previous chapter: the physical combat ii final didn't go as smoothly for lumine as she hoped. low energy levels combined with a surprise geo abyss mage weren't an ideal combination. luckily, she escaped from the predicament with the help of xiao, childe, xinyan, and a bit of quick thinking.

I felt a soft tap on my shoulder and begrudgingly opened my eyes from a rather unsatisfying nap. The first thing I noticed was that my head was laid flat on a tabletop. That explained why there was an awkward ache in my neck. Why was I sleeping in the lecture hall of all places? Had I really been so tired that I couldn't wait until reaching my own bed?

"The Vision Studies final." I gasped and patted the surface in front of me. "Did I turn it in?"

My mind sharpened in an instant, and I saw students filing into the lecture hall to collect their belongings. They must have finished the practical portion of the final. That must be why Thoma had already returned to his seat next to me. Like last time, Professor Minci split the final into two parts. I did the written exam like everyone else and had already submitted my final essay as a supplement to the Vision practical. Professor Minci had said something about keeping her exam formats the same because it was too much work to switch it up.

Thoma nodded assuredly and pointed to the front of the room where Professor Minci sat at her desk, sipping tea.

"You don't remember? I saw you drop off your completed exam to the professor. I didn't expect for you to stay here while we worked with our Visions, though. This isn't like the best place to sleep."

I pressed a hand to my chest, relieved. With Thoma's words, I remembered going through the written exam and placing it in Professor Minci's hands. Leaving the lecture hall had been on my mind, but then I thought of how much easier it would be to close my eyes on the spot.

"You haven't been feeling well for a while now." Thoma's smile fell, replaced with concern. "Is there something going on?"

"My energy's been really low lately. I'll take a proper nap and hopefully, it helps a little."

Doubt crept into my mind. Sleep hadn't been as effective as it should be.

"That's what I thought." Thoma sighed and lifted his bag onto the table. "If it's a problem with energy, I might have something to help with that. When I visited Barbara at the infirmary today, I mentioned that you've been more tired than usual and asked if she had any sort of remedy for that. She ended up giving me this drink. It's nothing with crazy recovery properties but still worth a try."

From his bag, Thoma pulled out a glass bottle filled with a bright red liquid. What ingredients did Barbara put in there for the color to be so rich?

Even before trying the mysterious drink, I already felt uplifted just because Thoma had done this for me. Getting his injuries healed should have been a top priority, but he still thought about how I'd been feeling in these past few days.

"Thank you," I said and closed my fingers around the bottle. "Ah, it's cold."

"It was cold when she gave it to me, but that was a while ago. Whatever Barbara put in there must be strong enough to keep the drink chilled."

I popped open the lid and took a sniff. Strange.

"What is it?" Thoma asked. "That look on your face…"

I shrugged. Sure, it smelled spicy, but that was probably a medicinal effect. I doubted that the actual drink had any heat to it—especially since it was so cold. With no further hesitation, I placed my lips on the bottle and welcomed a full swig.

There was a pleasant sweetness—then spicy. Lots of spicy.

I put the bottle back down and tried not to cough as the mixture burned down my throat.

"Is it good?"

I cleared my throat. "What's the name of the drink?"

Thoma tapped his chin. "I think…it may have been chilibrew. Do you think she called it that because it's cold?"

"Here." I passed him the bottle. "You try."

I watched as Thoma went through the same tasting process as I did. Sweetness first, and then…no reaction from him. My eyebrows rose. Did Thoma really not notice the spice level in that thing? He even took a second sip before returning the bottle to me.

"Chilibrew…as in chili peppers," Thoma said. "What an interesting choice for an ingredient."

His nonchalance made me laugh.

"You're tastebuds are something else, Thoma. I was one hundred percent not expecting that flavor at all. Are you sure Barbara made it?"

He nodded. "She said it helps to give her energy after a long day. Do you not like it?"

"I'm going to finish it all."

"Really? If it's too spicy, you don't have to."

"No." I pulled the bottle close to me. "You got this with me in mind. I'm going to drink it all, recover, and be better than ever."

He smiled at my declaration. "Alright, then. But I don't think chilibrew will be enough for you to bounce back completely. How about you swap out that table for a pillow?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Shall we go?"

Thoma reached forward and grabbed my bag, resting it on his shoulder. "I'll get this for you."

"It must be heavy. Are you sure about carrying it the whole way? Maybe that's why I've been so tired. So many textbooks…"

"Actually, it's quite light."

That didn't seem right. The weight of my bag was an equal representation of the weight that finals put on my shoulders. To think there was a whole day left of them was almost too much to bear.

I held the chilibrew in one hand and Thoma's hand in the other. Together, we left the lecture hall and followed the flow of students heading to the dorms. With steely resolve, I downed the rest of the chilibrew before reaching my room. The heat wasn't so bad after the first few sips, and the chilled temperature helped to cool the spiciness from my tongue. It could be my imagination, but this chilibrew lightened the ache in my muscles and the fog in my mind.

Barbara might be on to something.

"Thanks again for thinking of me," I said once we'd reached my room.

Thoma hovered by the door as I walked in. "Of course, Lu. Actually…it's harder for me to not think of you."

My face heated, and it had nothing to do with the chilibrew.

"Oh, here's your bag." Thoma let it slip from his shoulder to his hand, and he held it out to me. "Sleep well."

Was he leaving already?

Now that my bag—definitely heavier than necessary—was in my hands, I couldn't help but reach out and grab Thoma's wrist before he could pull away.

"Wait," I said. "You can come in if you want."

"Into your room?"

Now he was blushing, too.

It dawned on me that Thoma has never been in my room before. There wasn't anything special about it, so I didn't know why I also suddenly felt nervous. Kaeya, Childe, and Diluc had all been here before. Then again, they'd always visited with a purpose. And why did I want Thoma to stay?

"I miss you," I blurted. "I know we see each other every day in class and for meals, but I want the chance for us to spend time together alone. But if you're busy and need to study for a final, then I totally get it. I'm sure we can find some other time to—oh! That reminds me. I wanted to talk about the restaurant in town. Remember? It's got the hot pot."

"I'm not busy." Thoma quickly stepped in, and the door shut softly behind him. "I think about that restaurant a lot, actually. More specifically, I keep wondering when we'll be able to go together. So, this is perfect."

Relief flooded me. I never doubted Thoma would decline, but it was still nice to see him stay. Finally in a place where I could relax, I tossed my bag to the side and sat on my bed with a sigh.

"And…I missed you too," he said. "How did your Physical Combat II final end up going? It's too bad I wasn't there to see it."

I sighed again, remembering that disaster. Thoma settled into my desk chair as I told the story of what had happened earlier today. The beginning details were the easiest to get through, and Thoma didn't look at all surprised that I managed to clear the first two waves in a short amount of time. When I got to the part about the third wave, I spoke slower.

"An abyss mage?" Alarmed, Thoma rose from the chair and immediately moved to sit by me. "Could it be because of the Abyss Order? Was this their attempt at taking you away?"

"I don't think so—only because the odds of their success were so low in a setting like our final. The abyss mage said some stuff I didn't understand, and the shield carried me closer to it, but I never sensed any malice. It was…taunting me."

I shuddered at the memory.

"It was pretty scary then, but Xiao said I passed the final. That counts for something, right?"

My hands trembled slightly, but I only noticed after Thoma held them in a steady grip.

"I'm relieved that you're okay, but I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you."

I shook my head. "You couldn't have known, Thoma. You're here now, and right now, I just want to relax and be with you."

"I can do that," he said with a small smile. "Do you have a day in mind for the restaurant?"

An excellent change in subject.

"Right before winter break ends. If you can come back from Inazuma a few days early, it would be nice to spend a day, just you and me, eating hot pot and not worrying about classes or monsters. There's so much of the town that I haven't seen because I've been so busy, but it would be fun with you."

"I think so, too. Let's do that."

"You can make it?" A hopeful grin spread on my face.

I'd been worried that he'd have some sort of scheduling conflict. From what I've heard about Thoma's duties at the Yashiro Commission, his hands were full most of the time.

Thoma squeezed my hands, and warmth bloomed in my chest. "Finding the time to be with you you isn't a problem. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Amazing, I can't wait," I said. "There's actually a surprise I'm planning, though it's not that big of a surprise…just something nice that I hope you'll like."

"Whatever it is, I know I'll love it because it's from you. Although, I am a bit curious as to what exactly you have in store for me. Is it edible?"

"No hints."

"But—"

I smirked. "You didn't let me know anything about the almond tofu until we got to that gazebo, remember? I'm returning the favor."

Thoma laughed in defeat, though he didn't put up much of a fight to begin with. "Okay, okay, I won't push. Surprises can be fun, and now I have even more to look forward to. I should start thinking of what to bring for you, too."

"Oh, don't worry about it," I said with a yawn.

Thoma fell silent. I rubbed my tired eyes and noticed that he'd gone into planning mode.

"You're worrying about it anyways, aren't you?"

"Who? Me?" He toyed with my fingers in his hands. "It's only natural that I'd want to prepare for our first official date together."

Our first date. It hadn't clicked in my mind until now.

Finally, something normal.

We chatted back and forth about different ideas for other activities after hot pot. Thoma's eyes sparkled the moment we landed on the topic of our dinner plans, and then he started talking about combining bizarre ingredients together. It's no wonder the chilibrew had no effect on Thoma. He's already been trained to withstand the most adventurous food pallets.

He also brought up the Vision practical, and I once again wished Professor Minci let the Visionless students observe. I would have loved to see so many elemental reactions in action, but then Thoma mentioned that the test subjects were hilichurls. I had enough exposure to monsters for today.

"Now, all I have left is alchemy tomorrow," he said.

I nudged him excitedly. "I know about that one! I ran into the alchemy professor the other day. He said that the first half is you working on some sort of project, and he judges the final product in the second half."

"Really?" Thoma hummed. "I'll keep that in mind. So, you've met Professor Kreideprinz. How did that go?"

"This wasn't our first time meeting, but yesterday he showed me around the greenhouse and told me about research. I can't say that I completely understand everything he says, though." I yawned again. "Professor Kreideprinz is different from other professors that I've met so far."

"I know what you mean. There's a lot that goes on in alchemy, but I can tell you about it later. You're still worn out, aren't you? I'll let you catch some rest now. It was nice—talking like this."

"It was." I smiled sleepily. "See you later for dinner."

Thoma stood from my bed, taking some of his warmth with him. Just having Thoma here made me feel immeasurably better. He passed by my desk and paused with a slight frown. Looking back at me, Thoma pointed to some textbooks stacked in one corner.

"Aren't these the books you complained about making your bag heavy? They've been in here the whole time."

Have they?

Now, it was my turn to frown.

I definitely packed my bag with study materials. Otherwise, it wouldn't have slumped my shoulders so much every time I had to carry it around. If the textbooks had been in my room, then what else could there be in my bag? I moved to investigate its contents only to pull out three items. My writing utensil pouch, a planner, and one ornate gift box. Thoma's eye caught on the crimson bow, and I readied myself for an explanation.

"I've been assigned to give this to Amber in lieu of Huffman."

Thoma raised his eyebrows. "Why wouldn't he give that to her himself?"

"He's scared."

"Of Amber?"

I laughed at that. Amber was one of the least scary students at this school. I'd only ever seen her get upset once, and that was only after Kaeya had seriously messed up.

"I might just give it back to him." I sighed. "It's been so long already, but he's weirdly avoiding me. The Huffman I know is normally hard to get rid of in a conversation."

"Can I see what it is?"

Huffman wouldn't mind, so I passed the box over for Thoma to open. Once the jade necklace was revealed, Thoma couldn't hide his surprised—and perplexed—reaction. I couldn't blame him. I reacted the same way when I first saw it. It's hard to believe that Huffman liked Amber enough to gift something so…off-character.

"You carry this with you everywhere?" Thoma asked.

I sighed. "Huffman was paranoid that it might get lost or stolen and specifically asked that I kept it in my bag at all times. To be honest, I'm more likely to lose that thing if I take it with me over winter break."

An idea suddenly sprung into my head.

"Thoma, what if you delivered it to him? Huffman can avoid me all he wants, but there's no reason for him to steer clear of you."

"I don't know…"

He stared down at the necklace with a thoughtful expression.

Was I asking for too much? I guess it wasn't fair for me to pass off a necklace I promised to keep safe to someone else. Huffman might lose trust in me completely—not that his opinion affected me all that much. What mattered was being mindful of what Thoma wanted. If hanging onto Amber's gift felt like a burden to me, Thoma had to feel the same.

I held out my hands to take the gift box back. "Kidding. I really don't mind that much."

"It's not that I don't want to," Thoma said. "This necklace really sticks out to me. I couldn't stop thinking about how the color clashed with Amber's usual style. Even in the academy uniform, her warm skin tone doesn't match with a cool green at all."

"Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks so." I nodded aggressively.

He carefully placed the lid back on the box, but he didn't give it back.

"You're keeping it?"

Thoma shrugged. "I don't see why not. If it means there's one less item in your bag, then I'm more than happy to take even the smallest of weight off your shoulders."

It was a weight off my mind, too. My imagination was either hyperactive or Thoma's assurance created a shift in the air. Once the gaudy gift box was tucked away in his bag, I could breathe easier. At this point, even if Huffman did get upset that Thoma had the necklace, he only had himself to blame.

Moving to the door, Thoma lifted his fingers in a wave. "See you later, Lu. If you end up sleeping in through dinner, I'll bring a plate up for you. So, don't worry about waking up in time."

Though I didn't want to trouble him, I knew by now that Thoma didn't see it as trouble at all. Once he left, I fell back onto my mattress and let my eyelids droop. The peace of mind he brought to my life easily lulled me to sleep.