Chapter 2:
Diluc sighed as he thought about why he made this spontaneous decision to journey with the traveler. He hadn't been thinking when he blurted out his proposal, nor had he realized how readily Lumine would accept it. The worst part of it all was that Kaeya had decided to join their crew.
Perhaps that's why I felt the need to join her. So guys like Kaeya wouldn't take advantage of her. He thought as he glared at the blue-haired man strolling alongside him. He glanced over and gave him a smirk, causing Diluc's brows to furrow into his typical scowl.
"Hey guys, come over here!" Diluc glanced ahead and found Lumine waving them over to the edge of the bridge leading out of Mondstadt. Her white dress fluttered in the wind and her golden locks caught the rays of sunshine, causing her to appear near blinding in the midday light. The guys joined her and Diluc found that she had a map of Teyvat spread out in front of her.
"Where are we heading first?" Diluc asked as his gaze roved over the map.
Lumine lifted her hand and pointed to where they were currently at. "We're here so I figure the next place to continue my search should be here." She said as she dragged her finger across the map and stopped at Liyue Harbor.
Diluc nodded as he murmured, "It would be the most sensible destination however it is still quite a trek. Depending on what kind of pace we set it could take us four to six days to reach the harbor."
Lumine nodded in agreement as her golden gaze flicked over the map. "Do you think we'll make it in time for the Rite of Descension?"
Diluc was about to answer when Kaeya cut in. "Well we'll never make it anywhere if we don't start going now."
"Oh, right, sorry! I just want to make sure that we'll be there in time so I can talk to Rex Lapis and see if he knows where my brother is." Lumine said as she rolled her map up and tucked it away in her sack. Just as she was going to heft it onto her back Kaeya snatched it up and slung it over his back. "I can carry my bag Kaeya."
Kaeya shrugged as they started across the bridge. "Eh I don't mind. It's really quite light." Diluc glared at Kaeya's back as he trailed after the two of them.
This is going to be a long trip. Diluc thought with a sigh. He shifted his scarlet gaze from Kaeya to Lumine, her soft features lighting up as she chuckled at Kaeya's words. He wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, his focus solely on Lumine as he noticed little things about her. The way she twirled her hair absentmindedly around her finger as she talked, the little skip in her step when she got excited about something, her infectious laugh that somehow always brought a smile to his lips.
Lumine cast a glance back at him and Diluc quickly looked away although he knew she caught him staring. Suddenly he whipped back to them and launched in front of them, brandishing his claymore just in time to deflect a hilichurl arrow that had been soaring towards Lumine. Diluc huffed as he shifted into a battle stance as a party of hilichurls approached them.
"We're going to have to fight them if we want to continue." Diluc murmured as he glanced back at Lumine to make sure she was unharmed.
Lumine seemed to be in a state of shock but his words seemed to snap her out of it as she unsheathed her sword and stepped up beside him, ready for battle.
"Rather rude of them to ruin our nice chat."Kaeya huffed as he stepped up to Diluc's right, his sword glowing with frosty energy. He glanced over at them and smirked as he added, "Let's be sure to send them packing so we can continue where we left off, shall we?" With that the three of them rushed at the horde.
Diluc swung his blade in a wide arc, knocking out three hilichurls in one blow. He glanced up and quickly sidestepped as a stone sailed past his head. He narrowed his red eyes at the hilichurl that hurled the rock but before he could do anything Lumine sprinted past, killing the beast with a flurry of her sword. He glanced over and saw Kaeya summon ice shards around himself and fire more at the two hilichurls taunting him, finishing off the last of the attack party.
"Well that wasn't too bad." Lumine huffed as she sheathed her sword once more. Diluc put his claymore away as Lumine approached him, her body still brimming with adrenaline from the fight. She opened her mouth to say something when she gasped, a sudden look of concern crossing her face as she came closer.
"What's wrong?" Diluc asked her, his eyes roving over her body to make sure there weren't any injuries. He frowned as he found her to look perfectly fine.
"You're hurt!" She exclaimed as she stepped up to him, her hands coming to cup his face. He froze in her hands, not used to being touched by someone like this. The warmth from her soft touch filled him and he closed his eyes, not sure if he remembered a time where he had been embraced like this
Once he got over the initial shock and regained his composure he quickly pulled away from her. "I'm not hurt." Diluc assured her as he coughed and readjusted his coat. She reached up and tapped his temple, causing a stinging pain to make itself clear. "It's just a graze, probably from that stone the hilichurl threw at me. It's nothing to worry about."
"But it could get infected. Here, let me put some salve on it and a band-aid." Lumine argued as she dragged Kaeya over and rummaged around in her bag. She pulled out a parcel with a variety of bandages, salves, pills, etc. "Oh, uh, by the way I got these band-aids from Klee so they're a little childish; I hope you don't mind." She murmured with a nervous chuckle as she pulled out a band-aid with cutesy art of some Anemo Slimes as well as a dab of salve.
"I don't mind." Diluc replied as he leaned down so she could apply the salve and stick the band-aid. He closed his eyes as he felt her lightly dab a sticky substance to the scrape. He had to try harder than usual to keep a straight face as she tended to it as her light touch and feathery hair kept tickling him.
"There! Good as new." Lumine announced as she stepped back and admired her handiwork.
Diluc dipped his head as he thanked her. "Thank you for patching me up." He glanced up and scowled as he saw Kaeya chuckling quietly to himself,. "We should really get a move on if we want to make some decent progress today." He huffed as he pushed past them and started down the path once more. This was going to be a long trip
After many interruptions and delays, like the boar that ran away with Lumine's backpack, or the second party of hilichurls that ambushed them, they only made it an hour out from Springvale when night fell. They set up camp near the path and had a quick dinner of mushroom chicken skewers before Kaeya decided that him and Lumine would head to bed while Diluc took the first watch.
Of all the people that could've been traveling with us why did it have to be Kaeya? Diluc sighed as he stood a couple yards from the tent, his scarlet gaze sweeping over the meadow for any possible movements. A cool breeze blew around him, tossing his long crimson locks around him.
"I wonder what Lumine thinks of him, or me for that matter." He murmured to himself as he furrowed his brow in thought. His scowl quickly turned to a look of shock as he heard a sound echo out from nearby. Glancing around he checked to see if any hilichurls had snuck up while he had been caught up in his thoughts. There was nothing. He paused and listened, the noise repeating itself from a nearby location.
That can't be right. Diluc thought to himself as he pinpointed the source of the sound. It was emanating from the tent Kaeya and Lumine were sleeping in. His eyes widened as he heard the noise a third time, now realizing what it was. They were moans. Feeling his cheeks flare up at the realization he crept closer to the tent.
Just a couple feet away and he nearly jumped as Lumine let out a drawn out moan. He paused in his advance, his heart beating wildly in his chest. Surely they weren't doing what it sounded like they were doing. . . right? Another moan escaped the tent and then a voice.
"You like that? Well then let me try this." Kaeya's muffled voice murmured.
Lumine let out another breathy moan. "Ah! That's the spot!" She exclaimed.
Diluc put his hand over his mouth in utter shock. No, they couldn't possibly be doing that. He had to be misinterpreting the sounds, surely. After a particularly loud moan Diluc decided he couldn't let it go on, whatever it was that they were doing. With a determined nod he strode up to the tent and threw open the flap.
"What do you two think you're doing?" Diluc asked as he peered into the tent. His face grew warm as he took in the scene in front of him. Kaeya and Lumine were both still fully dressed, thank goodness, and they were both sitting cross-legged with Lumine's back to Kaeya's front.
Lumine's wide eyed gaze was full of confusion and concern at Diluc's words. "Is everthing okay Diluc?"
He coughed as he murmured, "Well I heard some noises coming from the tent so I got concerned. . ." He trailed off, not wanting to mention what he had actually thought had been going on in here.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, that was probably me." Lumine said with a sheepish look. "I happened to mention to Kaeya that my back and shoulders were sore and he offered to give me a massage. It was such a good massage I couldn't help making a few noises."
Kaeya nodded as he added, "It's true, she had so many tight knots in her back so I may have gotten carried away." Diluc glanced over at Kaeya, a mischievous gleam in his single blue eye and a knowing smirk revealing that he knew what it sounded like from outside.
Diluc sighed in annoyance, "Just go to bed you two. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." With that he stepped away from the tent and to his original post. His heart was still thumping wildly in his chest as he thought about the noises Lumine had been making.
Why did I ever agree to go on a trip with these two?
(Hey everyone, Fox here! Thank you for reading the next chapter! I hope you all liked it! Each chapter will change perspective so we get a little look into how each character feels. I have a lot of guys lined up for Lumine to meet but if there's a specific guy you'd like to see first be sure to comment which one and I'll see what I can do. Also update schedule for this series is 1-2 times a month. I wish I could do more than that but I don't have much time to write with all my other projects and such so I hope you all don't mind. Have a great day and I'll see ya next time!)
