After Lumine confessed the day's events to the Paimon, her little companion forced them to go shopping for clothes.
"You simply can't go looking like this on your date! You're going to need a shower too!" Paimon insisted.
"I told you it's not a date! We never said it was, that's only your assumption!" Lumine argued.
"Even if it's not, don't you want to make it one?" Paimon shot back.
Lumine was at a loss for words.
"Well, I … I'm not sure myself." Lumine stuttered.
Paimon could tell that her friend was genuinely unsure and patted her gently on the back.
"That's ok! I will still make sure you look nice for tonight anyway! And to do that, we'll need to go shopping first!"
After Paimon finally found a blouse and skirt that she claimed was perfect for Lumine, the pair rushed back to the dorm so that Lumine could take a quick shower. Once Lumine was done with the shower, she quickly dressed up in the outfit she bought earlier that day. All that was left was Lumine's hairstyle, which Paimon wanted to change.
"Yes, this looks good on you! Look for yourself, Lumine!"
Lumine looked at her reflection on the mirror and discovered that Paimon had adorned a bun with her hair. With a new outfit and hairstyle, she looked almost completely different compared to her appearance on the training grounds.
"Paimon, this looks amazing! Thank you so much." Lumine thanked her friend breathlessly.
"I told you I would make you look pretty! I'm glad that you like it," Paimon smiled, "but you should be going to the statue now, or else you'll be late!"
Lumine thanked her one last time before she hurried to the statue as she did not want to be late for their dinner date. She ended up being 10 minutes early and she rested on a nearby bench for her blue-haired friend. She didn't have to wait long. After a minute, her male companion arrived underneath the statue as well. He was dressed up as well; his outfit consisted of a white crewneck paired with a blue trench coat and blue pants paired with brown leather shoes. Lumine giggled. He really liked the color blue, huh?
Kaeya noticed Lumine as soon as he arrived near the statue. She looked angelic. Her dazzling golden hair was gathered in a luscious bun, her white blouse rested softly on her breasts and honed her great figure, and her pink miniskirt highlighted her curvy legs. Damn it. He needed to stop thinking this way about her. As soon as they made eye contact, his face flushed red from the blond as he turned his head away from the beauty in front of him.
Lumine stood up from her seat and walked up to Kaeya, who was faced away from her. 'Did he just pretend he didn't see me?' Lumine fumed. She was going to need answers from this man.
"Kaeya! Did you just ignore me?" Lumine huffed.
Stirring no response from him, Lumine called him again, "Kaeya!"
When she reached Kaeya, her irritation level had maxed out. She reached out her hands and cupped Kaeya's face in her hands, slowly turning his face so that he would face her.
"Kaeya, what ha—" Lumine's voice trailed off. In her hands was a scarlet-colored Kaeya; his blushing face was red to the brim and his eyes failed to meet hers. Startled, she attempted to quickly remove her hands from his face. Instead, she felt his cold hands wrap over hers and stop her from moving them.
"Your hands…are so warm. Keep them on for a minute." Kaeya whispered.
"Okay," Lumine whispered back. Her mind whirled a thousand times as she watched the man in front of her rest his face comfortably in her hands. Her hands slowly melted up Kaeya's frozen ones. She closed her eyes softly and enjoyed the moment.
Kaeya's eyes, however, were completely open. He watched as his blond friend closed her eyes and dropped all her defenses against him. He was tempted to close the distance between them even more, but he knew that he was being greedy. He never wanted to make her feel uncomfortable around him, which, unfortunately, meant that he had to restrain himself. He gently set down her hands and watched her eyes open yet again.
"Come on, let's get some dinner!" Kaeya announced.
The pair started making their way towards the tavern.