Work Text:
The sound of Lumine’s sword clashing with the axe Mitachurl’s echoed throughout the chasm, Lumine had already defeated two others this seemed to be the last one before she moved onto the smaller hilichurl’s that were scattered about.
Usually she would have just ignored them and left them be, try not to get in a conflict between them. But this particular group are in the way of one of the main routes and is causing all sorts of problems which is why she got given the lovely commission of removing them. It would have been a relatively easy one if there wasn’t so many of them. It was getting to the point where she felt her body getting to exhaustion, she had already done a great number of fights before this one. She guessed she was finally reaching the point where she was running on adrenalin more than anything.
Lumine finally defeated the Mitachurl as she rammed her sword into its chest watching it dissolve into nothingness. She took a second to compose herself before turning around to finish off the smaller hilichurl’s looking around there was a handful of Hilichurl grenadiers and two shooters, simple enough.
Getting a slight running head start she leaped into the air bringing her sword down into the skull of one of the grenadiers before swinging her sword around to get its neighbour. It was then when Lumine felt a sharp pain shoot right into her back, she let out an ear piercing scream.
She had let her adrenalin overtake her she had not calculated the fact the shooters had long range in her moment of naivety they had stuck. The arrow was deep into the spot between her right arm and shoulder causing her to drop her sword. Tears flooded her vision as she tried to reach for the arrow hoping if she pulled it out she could continue fighting. It was a mistake though as it only dug the arrow deeper into her causing her to scream again. It wasn’t so much the arrow it’s self causing the pain more so the area around it and how it was causing discomfort.
As she screamed she did the only thing she could think of and scream his name, “Xiao!” Her voice was pained as she heard another arrow be shot in her direction but it never hit her. Instead she saw a flash of black and green enter her blurry vision. As her eyes diverted down towards her dress which now had a trail of red down it, she felt her knees buckled underneath her as they hit the sharp ground below.
In what felt like mere seconds there was an arm around her pulling her up off the ground, she cried as she got picked up. In-between her sobs she heard Xiao shushing her before taking them up and out of the chasm. Lumine felt in a daze, she felt being placed down on something soft but wasn’t able to register what was going on for a good minuet or so.
Once she felt her self snap back into her own body in a way she had calmed down enough to mumble a pathetic, “Sorry” She realized the place she was in was Xiao’s room in Wangshu inn, he had placed her on his bed while he went to grab something out of the cupboard in the corner.
It wasn’t as if Xiao hadn’t seen her in this state before he had. Lumine only ever called him when she absolutely had to and cause of that it meant he saw her at her worst most of the time. Due to them circumstances Lumine saw a side of Xiao that not many people saw. The caring, loving side that he only really showed her.
“Do not apologise” He grumbled from behind her as he removed her ribbons that flew down her back, only because of that she realized that the arrow was still in her back. It was as if she had blocked out the pain so much it caused it to go numb, “This will most likely hurt”
She felt as one hand came to hold her back steady, she braced herself for a shot of pure agony. It was more of a sharp shock when it came out causing her to gasp slightly although due to her no longer being practically hysterical it wasn’t as bad as when it went in.
Xiao didn’t say anything as he got busy cleaning and bandaging it up as best as he could, “You need to be more careful” He told her finally breaking the silence.
“I am careful” Lumine countered back softly slightly embarrassed, in fairness she usually is careful, “I just didn’t calculate the shooters into the equation”
Xiao hummed as if contemplating something, he took the arrow of the bed beside throwing it in the bin, he wiped the blood that was on his hands as he did so. Turning to look at her as she awkwardly sat on his bed. Lumine wasn’t sure what to do with herself now, it always got this point when he had to bail her out of a situation and patch her up.
Usually Lumine would awkwardly say goodbye and run off like a blushing mess, but the wound had never been quite this severe. She still had barely any mobility in her arm and the chances of her getting into trouble while being out is rather high. As if he could read her mind he came to sit on the bed behind her.
“You can rest here for tonight, I don’t want you going of travelling in this state” Lumine turned to face him giving him a grateful smile as she kicked off her boots brining her legs up onto the bed. She shuffled back slightly so she was shoulder to shoulder with Xiao, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Thank you” She meant it from the bottom of her heart she wouldn’t have known what to do if he hadn’t turned up.
“I was just doing my duty” The last word stung Lumine more than the arrow, it most likely wouldn’t have if this had been just any old day but it did. Lumine took her head of his shoulder and went quiet again lost in her own head, “Lumine?” Xiao was looking at her as if she had just hurt his feelings. Xiao only saw her as a duty nothing more nothing less, it hurt her heart deeply.
“Hmm?” She broke out of her depressing spiral looking over at him, “What?” She spoke defensively.
“You look sadder than usual, why?” He saw right through her like glass, it was something she found herself both loving and hating.
“It’s nothing” She waved her hand in the air, giving him the worst fake smile in Teyvat.
“So there is something?” He interrogated sitting up straighter crossing his legs facing her fully.
“Yes, no, Kinda” She went through all the answers in the book before landing on one, burying her face in her hands.
“Tell me” He pulled her hands away from the face taking them in his.
Lumine sighed, “Do you see me as a duty to fulfil, is that all I am” She felt so silly saying it out loud, she should be thankful either way he saved her life countless times.
“Of course I don’t” He told her as if he took offence, she looked up at him in slight surprised. He leaned over brushing a piece of stray hair out of her face, “If I saw you as a duty I would have just saved you and then dumped you off to Verr Goldet to be her problem”
“Oh” She wasn’t expecting such and honest answer but it made her smile nevertheless, she found herself wishing to be as honest, “I love you” She finally decided to be honest with both herself and him.
“I know” He shrugged leaning over in a moment of courage kissing her cheek, “I love you too”