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Day 1. Being close in a rainy day
The sky was blear, black clouds filled with rain that threatened to bring it down within minutes.
Lumine looked up, observing with a worried expression the traveling companion who was happily flying over her head. She watched as she whirled and spun, her sweet laugh echoing across the plain below her. Amber was having her daily dose of flying, she couldn't sit still for too long, she missed the glider between her shoulder blades. Each time she flew she felt more at peace with herself and closer to her nation's Archon, in some way; it was almost a ritual if it can be defined as such.
Lumine started yelling a few words that included "storm" in the middle. The brunette was not unaware of the coming storm but the excitement of flying among the lightning was high, almost reminding the courage of the first birds that split the air with the brave flapping of wings.
"It's okay, it's just a little rain!" She answered screaming back then, which did not please the blonde who clenched her fists in protest. In contrast to her, Amber just poked her tongue out before turning and beating her wings in a powerful motion, making her go further, just so as not to hear any further protest from her partner.
She then did not stop spinning and capsizing in the air pretending some somersault in it. This only alarmed her friend who began to clearly hear the crash of thunder behind her. She pushed herself up to the cliff, her hands around her mouth to make the sound of her voice louder.
"Amber, it's coming! Come back here!" But nothing to do, the girl was determined to endure a storm just to feel the intoxication. She partly wanted to impress Lumine, but her pride was too great to admit it to herself.
Finally the rain started. First just a few drops that wet the grass below making it take a darker color. Then it picked up a rhythm, stronger and more uncontrollable. Both girls were soaked by that point, Amber especially starting to feel the weight of her bathed clothes as she tried to stay in the air with equally soaked wings.
She looked forward but saw only a wall of water in front of her. She tried to get closer to what she believed was the spot on which Lumine was standing, but she wasn't sure anymore. She tried calling her several times. "Lumine?!" Nothing reached her ears however, except the pouring rain, which was soon joined by lightning. If before the thunders fell far away, now they were approaching dangerously, having to lash some of them from the proximity.
She was about to lose hope, her heart was beating wildly in her chest at the time of the rain, she thought she was totally lost until she glimpsed the cliff again. Lumine was moved but was trying to look in the air still looking for her, with her arms raised up to protect herself from the water. Amber smiled at that moment, feeling a weight lifting from her stomach, but at the exact second when everything seemed to go right again, lightning struck one of her wings, not only stunning her but also causing her to stumble, failing to keep the balance: completely soggy wings and a broken one.
She then began her fast diagonal descent, she went straight up to the cliff, letting a desperate cry come out of her mouth. Lumine, as soon as he saw her, understood the situation and opened her arms completely. In which Amber fell heavily, causing them to fall to the ground, Lumine's arms gripping her back, she was shaking, or maybe it was Amber who was shaking. She wasn't sure. If the situation wasn't so tragicomic perhaps Amber would have been more aware of the softness that was cushion her, of the girl's fast inhales and exhales and rapid heartbeat, of the labored breathing hitting her ear, making her tremble not only from the cold and the rain.
Lumine was quicker than Amber was to realize what happened, "Quick, Paimon has found shelter!" Her words hit her ear directly, caressing her, but it wasn't the time to dwell on that. She hurried to get up and the other was once again more responsive, grabbing her wrist and getting up before setting off with a run that left her breathless. Finally Amber saw the hollow in the trunk where Paimon was waving her arms strongly, calling out to them.
Amber felt a smile form on her face as she sat down next to Lumine in the confined space that was her hiding place, leaving no room for breathing space between them. The blonde heaved a big sigh putting one arm at rest on one knee and the other behind her to keep her sitting in place.
Amber began to realize for real this time what had happened and the closeness between them, her wrist still warm from the strange heat that Lumine's body had constantly. She looked away feeling a principle of heat spreading from her neck to her ears, hugging her legs, hiding half of her face in them. She couldn't forget Lumine's worried face, her readiness to catch her as she fell, her embrace as she held her firmly as if afraid she might escape from her arms, the firm grip around her wrist and finally the heroine pose she was sporting at the time.
She didn't notice that her eyes returned to her, until she met two golden eye sockets watching her with a question hanging in the air. It didn't help that she tilted her head a little, making her look even more adorable. "Are you okay?" Amber tensed, shaking her hands quickly in front of her. "Yeah, yeah. All right. Emh…" At that point she didn't know whether to apologize, thank her, or both. "Than-", "No problem." She jumped at the low voice of her companion, not expecting her to speak over her. "I already knew you wanted to apologize and obviously thank me." She told her, clear and concise, hinting at her smile without turning to look at her, just using her peripheral vision. From it she could see the blush adorning her cheeks, whereupon she became alarmed, shifting her weight towards her and bringing a hand into contact with her forehead. "Have you got a fever?!" The sudden closeness only increased her blush. How long had she had a crush on that lost girl around Mondstadt when they first met? Maybe it was love at first sight - ironically, or it was all the time we spent together, through thick and thin, exploring Mondstadt together as companions, but maybe - just maybe - Amber wanted to be more than companions in adventure. In a rush of her thoughts she took the hand that rested on her in her own hands, getting even closer to her face, giving Lumine a beginning of embarrassment, maybe it was contagious. Despite this they looked at each other, perhaps for the first time really, so closely.
Needless to say, Paimon had to look away that day - more than once.