her own little bed.
“Goodnight Lumine.”
“Goodnight to you too, Paimon.”
——
When Lumine wakes up, she notices that she is not in her room that’s in the teapot. Instead, she’s in her room of the house Jean told her that she could stay in whenever she’s in Mondstadt. Second thing that she notices is that she can hear noise outside her room and can smell eggs. The third thing she notices is that Paimon isn’t around as well.
She looks around the room to confirm that she is in fact in Mondstadt. Lumine then looks down at her clothes, they aren’t the ones she put on before bed. Her eyes close, confusion engulfing her body. “Is this a dream?” she whispers to herself as she opens her eyes.
Eventually she gets out of the bed and slowly exits the room. She can still hear noises, sounds like someone is cooking, and can still smell eggs. She figured it might be Amber since the brunette has entered the home before while Lumine was sleeping. She quietly makes her way to the kitchen. When she turned the corner to enter the kitchen, she was not expecting to see the person that’s standing there.
“Aether?” Her voice comes out in a broken whisper. She takes a few steps forward, her legs feel like they are being held down by bricks.
Her brother turns around and gives her a big grin. “Good morning, Lumine! I hope just eggs are alright for breakfast.”
“A-Aether…” she chokes out and quickly makes her way over to her twin to engulf him in a bone crushing hug.
“Wow, hey, are you okay?” he asks, hugging his sister back. He notices that she’s shaking and can hear a faint sniffling. “Lumine,” he starts, putting his hands on her shoulder and lightly pushing back, “are you okay?” He frowns when he sees tears running down her cheek.
“Is this real? Is this a dream?” she asks, looking up at Aether through teary lashes. “This feels too real.”
“What do you mean, Lumine?” Aether asks, his voice laced with concern and confusion.
Lumine begins to messily explain everything as they walk to the table in the kitchen to sit down. Her voice shakes as she talks about losing Aether to the unknown god, going through three of the nations, all the people she met along the way, and so much more. “Before going to bed, I-I was on my way to Sumeru. Paimon and I had settled down and I had gotten the teapot ready. I went to bed not too long after that and now… and now I’m here.”
“Well, we did run into an unknown god but she didn’t take one of us, of course. We are currently searching for her. She had taken our powers away as well so we have to use the elemental ones here in Teyvat,” Aether briefly explains.
“Really? So this isn’t a dream? This is real?”
“I’d say so.”
“How did I dream all of that?” Lumine asks, mainly to herself.
“You did go to bed pretty early yesterday. We just got done with Dvalin and you were worn out so we came back here immediately,” Aether pauses for a second before continuing, “It sounds like your dream is what we have been through so far but also what we might do in the future. You were just doing it by yourself.”
“I really hope that’s the case,” Lumine says, playing with her fingers. Suddenly she remembers something and looks up at Aether with wide eyes. “Paimon, where is she?”
“Oh, she’s sleeping in my room. She was going to sleep in yours but she didn’t want to accidentally wake you up. I’ll go wake her and tell her breakfast is ready,” Aether says as he gets up.
Now Lumine is alone with her thoughts.
For some reason, when she tries to remember Aether being there with her while in Mondstadt, it's pretty hazy. All she can mainly remember is her and Paimon doing it all by themselves. There’s something definitely wrong here but she can’t pinpoint what it is.
Aether and Paimon enter the kitchen minutes later, causing Lumine to look up at them. “I can’t really remember you being there beside me. All I remember is the dream,” she says.
“What’s wrong?” Paimon asks, looking between the twins.
Aether looks at his side at Paimon, “We’ll explain as we eat,” his gaze then moves to his sister, “I think we should see Mona, I feel like she would be able to help you.”
Lumine nods and says, “I agree. We should see her later.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Paimon says happily, “Now let’s eat!” The twins giggle at her excitement for food.
Hours later, they are now sitting in Mona’s home. Lumine had explained everything for a third time today, she doesn’t mind though of course. She will tell it a thousand times if she has to, to try and understand it all.
“Hm, it sounds like the dream could have been an alternate universe of sorts. It was real, in a way, but it wasn’t real to you since this is your timeline and not that other one. That is my interpretation of this, at least, but it does seem like the most possible,” Mona replies once Lumine was done.
“So this is all… real? Not a dream?” Lumine asks, her brows drawn together as she looks at Mona. She sounds like a broken record but Lumine wants to be sure that this is real.
“Yes. You were exhausted beforehand so your brain decided to sort of trick you, it seems,” the hydro user answers the blonde.
“So it just showed what could have happened if I was taken by the unknown god, basically?” Aether asks, looking at Mona.
“Mhm, it seems like it.”
“Oh wow, that sounds so scary to Paimon!”
“Thank you for helping us out Mona. It’s settled my nerves a little,” Lumine says, smiling at the other female.
“Oh no need to thank me but I’m glad I was able to help out.” She returns the smile.
“Well, I guess it’s time to head out then,” Aether starts before looking over at Mona, “Do you need anything in return for helping us?”
“Oh no no, you two have helped me and everyone in Mondstadt enough. Take this as a thanks for doing so,” Mona replies, the smile on her face grows.
“If you insist,” Lumine says as she gets up. She gives the other girl a hug, thanking her one more time. Aether also gives the hydro user a hug.
“See you two later,” Mona says. The twins and Paimon say their goodbyes as well before exiting Mona’s home.
“Paimon’s hungry, can we eat?” They twins laugh fondly at her.
“You’re always hungry,” Lumine teases, “But of course we can. Let’s head over to Good Hunter and grab something to eat.”
“Can we get some mushroom skewers?” Paimon asks excitedly, doing a little dance.
Aether lets out a small laugh and says, “Of course we can.”
“Yay!” Paimon says as she giggles.
They make it to Good Hunters and order six mushroom skewers. The twins and Paimon sit at a table as they wait for their food. When their food is done, they begin to eat and talk about the commissions they had done earlier before going over to Mona’s. It doesn’t take them long to finish their meal. They pay for their food and then head back to the house.
When they enter the home, Lumine lets out a yawn. “Someone seems tired,” Aether says, nudging his sister teasingly.
“Maybe a little bit,” she replies with a small laugh, stretching as she does so.
“It is a little late, let’s all head to bed,” Aether says, yawning afterwards.
“Can Paimon sleep in your room tonight, Lumine?”
“I don’t mind if you do,” Lumine says with a smile. She then turns to her brother and gives him a hug, resting her head on his shoulder and squeezing tightly. She does this so if this isn’t real, she could properly give her twin a goodbye hug. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she whispers.
“Sleep well, Lumine,” he replies.
The twins pull away from the hug and begin to go to their respective rooms. Paimon follows behind Lumine, of course. The blonde haired female begins to put what she usually wears to bed on and gets into bed, Paimon follows behind her. They both lay down and get comfortable.
“Goodnight Paimon.”
“Goodnight Lumine!”
——
When Lumine’s eyes flutter open, they instantly land on Paimon. The little fairy is still sleeping. The blonde lifts her head up some to look at the room. Tears of relief start to form and slip down her cheek. She didn’t wake up in the room she decorated in the teapot, she woke up in her room in Mondstadt.
“Are you okay?” She hears Paimon whisper, tone worried.
Lumine’s gaze lands on Paimon again. “I’m more than okay. I’m really happy,” she answered as she wiped her tears away.
Paimon smiles widely and says, “I’m happy that you’re happy Lumine. Now, let’s go see what Aether is making for breakfast today!”
The blonde girl giggles and says, “Alright, let’s go.”