Despite having confessed to one another, the pair didn't cross the line when it came to contact. They would hold hands most of the time, and occasionally Lumine would get the courage to lean her head on his shoulder, yet Xiao always tensed up whenever she did that. It made her think he didn't like physical contact, that it made him uncomfortable, so she would straighten up and not even mention the incident.
She was oblivious to the fact that he was just not accustomed to such gestures, and that he would need to hold back his words of telling her to lean back, that he liked the feeling of her head against him, of having her warm breath even closer.
Xiao didn't have a way with words, and Lumine didn't want to push his limits.
Despite everything, though, the two of them relished in what little they shared. The contact they achieved through their hands spoke a million words that neither—especially Xiao—would dare say. Lumine could swear her heart skipped a beat every single time he began caressing the back of her hand with his thumb in a circular motion. She was already happy, and even if she wished for more of him, she wasn't about to complain.
Their already fragile boundaries were crossed one night after a day full of commissions for her, and needless to say, she was absolutely exhausted. Her break from everything just to be next to Xiao on top of the Inn's rooftop would be the highlight of her day.
She sat down on the tiles with a sigh, scooping a little closer to him without pressing herself against him.
"Lumine," he greeted and the girl in question smiled at the name. He didn't call her 'traveler' anymore, which was an immense upgrade. He would call her 'girl' on occasion, but just whenever she decided to be an annoying tease and get him on his nerves. He was adorable when he tried to be angry, to no avail.
"Xiao," she greeted in return, turning to him with her smile widening. "How was your day? Anything out of the ordinary?" Small talk, but what could one expect?
"My day was fine. You look exhausted, though, you should go to bed," always straight to the point. No beating around the bush, no redundancy. Sometimes it was a blessing, and other times it was a curse. Lumine chuckled and sighed again, stretching before hugging her knees close to her chest.
"I'll go to bed later. Right now, I want to spend at least a few minutes with you," she decided, stifling a yawn so he wouldn't press her on. Xiao sighed, apparently out of annoyance.
"Alright," he said as if he didn't care, only glancing in her direction. Once. Twice. Thrice. He shifted on his place, looking away so she wouldn't see his face.
"I… I would like that, t-too… But only for a couple of minutes. You really need to sleep," he added finally, voice weaker yet also softer than before. Lumine knew he was trying to be more open with his feelings towards her, and she appreciated every effort; she reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers together, making him turn back to her.
"Sounds like a deal, then," she exclaimed, deciding not to tease him about his light blush that time around.
They talked about the mundane for a while and it mostly consisted of Lumine talking and Xiao listening. He absolutely adored her voice. She could talk about graphic, grotesque violence or about the various flowers she gathered, and he would still listen attentively in both cases. When silence fell between them, he didn't attempt to break it, since it was a comfortable one.
His entire body tensed up out of surprise when he felt a certain weight on his shoulder, and although he already knew what it was, he still turned his head slightly to see. Xiao was somewhat shocked that she hadn't pulled away yet, but he wasn't about to complain. Please stay, please stay, please-
She was asleep, breathing softly, and her eyes were closed, expression peaceful and relaxed.
The tension left Xiao's body and he sighed, unaware he'd been holding his breath, then his eyes stayed on her, staring at her beautiful features, taking them in for what seemed like the hundredth time.
He really did care about her, but he was unable to express it like mortals usually did. Lumine was patient and didn't push him to do anything he didn't want to do, but the truth was… he wanted to do so many things with her. He wanted to hug her, to touch her, to kiss her-
Xiao huffed silently, looking away as if the sleeping Lumine could see his reddened cheeks. It didn't take him long to look back at her, unnecessarily bickering with himself.
Blinking a few times, and looking around to make sure no one could see, Xiao closed his eyes and nuzzled her head gently, softly, almost like he could break her at any given moment. Still feeling her silky hair on him, he took in her scent and basked in the moment of peace and calmness that would take a while to happen again.
He didn't know if what he did next was crossing the line or not, but he found himself placing a small, brief kiss on the top of her head and kept his nose in her hair even after that. Her small movements almost gave Xiao a heart attack, but the sleeping Lumine only tried scooping herself closer to him, letting out a few adorable sounds as she did so.
"Xiao…" she mumbled under her breath with a smile, and the Yaksha in question had to check twice to make sure she was still asleep. Once he was sure, he found himself slightly smiling as well, and gave her head another kiss before turning his attention back to the night sky above.
"Goodnight, Lumine."