Lisa smiled languidly as she observed Lumine out of the corner of her eye. It was obvious that the traveler, and her strange, winged friend, were searching for a particular book, but Lisa could also tell that they were distracted. For one, the traveler was skimming the shelves way too fast. Even though she was indeed looking at all the titles, she was moving along too quickly to actually absorb what she was skimming. And her fairylike companion (Paimon, wasn't it?) was continually looking over both of their shoulders as if she expected them to be attacked any second.
Lisa had to bite back a laugh. She felt slightly guilty for taking such amusement in the traveler's plight, but because she knew exactly what it was that had gotten the girl so spooked, she couldn't help but chuckle a little. It was she who was to blame for the traveler's distress. Ever since that little display against the Abyssal Mage just a few days ago, Lumine had become increasingly jump around Mondstat's mighty librarian.
It was no secret that Lisa was incredibly brilliant and powerful, but it was still always (pardon the pun) such a shock to see just how far she could, and would, go. Lumine had gotten her first taste of this just a few days ago and it was clear the girl had found it quite (pardon the pun again) jolting to see the typically lackadaisical Lisa suddenly becoming so stern and ferocious. But Lisa couldn't blame her, that was how everyone's first time with her felt. Always so full of surprises…
Lisa hid a smile behind a lovely, gloved hand. Perhaps it was because she was a librarian, perhaps it was because she was a romantic, or perhaps it was because she was an Electro user, but whatever the case might have been, she could sense the tension crackling in the air like lightning before a storm. It was absolutely delicious. It was electrifying and Lisa loved nothing more than watching the sparks fly! Her favorite thing of all was to watch the air fill with social energy and tension, watching things fizzle and pop as the atmosphere charged up.
"Poor, sweet, little thing!" the older woman murmured to herself. "Doesn't she know she doesn't have to be afraid of me? I thought we were on excellent terms! She is quite the charmer and such a wonderful little helper! And she is such a cutie!" The smile on Lisa's face became downright salacious as she continued to watch Lumine explore the stacks.
"I suppose I should go and help her," the librarian continued to say to herself. "The dear will be here all day if she doesn't have someone to help guide her! … Someone to help her figure out exactly what it is that she wants to… check out…"
The librarian rose slowly from her desk and all but glided over to the traveler with that languid look still smoldering in her eyes.
"Well hello there, cutie," she purred, allowing her eyes to fall half shut as she greeted Lumine with a low and seductive tone.
"Lisa!" Both she and Paimon shrieked in surprise, neither of them having heard her approach. And for once, Paimon's back had been turned as well, so she hadn't seen Lisa coming either.
"I'm flattered that you seem so excited to see me," Lisa laughed as the pair whipped around in a fright. "But I must remind you, this is a library," she continued, tone suddenly becoming sterner.
"Uh oh…" Paimon trembled, and, in a not-so-subtle act of cowardice, she flew behind Lumine, who also looked concerned.
But unlike Paimon, Lumine was not afraid. At least not of Lisa's Electro magic. She was smarter than Paimon, so she knew Lisa wouldn't actually hurt them. But she couldn't deny that she was, in her own way, still a little frightened by the mysterious librarian. Lisa was just such a wildcard that Lumine didn't always know how to act around her. Maybe to Lisa, that was all part of the fun and games. To Lumine, it was just confusing, and a little off-putting, since she always felt rather out of her element whenever she was around Lisa.
"So I ask you to use you to remember to use you inside voices… as flattering as it is to hear your scream my name like that…" And there it was, Lisa dropped the stern façade to give Lumine a suggestive and playful smile, even winking at the traveler as she said that last sentence.
Lumine looked down immediately. There it was again, that strange, queasy sensation that ran through her body every time Lisa tried to flirt with her (which was all the time). It was that sensation that Lumine was talking about, the one that made her feel on edge, like she was supposed to react but wasn't quite sure how. Even now, Lumine could only stare at the floor in silence, so Lisa took it upon herself to keep the ball rolling.
"Have I made myself clear?" she asked, bringing back her stern tone, even though Lumine knew by now that it was just a joke.
"Yes ma'am!" Paimon shrieked at once. Clearly, she still thought Lisa was genuinely mad at them. But then she cupped her hands over her mouth in horror. "Oops! I mean, yes ma'am!" she repeated, this time much softer than before. Lisa chuckled before turning her gaze on Lumine.
"How about you, cutie?" she asked.
"Yes Lisa," Lumine replied, eyes still glued to the floor and face still warm and tingly. Lisa found it adorable, but Lumine found it embarrassing. It felt like whenever Lisa said something like this, something vaguely flirty and naughty, Lumine would feel something crackling in the air and running through her bones.
"Good girl," Lisa purred, tilting her head and smiling gently, eyes half shut.
But after several seconds like this, she suddenly brightened her posture and tone. "Don't worry, cutie, there will be plenty of other times where you can say my name as loudly, or as quietly, as you wish!" she said.
"Wait, what?!" Lumine half-squawked as she suddenly whipped her head up to look Lisa in the eyes.
"Well, eight is when I get off… From work," Lisa's smile was even broader now that her cutie was finally looking her in the eyes. "I quite enjoyed the last time we spent an evening together. You simply must let me know the next time you're open for me!"
"Uhhh, sure… And, ummm… thanks?" Lumine's blush darkened.
"You're welcome, cutie," Lisa winked and Lumine looked away again.
"This, uhhh, isn't going to be a… a date… is it?" she asked embarrassedly and Lisa laughed again.
"Why, darling, haven't we been over this before?" she teased. "You are a little young for my taste. But if that is how you wish to see it, then by all means, don't let me ruin the fantasy for you. I always love a good romance novel, and I would hate to ruin yours. I'm flattered that you seem to enjoy seeing me as the star of the show," Lisa gave Lumine another wink and pretended to fluff up her hair with a very pleased smile on her face.
"No! It's not like that!" Lumine stuttered, but that was all she could manage to say before freezing up again.
"Ugh!" Paimon, even though she was still hidden behind Lumine, finally became embarrassed enough with Lumine's floundering to heave an impatient sigh and slap her forehead. That was enough to bring back some of Lumine's sassier side.
"Oh, shut it, Paimon!" she whispered over her shoulder.
"But you always get this way around Lisa!" Paimon whined back at her.
"Oh, and who was it that had so "courageously" decided to use me as a human shield against her just a few minutes ago?" Lumine snapped back.
"Hey! Paimon is only scared of her because she can get really protective over her books and she has crazy-powerful magic! But you're scared of her even when she isn't threatening to beat someone up over an overdue library book!" Paimon shot back, and for once, Lumine had no rebuttal. Instead, she could only cross her arms in embarrassment and pout, looking quite a lot like Paimon.
Lisa watched the entire thing with ill-concealed glee. Maybe Lumine was good at whispering, but Paimon's voice was way too high-pitched and squeaky. Because of that, Lisa heard the entire exchange.
"There's no reason to be afraid of me, cutie," Lisa promised Lumine, lowering her voice again. "I am very fond of you, my little helper and my wonderful book custodian. You know I would never hurt you, at least, not too badly…"
"No! It's not that!" Lumine repeated, but the moment she heard Lisa's voice, she became awkward and uncertain once again. It was like just hearing Lisa's seductive hum would make her insides turn to jelly. "I mean, I just know that you aren't really angry at us. You just caught us off guard…"
"Wait. Not angry?!" Paimon squeaked in disbelief. Not angry? How could Lisa not be angry? They'd been noisy. In her library! And Lumine, of all people, should know what a stupid idea it was to try to test Lisa's patience! Honestly! This outlander could be so strange at times… It was a good thing she had Paimon to be her guide!
But while Paimon could only shake her head at Lumine, Lumine was busy wringing her hands and trying to think of anything to say. The people of Mondstat still felt strange to her, sometimes, because it seemed like they all needed to be humored in some way, shape or form. It was like everyone in the entire kingdom had some little quirk they wanted the traveler to play along with. Perhaps this was part of why Lisa would sometimes make Lumine feel so out of place, because Lumine wasn't quite used to Lisa's flirty advances.
But lucky for Lumine, Lisa was not totally without pity. After watching Lumine flounder long enough, the librarian finally decided to show some mercy and give Lumine an easy way out.
"Don't worry about it, cutie," she insisted, a rare note of sincere gentleness entering her low voice. "We can discuss it later over dinner."
"Dinner?" Lumine croaked. "You were serious about that?"
"Weren't you?" Lisa gave an adorable, teasing pout. "I was so looking forward to relaxing with you after a long, stressful day at work!"
"I- I- I-," Lumine stuttered.
"Ugh!" Paimon interrupted with another sigh. "Take. The. Hint!"
"Oh, I see you have quite the wingman, don't you, Lumine?" Lisa smirked up at Paimon. Now it was Paimon's turn to look embarrassed, her deadpanning expression switching to sheepishness as she twiddled her thumbs and looked away.
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" Lumine finally gave a resigned sigh, looking back and forth between Lisa and Paimon.
"No," Paimon replied with a grave look.
"Of course you do," Lisa replied, her gentler voice contrasting sharply with Paimon's dead-serious reply. "You know you always have the option to say no if it's something that makes you uncomfortable," Lisa promised. As much as she liked flirting with the cute little outlander, she never wanted to make the girl uncomfortable. At least not too uncomfortable…
But underneath all the uncertainty, embarrassment and awkwardness, Lumine had to admit that she was genuinely fond of Lisa and found some of the remarks to be quite flattering and sweet. For example, even though she didn't always know how she felt about being called "cutie", there was still something strangely endearing about it. Likewise, they really did make a good team, and Lumine enjoyed working with Lisa, whether it was at the library or on the battlefield. So even though, sometimes, Lumine would be caught off guard by Lisa, she still had no problem occasionally going along with these little "games" of hers.
"No," she finally said. "I wouldn't mind going out to dinner with you. I mean, I think I would enjoy it. A lot," she smiled weakly.
"Oh! Excellent!" Lisa looked genuinely surprised, but genuinely pleased. "Then I look forward to seeing you at eight!"
"Of course!" Lumine tried to hide her nervousness behind a smile. "Shall I meet you here, or…?"
"Oh, you'd be willing to escort me?" Lisa placed a hand on her chest. "How sweet of you!"
"All right then! Sounds perfect!" Lumine chuckled nervously.
"Excellent! So I'll see you later tonight, then… cutie," Lisa gave Lumine one last wink before returning to her desk, leaving Lumine a little breathless. Paimon did nothing to mask her disdain.
"Well, that could've gone better! You are terrible at flirting! But at least this means we get to go out to eat later!" she sighed.
"Oh, shut it, Paimon," Lumine grumbled. "Let's just… go." She began to make her way to the library door, already dreading having to return later.
"Hey, do you think we could start on appetizers if we get there before Lisa does?" Paimon asked hopefully.
"Paimon!" Lumine sighed as they reached the door.
"What? It's an important question!" Paimon defended herself as she and Lumine returned to the sunny streets of Mondstat.
Lisa, meanwhile, gave another chuckle and shook her head fondly. She'd watched the two leave her library. As silly as they were, Lisa genuinely liked them and found them both fairly charming, in their own, special ways. Even though half of her brain demanded to know why she'd taken such interest in Lumine and Paimon, the other half was more than happy to ignore the first and just roll with it.
"I do wonder, though, how long it will take them to come running back here," Lisa tapped her chin thoughtfully. "They never did remember to get the book they were looking for earlier, did they?"
AN: I honestly ship Lumine with everyone. Why does she have such good chemistry with everyone? Like, watching Lisa flirt with her is so funny and cute! I'm probably going to write a Kaeya/Lumine fic next just because I really do honestly think she works so well with everyone. But I hope this was good enough for now!