Whether or not they are directly linked, or the characters know each other, I think of my stories as all having happened within the same little world! In my stories. I frequently mention things that have happened in others I have written, but most of them should be able to be read stand alone without issues.
Thank you for reading, I hope everyone enjoys it!
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Let's Eat Snow!
Lumine had been to Dragonspine with Xiao a few times now. She always appreciated when he offered to help with the odd jobs she took for the Adventurer's Guild, and he offered as often as he could. She enjoyed spending time with him and, though she would never tell him, watching him grow socially. He always closed himself off from others, understandably so, but the social interaction was also good for him. With her, he seemed to open up much easier.
Lumine had learned early on that people feared Xiao and it always made her sad to see that he simply accepted it, or even seemed to think he deserved it. She knew he'd been forced to do many terrible things before he'd been set free by Zhongli, but he didn't deserve the punishment he felt he deserved. He was a child who was in a situation beyond his control.
There was also the fact that he'd admitted that dealing with his karmic debt wasn't nearly as bad when she was around. She had been searching for a way to help rid him of it, but had come up empty handed so far. She hated knowing he was in pain and would do anything to stop it, and she was more than happy to keep him close.
Today, he seemed lighter than he had in some time, watching closely as the heavy flakes of snow fell to the ground. She could even see a smile pulling at his lips, she loved watching moments like these. The innocence that he never got to experience showing through when he didn't have to fight with his pain as much.
She watched as he stopped along the path and poked at the snow. He played with the frozen white fluff for a minute before, to her surprise, he scooped up a handful of snow and ate it. This was the first time she'd ever seen him do something like this and while she found it adorable, it was a bit odd. She was thankful that Paimon was not with them, she'd have likely said something and called it "weird" and she wouldn't want Xiao to feel like he couldn't be himself around her. Especially with something so harmless.
She watched as he took another handful and brought it to her, a smile showing just how happy he was in this moment.
"The snow, it's thick enough. We can eat it!" He said, taking her hand and dropping the snow in it.
Lumine giggled, "Is there a certain way I'm supposed to eat it?"
"No," He shook his head, "You can eat snow in whatever way you want." He ate another mouthful.
She took a small bite. It tasted like water, of course, but for Xiao, there was obviously something more to it.
There was suddenly a noise and Lumine stood still as a statue. A laugh, it had no weariness, no pain, no anger or sarcasm, none of that. It was an actual laugh of joy, so out of place, but still perfect coming from someone who held the weight of the world on his shoulders.
As they started down the path again, she watched Xiao. He was definitely more calm and open than she had ever seen him and the answer struck her like a Paimon sized sack of bricks.
She should have seen it sooner. He liked Paimon, she knew that. When they all traveled together, Paimon and Xiao would pass friendly bickering back and forth, but over-all, Xiao was very shy. He was simply less open with Paimon around, not because he felt like he couldn't be, but rather because that openness was reserved for Lumine. They weren't usually alone.
She felt her heart soar at that thought and after a minute a hand in hers brought her from her thoughts. Large golden eyes stared at her with concern.
"Your heart races, are you… ok?" Xiao asked.
Of course he would have noticed, she gave her brightest smile and put her hand over his, "Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, my thoughts just ran away with me. I'm fine, Xiao."
She wasn't sure if he was convinced, but he nodded and continued walking, hand in hand with Lumine. She couldn't help but wonder if he knew he still had her hand, or if he was doing this absent mindedly and she couldn't help but admit to herself that she hoped that it was his intention.
Lumine had so many questions and she knew she would ask every single one of them some day.
Do you like me? Do you like to be with me? Do you like to hold my hand? Do you like to eat snow?
For now, she needed to wait, he wasn't ready.
For now, she would enjoy the time she got to spend with him, the smiles she got to see and the strange little quirks that he didn't show others.
This was her time.