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“You’re quiet today,” Lumine comments, looking across to her right.
Xiao hasn’t said a word since she sat down beside him half an hour ago, though she should take this as a good thing. If he didn’t want her there he would have made that clear, either by telling her to go away or by leaving himself. Usually when she finds him on the roof of the inn they chat for a while, but today he is even more stoic than usual.
“I don’t have much to say,” he answers plainly.
It’s a change of pace for Lumine at least. She’s used to being busy all the time, having someone asking her to help out in this place or another. But Paimon is helping Xiangling today at the restaurant in Liyue Harbour, and so Lumine has time to herself for the first time in a long time.
Spending that free time with Xiao in complete silence was not how she had planned her today, but she can’t say that it’s not appreciated. Whether or not he appreciates her presence is another conversation entirely, and one that she feels that she can’t bring up.
“It’s getting dark,” she says after a little while longer. They’ve been looking in the same direction the whole time – north, towards Mondstadt. But in the west, the sun begins to disappear, streaking the sky with shades of orange and pink.
Xiao leans around her to look himself, and hums, noncommittal. Lumine isn’t really sure what this is supposed to mean, nor does she find herself caring. It’s probably time that she goes – by the time she says her goodbyes here and makes it back to Liyue Harbour she suspects that Paimon will be done for the night.
But it is Xiao that makes a move, hopping off the roof onto the terrace below. Lumine crawls forward to see where he has disappeared to, only to find him staring up at her in response.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“Where?”
“It’s dinner time.”
He says it so simply, like she’s supposed to understand what he means. But she doesn’t, and so she just continues to stare at him, hoping that she’ll magically have a moment of clarity where everything clicks into place. It does not.
Regardless, she slides off the roof, landing gently on the terrace thanks to her wind glider. Xiao doesn’t need to worry about those landings thanks to his anemo vision, but he does put his hand out to steady her as her feet touch the wooden decking. Before she has a chance to say anything else, he heads inside, his arms folded across his chest as he descends the stairs.
He seats himself at the table, and Lumine half expects to see a plate of almond tofu ready for him. But there isn’t anything there, and so Lumine wanders through to the kitchen – she should let Yanxiao know that his favourite guest is here.
She finds the man hunched over the fire, surrounded by dishes. Clearly the dinner rush for the whole inn is in full swing, and Lumine can’t help but offer to help. She shoots her friend an apologetic look as she leaves the kitchen laden with plates to bring down to the restaurant on the lower level – almond tofu, shrimp balls, bamboo shoot soup, stir-fried shrimp.
All of the dishes look so nice, and it gets her to wondering. On all her travels she’s tried many delicacies from all over Teyvat – Mondstadt’s fisherman’s toast, Liyue’s matsutake meat rolls, Inazuma’s grilled unagi fillets. But when she hangs out with Xiao, he only ever eats almond tofu, or maybe a satisfying salad if he’s in the mood. The food of Teyvat is so good, so why does he only eat a few dishes?
He still sits at the table when she returns, staring blankly at the wood. He doesn’t have a meal, and Yanxiao is so busy, so there is only one thing for Lumine to do – take matters into her own hands.
“Can I cook here?” She asks the chef quietly, not too keen to disturb his rhythm.
“Go ahead! You’re cooking for that strange lad again aren’t you?”
“Yes. I thought… I’d try to give him something different this time.”
“Be careful,” Yanxiao warns. “He… he can react strangely to being given something he’s not expecting.”
“I know.”
Lumine has a whole host of Liyue recipes under her belt, though she does take a moment to ponder if perhaps Xiao would be more open to trying something from further away. For now at least, she’ll stick to something that he’s a little bit more familiar with, and just hope that he doesn’t get too angry at her.
She gathers the ingredients from the shelves around the perimeter of the kitchen – fowl, jueyun chilis, and pepper. There isn’t much to this dish, and if she cooks it well, she can hope that Xiao will at least tolerate it enough to finish it. She knows well that he really only eats because he knows he should – if he has no need for sleep, then he has no need to eat either.
She slices the chilis, freshly picked that day (she knows because she brought them), and dices the chicken, tossing them in the pot above the fire. The dish is supposed to be served cold, but with Xiao having already stated that he was ready to eat, this is perhaps Lumine’s own take on a famous Liyue dish.
Plating up is a bit more of a problem – the sink is full with plates from what must have been one of Wangshu Inn’s busiest days. Lumine washes some of them – enough for her and Xiao and Yanxiao at least, with the promise to do the rest of them later. Yanxiao looks surprised at the dish presented to him, but waves her off with a smile and his sincere thanks.
She’s not as good a cook as Yanxiao or Xiangling, but Lumine’s dishes are sufficient enough that she won’t go hungry, nor will she get food poisoning. Xiao raises an eyebrow when she sets the food down in front of him, but makes no comment. Lumine takes this as a good sign, sitting opposite and digging in to her own plate.
“It’s good,” Xiao says eventually, though his tone isn’t very convincing. Lumine has never seen the adeptus smile, and his face still remains a mask even now.
“You liked it?”
“It was… okay. Different. Unusual.”
“Ah! Well, I’m glad.”
“It’s not something I usually eat.”
“I know,” Lumine admits, setting her fork down. “I thought, since you’re here a lot, maybe you could try some of the dishes that Yanxiao makes? He’s a very good cook.”
“I like almond tofu,” he states plainly.
“I know!” She’s doing her best – despite his admission that this food is nice, he doesn’t seem to want to eat it again. “I just… well, you have to look after your body. Eating the one type of food all the time is bad for you.”
“I like almond tofu,” he says again, and this time instead of answering, Lumine just looks at him. “It’s… soft.”
“Oh, so the texture of food is more important to you than the flavour?”
“I guess. I like spicy food too. Which is why I like this,” Xiao says, gesturing to his near empty plate. He’s left the chilis sitting there – a direct contradiction of his statement.
“That’s interesting. Almond tofu and satisfying salad are very plain dishes. This one has a lot more flavour.”
Xiao hums, glancing from the plate up to Lumine and then back again. He doesn’t say anything, but she’s sure that there is something on his mind.
“I… I mostly liked the dish because you made it for me,” he admits quietly, staunchly looking away from her.
“Oh!”
“Most humans show me no kindness, apart from those here at the inn. For you to go to all this effort… thanks.”
“No problem, Xiao. Any time.”
She means it, too. Perhaps next time she can cook him something from Mondstadt – the flavours might be a little more foreign to his palette, but she’s almost certain that she’ll be able to find something of the right texture and simple flavours that he prefers. Perhaps even pancakes – and she’s sure that she could teach him how to make them for himself.
“You’ll make it again, then?”
“Of course, if you’d like. Maybe without the chilis? You picked around them,” she observes, suppressing a giggle when she notices that the tips of his ears are flushed pink.
“Whatever. If you want. I have to go now.”
“Oh, right. See you again.”
He departs quickly, hands clenched by his sides. Lumine watches him go until his disappears from her sights over the edge of the balcony. Whether he jumped up or down she’s not certain, but it’s clear to her that after the struggle of trying a new dish, Xiao is keen to be alone. Lumine isn’t going to stop him.
Yanxiao sticks his head out of the kitchen to request her help once more, and Lumine heads back in to make a start on the dishes. By the time she’s done she’s certain that it’s time to head back to Liyue Harbour and rescue Xiangling from Paimon, but on her way out of the kitchen, ready to collect her things and head on, she notices something sitting on the table, which she is certain she cleared already.
A small plate, with a few pieces of tofu, and a selection of vegetables that makes Lumine’s mind go to the Yaksha’s jewellery – white and pink and green. Just as she cooked for him, he’s returned the favour, with a dish that she’s sure tastes as good as it looks.