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Yet again, it is with the traveler that she finds herself doing something which she could have only ever dreamt of before.
As Ayaka feels the dip of the sands of Amakane Island beneath her sandals, she finds herself holds her breath, heart thrumming with a thousand different emotions and excitements. Is it because of the dazzling girl next to her, whom she’s only known for less than a month, but is hopelessly in love with?
Or perhaps it’s the scenery, with the gentle glow of the lanterns lighting up the summer sky, cherry blossoms slowly floating down onto the ground.
Or maybe it’s because she’s finally at a festival– not to oversee it, or to solve an issue, but to be there, to enjoy it. There are no pretenses, and as nervous as she is, almost like a schoolgirl walking home with a crush, Ayaka knows the cascade of warmth flooding her heart is mostly because of the radiant traveler next to her. Is mostly because of Lumine.
The girl doesn't even know the effect she has on Ayaka. And if she does, she hides it well.
If Ayaka had looked closer, she would’ve realized. Realized that each passing touch, each tender look, and doting compliment, as affectionate as they were, were also fleeting and short-lived, on purpose. The difference was just that Lumine had known, and properly believed, that they had to part ways the moment that they met.
But tonight, at the festival, it’s as if the rest of the world and each and every farewell in the mortal realm has been washed away. They go to a vendor, and pick up masks. As the vendor offers them for free, Ayaka feels her heart seize up against the sudden onslaught of uninhibited generosity. Part of her hisses at herself, you should’ve expected this, you shouldn’t have come, as another particularly nasty part of her chides and makes her feel ashamed, embarrassed.
She starts, a familiar round-about tumble of denying and refusing this kindness towards her that is most definitely undeserved–
“Thank you. We’ll be sure to make the most out of your kind gift.” Lumine graciously thanks the vendor, turns to Ayaka, two matching masks in hand. The interruption is more a relief than rude; a welcome stop of a sudden spiral.
A soft sort of smile rests on Lumine's face, and her head is slightly tilted, eyes filled with warmth and just enough worry for Ayaka to feel like melting down in an emotional puddle of a mess. And just like that, the cascading roar of doubt in her mind has been reduced to a fluffy warmth.
With one shoulder, Lumine nudges Ayaka, and they start walking again, further into the festival. Ayaka starts, “Thank-”
“Shh,” Lumine whispers, putting up one finger to her lips with a charming, if clumsy, wink. “Can I put the mask on you?” she asks instead, switching the topic.
Ayaka starts to nod, then pauses, breath catching in her throat as she realizes how close their faces are. Being so late in the night, not much other people are around, but Ayaka can't help but flush red regardless. Time slows down. Only the soft jingling of the bells on the shrine and sounds of plaques bumping together are present.
She seems to have lost the ability to form proper words, so Ayaka settles for a quick “okay”, eyes flitting to the side, then down, but always landing again staring into Lumine’s eyes.
Lumine flashes a reassuring smile. Deft hands pivot, reach past Ayaka’s head, and slip the mask onto her, nestling it gently so it rests against the side of her head. “All good?” Lumine asks, that beautiful smile still on her face. “Yes.”
A whisper is all Ayaka can manage. And she wishes, she yearns, her entire heart aflame and tears prickling at the backs of her eyes, to envelop this star, capture her in a kiss. But as much as she wants to do that, she knows it would be the same as trapping a shooting star, knocking it off course.
It would only end with the two of them getting burnt, each averted from the path that they must take.
And so Ayaka doesn’t say anything, just pulls back the slightest. And with the way Lumine bites her lip and averts her eyes downward, Ayaka knows, reading upon the miniscule movements, knows that Lumine knows.
They continue on, walking through the sakura trees and shrine gates, take in the warm summer air and smell of frying food in the air.
The past melts away, the future feels distant- both of them try nothing but to take in as much of the present as possible, with how fleeting it inevitably is.
Somehow, somewhere along the night, they end up with their hands intertwined as they walk.
And while this should be her dream, this is her dream, Ayaka cannot shake a weight from her heart, quell an overpowering urge to cry and clutch at Lumine; to tell her to either whisk her away into a dream, or for her to slap her awake from this one.
But she does not. And they continue walking,
From one end of the festival to the plaques, where they each write their separate wishes;
And walk past the beach, dipping toes in sand and tracing hearts on the beach, only for the sand to wash it away in the same time it took for them to draw the hearts;
And back to Chinju Forest, whispering to each other and laughing about the time they spent together, of their hopes, of trivial, silly things, yet never of the future.
On some sort of wild impulse, Ayaka finds herself ankle deep in the freezing river that runs through Chinju Forest.
Her heart pounds as she chokes back roaring, uninhibited emotions.
Maybe it was just now the true realization of their parting has struck through. She doesn’t know what she’s doing exactly, only knows that for once she’s throwing caution and procedure and national duty to the wind, and doing exactly what her heart tells her, with no delay.
She dances, and she sings. “Keep her eyes on me,” she whispers, a half-plead, half promise of a memory that she wants to ensure Lumine never forgets. As she dances, she swears she can feel time slow down even more than it already has. The moon and already dream-like atmosphere of the forest thickens, and she feels drunk on sake, lost in a fairytale. She knows, even with her eyes closed, she can feel Lumine watching with the intensity and warmth of a star.
It ends, despite that.
She’s biting down so hard on her inner cheek she’s sure there’ll be blood drawn. Regardless, she still finds a genuine smile on her face, somehow. A sort of finality settles upon the both of them, falling alongside the echo of the last note of her song.
“I can walk myself back,” Ayaka forces out, hoping and wishing and praying that her voice sounds even. Her eyes flutter close for the smallest of moments. “And... thank you,” she adds on thickly, voice choked in a thousand emotions she doesn’t think she’ll ever be able to understand. “Thank you."
There's so much more she wants to say.
"Goodnight, Lumine.”
With that, she turns swiftly on her heel and starts the walk back, not trusting herself to stay a moment longer.
The forest is still frozen, bathed in ethereal moonlight. Ayaka wishes it was raining, if only so she could pretend the liquid wetting her cheeks were raindrops opposed to tears.
A voice, soft and tender, a dream and crackling fire all in one, floats a reply back. “Goodnight, Ayaka.” Lumine stares at Ayaka’s back for a moment too long, then closes her eyes.
Then the Traveler turns as well, each walking with their back to the other.
The distance grows, further, further. The moon stays in the sky. The distance grows even more.
Ayaka wants to run back, bury Lumine in a final hug. She thinks of her mother and all the people who look up to her. She thinks of Lumine’s brother. She doesn’t.
Lumine resists the urge to look back, call out one final promise to Ayaka. A promise to take her to Liyue, to take her to see the world. She’d come back, and they’d live out the rest of their days together. Then she thinks of her friends in Mondstadt, and Liyue, of unfilled promises to visit them again. She thinks of her brother. She thinks of the worlds she’s been to, and of the journey still ahead.
She continues walking.
Soon, the forest is back as it was, with no evidence that there was ever two people there. There is only a song, floating through the suspended moonlight.
Once more, I hoped we would meet again
Lost in time, the rhythm fading to a pale gleam
I saw your face in the moonlight and starry skies,
The promises unsaid and love yet conveyed