Work Text:
“You’re leaving today?”
Lumine pauses mid walk, she doesn’t dare meet the eyes of the girl beside her. “I am later on today, yes,” she answers. The blonde can feel the mood shift in Ayaka.
It stays silent for a while as the two girls continue on their walk around the Kamisato manor. Only the sound of soft conversations from those around them and the wind could be heard. It worries Lumine that she has upset the other girl, she’d beat herself up over it for days. She glances over at the cryo user, notices that Ayaka's gaze is forward and that she has a neutral expression on her face.
Before Lumine could utter a word, Ayaka beats her to it. “Can you stay one more night?” she asks.
“Ayaka—”
“Please. Just one more night and then you can continue your search for your brother,” the white haired girl begs. They are now facing each other, Lumine can see the desperation on the other female’s face.
Lumine bites the inside of her cheek as she thinks. Staying one more night wouldn’t hurt, it wouldn’t affect her search for her brother at all. There would be many pros than cons if she stayed one more night. She’d be able to spend more time with Ayaka and maybe Lumine might tell the other female of her feelings… though her search for her brother comes first. It always will.
But… it would kill Lumine on the inside if she’d say no.
Lumine nods her head and says, “Okay. One more night.”
An instant smile forms on Ayaka’s face and she grabs the other girl's hand to squeeze it lightly. “Thank you.”
The blonde smiles in return and says, “You’re more than welcome.”
They stay like that for a few seconds longer before Ayaka speaks up. “Thoma and Paimon might be done making lunch, want to go check?”
“Of course. I also need to tell Paimon we are staying another night. I’m sure she’ll be happy that she’ll have Thoma’s cooking in the morning one last time,” she says with a giggle.
The cryo user giggles as well. “She definitely will.”
~
“Hey you two!” Paimon says excitedly once she notices the two girls, “We just finished cooking.” There’s a grin on the fairy’s face.
“I hope we didn’t have you two waiting too long,” Thoma says as he sets up plates for everyone.
“Of course not,” Ayaka starts, “Everything smells amazing.”
“Thank you!” both Paimon and Thoma say.
Everyone then sits down on a cushion, that’s around the little table, and begins to put food on their plates. The four of them dig in minutes later.
“We didn’t make too much, did we? I feel like we both went overboard with the food,” Thoma laughs before taking a bite.
“No, this is perfect,” Lumine answers. Ayaka nods her head in agreement.
“That’s good to hear. Too bad I won’t have Paimon here to help me out with dinner later. She’s great to work with,” Thoma says, complimenting the floating fairy.
“Paimon gets to help the traveler sometimes, but we never have a kitchen as big as yours! I’m happy you liked working with Paimon!” She lets out a small giggle afterwards.
“Speaking of later…” Lumine trails off, “Ayaka convinced me to stay another night.”
A squeal leaves Paimon’s lips and she asks, “Really?”
Lumine laughs and says, “Really.”
“Paimon will get to have Thoma’s cooking in the morning again? Woo hoo!” The other three laugh at the fairy’s excitement.
“I told you she would be,” Lumine says, her gaze on Ayaka.
“I figured she would, she really enjoys his cooking,” Ayaka says, smiling. The blonde returns the smile.
❆⋆｡⊹❅ ࣪ ˖⋆ ༄
The rest of the day flies by, Lumine and Paimon were able to say their goodbyes to a few of their friends that they thought they wouldn’t have the time to see. A good bit of them were beyond happy to see the two of them again before they left the nation of electro.
It’s now late at night and Lumine is getting ready for bed. Paimon’s already been out for a while now. Seconds later, a soft knock is heard coming from behind the bedroom door. “Come in,” she says.
The door slides open and Ayaka peaks her head inside. “I’m glad you’re still up,” she says softly.
“Is something wrong?” Lumine asks as she stands up.
“Nothing is the matter, I wanted to see if you would like to sit outside for a few minutes? On the stairs?” the other female asks.
The blonde smiles softly and says, “Yeah, I would love to.”
Lumine softly follows behind Ayaka, she makes sure she quietly shuts the door behind her. As the two girls walk, it stays quiet between them. It’s a comfortable kind of quiet, it’s always been that way with them, even when the two of them first met. When they didn’t know much about one another. Both females are happy that there has never been an awkward moment between them.
Ayaka takes a moment, during their silent walk, to gaze at Lumine. She had let the Traveler burrow a set of her nightwear and Ayaka feels a little giddy about it. The girl she’s so very fond of is wearing her clothes. The cryo user thinks she’s never seen anyone prettier before in her life.
“I can feel you staring,” Lumine says with a little giggle.
Ayaka’s cheeks flush in embarrassment and she softly says, “I’m sorry. You just look really pretty in my clothes.”
This time Lumine’s cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “Thank you,” she replies.
“Anytime,” the white haired girl says with a smile.
When the two girls get to the front of the building stairs, they sit on the top one. They sit rather close to one another, their legs are almost touching. Silence stays between them again, Ayaka is having a hard time choosing what to say to the blonde beside her. She brought the other girl out to tell her about the feelings she has.
The cryo user takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “I wanted to talk to you about something, that’s why I brought you out here,” she says. She can’t look at the other, she knows she’ll get nervous if she does.
Lumine looks at Ayaka and asks, “Oh? What is it?”
The white haired girl takes a deep breath in and slowly lets it out. “I like you,” she starts. She looks at Lumine’s face before she continues. The look on the other female’s face has her blushing immediately. “I have since the moment I met you a-and I know your search for your brother is more important but I wanted you to know.”
Lumine smiles softly and says, “I like you too, Ayaka.”
“Really?” Ayaka breathes out, her eyes widened a little.
The blonde lets out a giggle and her smile widens. “Of course I do. I’ve liked you ever since we first met, as well,” she says. The cryo user smiles in return.
“Then can I ask you something?” Ayaka asks.
“Ask away,” Lumine replies.
“Can I kiss you?”
“Please do.”
Ayaka turns her body a little and pulls the traveler closer, connecting their lips instantly. Lumine makes a noise of surprise but kisses back. The kiss holds a lot of emotion for the both of them but is still soft. It doesn’t last long, both girls pull away seconds later, panting a little.
“That was better than I imagined,” Ayaka mumbles, a small smile on her face.
“You’re cute,” Lumine replies with a giggle.
“Shush you.” The blonde lets out a laugh. Ayaka continues, her face becoming a little serious, “There isn’t anything for us in the future, is there?”
Lumine frowns after the cryo user says this. “Maybe after I find Aether. If we decide to stay here, I’ll convince him to move to Inazuma… but if not, I’ll come visit you before we leave,” she says.
“You promise?” Ayaka questions, a hopeful smile on her face.
“I promise.”