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The whole summer had been a washout with what seemed like an eternal monsoon blanketing the land, but finally, finally , the forecast called for sunny skies long enough for the couple to go through with their plans. The air wasn’t very humid for once also, meaning that it wouldn’t feel like they were walking through soup. The ground had dried up enough, and there was a light breeze blowing as the pair packed Lumine’s car for the trip.
They had planned a camping trip for just the two of them to happen at the beginning of summer, but they were only just getting the chance to actually go through with the plans, both desperately wanting time away from their families so they could just be together. Not that Childe or Lumine didn’t like their family; it was just that there had only been just so much they could do considering he was crashing at his family’s home while his was being renovated and with Lumine sharing her apartment with her twin.
Childe had been so excited when checking the weather forecast that he’d accidentally startled his mother, who he’d been helping to do the dishes. The young man had immediately called a timeout on the chores, much to his mother’s amusement while he dialed his fiancée to give her the good news, forgetting that she was working at the time of his call.
Lumine picked up on the third ring. “Childe? Is everything alright?” She had been busy grading a stack of exams on her desk, but upon seeing her lover’s name on the caller ID, had put it down and answered as soon as she could.
“Huh, yeah, I just- oh , you’re still at the school, aren’t you? Shit, I forgot you were there. I can just call back.”
The laugh Lumine let out made him pause while he waited for her answer. “No, no, I’m just grading tests and could use the break. So, what’s up?”
There was the sound of a relieved sigh that Childe hadn’t interrupted her too badly. “So, I was checking the weather as an afterthought while I was drying the dishes…”
“Mmhmm, I’m sure your mother loved that.”
She heard a chuckle from him. “Oh, you know it. Anyway, stop distracting me! The weather’s supposed to be beautiful all through next week. Do you wanna go this weekend?”
Lumine let his words settle before she spoke, almost clearly seeing him with her mind’s eye while he fidgeted. “I suppose I can take the weekend off from watching television and sleeping to go camping with my fiancée. I don’t have a heavy workload this week since the professor is starting a new unit.”
There was a low hum. “Alright, I’m going to make sure we have everything we need. Sorry again to bother you while you’re working. Love you, Lumine. I’ll see you this weekend.”
After Lumine said her goodbyes on the phone and had hung up, she went back to grading papers, a smile on her face. She was an assistant professor at the local community college, mainly tasked with grading exams or running errands. It was boring work, but it was a valuable and necessary experience considering her plans to become a full-time professor once her graduate studies ended.
The rest of the week passed by in a blur as the couple prepared for their little trip. Lumine spent most of the time making sure she was caught up on work as well as slowly packing her bag while Childe handled most of the preparations, not letting her help too much, wanting to do the heavy lifting himself.
Finally, they were almost ready to go and just had to pack everything into Lumine’s car since Childe’s didn’t have much storage space. Even with Lumine’s roomier car, it ended up being fully packed, with their tent, disassembled fishing poles, clothes, food, and bedding amongst the various other items they thought they might need. There was barely enough room for the two of them when all was said and done.
Once the pair had everything packed and had triple checked it, it was time to make for the campground. Being the outdoorsy type, Childe had done a lot of camping, so he was familiar with most of the local campgrounds. He had also wanted to surprise Lumine with the location, especially since she hadn't gone camping in years. They left Childe's car in Lumine's parking spot at her apartment complex so it wouldn't get towed and began their drive.
"Just how far out (((IS))) this place?" Lumine was in the passenger seat, letting Childe drive since he knew the mountain roads better than she did. She trusted him with her vehicle even if he did drive like a maniac sometimes.
He chuckled, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye before looking back at the road as they rounded yet another bed. "Don't worry, we're almost there. I promise."
"You said that 15 minutes ago." Her tone was amused, not actually annoyed. She was just excited after hearing him wax poetics about the site he'd chosen all summer.
Just as she'd said that, around the next bend they passed a sign that the large campgrounds were just up ahead in a couple of kilometers. The curves in the road had begun to smooth out, and as they passed over a bridge, Lumine gasped. Water stretched out on both sides of the bridge, one side of the lake much wider than the other.
"Told you," Childe said smugly.
Lumine just smacked him on the arm and looked out of the window with interest. They were in a heavily wooded area and when Childe slowed down to turn into the campground entrance, Lumine didn't almost didn't see the hidden road at all until right before he turned.
"I'd have missed that turn for sure," the blonde remarked as she peered out of the window.
The road was just poured gravel instead of being paved with asphalt, and the small rocks crunched loudly under the tires of Lumine's car as they made their way down the road. It was so narrow that only one car could fit along it at a time, and the blonde wondered absentmindedly what would happen if someone was entering at the same time another person wanted to leave.
Up ahead there was an automated gate with a large notice board beside it as well as a machine to take money and dispense parking stickers. Childe stopped the car in front of the gate and got out, motioning for Lumine to do the same.
"Come on. It's hard to read the notice board while in the car. I wanna show you where we'll be."
Lumine did as he asked, getting out of the car and stretching as she worked the soreness out of her legs from the long ride. Approaching the notice board, she realized that it was completely covered with information. There was a large map of the campground filled with symbols depicting various amenities as well as a set of rules, a list of the fauna and flora to be careful of in the area, and a list of prices for however long people wanted to stay.
She looked at the rules first. They were fairly basic and included warnings about not lighting fireworks, not rearranging the stream's rocks because it would damage the local ecosystem, not littering, and various other rules that the pair intended on following. The ones that interested Lumine the most mentioned how food should be stored to not attract wildlife.
Childe seemed to notice Lumine’s concern. “Don’t worry. I’ve been here dozens of times over the years, and I’ve never had any encounters with anything more than a curious raccoon or two. Most of the critters are too shy to approach campsites where there are people. And besides,” he said, looping an arm around her shoulder. “I’ll protect you from anything and everything. (((NO ONE))) is going to hurt you while I’m around.”
His words soothed Lumine’s nerves, and she leaned into his touch, resting her head against his shoulder as they stood in front of the board. “Okay, show me where on the map we’ll be.”
The lake was off to one side while a small stream snaked its way through a large portion of the campgrounds as well. There was a parking area nearby and trails that followed the landscape, offering hiking options. From what Lumine could see, there were several spots marked with numbers that designated individual campsites that could be rented. Picnic tables were scattered just beyond the parking area, giving more space to accommodate events where there was less tree coverage. Finally, there were two large buildings that served as places to use the restroom and to rinse off the sweat and lake water.
“We’ll be over here on one side of the stream but close enough to the lake to not make it an unmanageable walk as well as close to one of the restrooms. Does that sound good?” Childe tapped where he meant on the map.
Lumine nodded. Her fiance’s choice was sound in her mind. “You’re the camping expert. What’s your second choice if that one’s taken? It seems like prime real estate there.”
“Oh, it won’t be taken.”
His confidence impressed her. “How do you know? Does it say it somewhere?” She peered closer at the map, but there was nothing marking the campsites other than their number.
“My dear, sweet Lumine, I believe you have underestimated me.” He put an arm around her and pulled her close. “I simply rented every campsite for the entire weekend. We’ll be all on our own.”
Lumine almost choked on her own saliva. “Childe, you didn’t! That must have cost a fortune!” She knew that he had money to spare, but Lumine was frugal considering her upbringing, and she didn’t like spending money on things that weren’t necessary. “We could have just picked a nearby plot, you insane man.”
The young man just chuckled. “I didn’t want anyone to interrupt us, and this way we get the best fishing spots and the dock all to ourselves.”
After returning to their car, Childe drove forward until he was beside the machine that dispensed the parking tickets. Since he had bought out the entire campground, all he had to do was input his transaction number, and the machine then printed out a piece of paper to stick into their windshield with the campsite number and the time they were scheduled to leave. Once Childe had taken the ticket, the bar on the gate rose up and allowed them entry.
The gravel continued to crunch loudly under the car as they pulled into the campgrounds proper. Lumine stared out of the window at all of the greenery they passed. It didn’t take long for them to reach the parking area. Since it was empty, they parked in the spot closest to where their plot was. Once the car was turned off, Childe hopped out, popping the trunk and unlocking the back doors. Lumine was a bit slower, taking her time as she looked at her surroundings.
They were going to have to take a couple of trips from the car to the campsite and back again thanks to the amount of items they had brought, even with Childe completely filling up his arms, not letting Lumine carry very much at all.
Childe led the way with zero hesitation, making Lumine even more aware of just how often he must have visited the campground in the previous years. “So, did you and your family come here often when you were growing up?” She was curious. If there was anything that Childe seemed averse to talking about, it was his past.
She sensed the hesitation before he spoke. “Yeah, we went often when I was little. I haven’t been in a few years, so it’s been a while for me. The family still comes up a couple times during the year though.”
Lumine knew better than to press him on that subject, so she didn't, instead letting out a soft him. “Well, you could fool me. Seems like you know your way around the pace well enough.”
That made him chuckle. “Let’s just say it left a memorable impression.” …Which I hope it does for you too.
“We’re almost there. Just through those trees there along the deer path.” Childe picked up the pace, excited for Lumine to see where he had picked for them to spend the weekend.
Just past those trees lay a large clearing of dirt with a raised area filled with gravel. Before Lumine could ask what it was for, Childe explained. “They have those raised beds in each campsite on this side of the stream. They’re mainly used to pitch tents since the ground is so hard. But we’re gonna be on the ground anyway, mainly because I don’t want a bunch of rocks digging into our backs while we’re sleeping… among other things.” He shot her a wink, making the blonde blush slightly.
You’re out of your damn mind if you think I’m gonna be seduced by that, especially since it’ll be on hard ground.”
Childe just shrugged. “It was worth a shot.” He sat the large bag with their tent down on the ground as well as some of the luggage he had taken with them this trip.
They took a couple more trips before everything had been unloaded, sitting in a neat pile on the raised gravel. Finally Lumine was able to look at their campsite in more detail. Small branches and pine cones were strewn about the clearing, and the pair spent some time cleaning everything up, even taking the time to clean out the fire pit and the raised metal grill that was at one corner of the gravel.
Once everything was cleaned, the pair began putting up the tent. The clearing was mostly dirt, but it was at least level, allowing them to put it up fairly easily. Childe hammered in the stakes while Lumine pieced together the rods that would hold the shape of the tent. It didn’t take them very long to get it together.
The tent was large enough to comfortably fit Lumine when she was lying down, and even Childe could lie down and mostly be able to stretch out. The entrance of the tent had double zippers, one to completely seal the entrance and another that was mesh to allow air in but not bugs. There were also mesh windows on the sides to allow airflow.
By the time the tent was pitched and their bedding moved in, Lumine was sweating, her bangs sticking to her forehead. Childe was sweaty as well, but he didn’t look nearly as uncomfortable as Lumine felt. He was currently fiddling with a net, attracting Lumine’s attention. The webbing holes were rather large, so she knew it wasn’t for catching fish.
“What’s that for?” She asked, walking over to stand next to where he crouched on the ground.
Childe looked up at her and smiled. “It’s for the watermelon.”
His words confused the blonde. “The… watermelon? I don’t think it’s in danger of running away, Childe.”
“Ahahaha, no, though you’re on the right track.” Childe beckoned for her to follow him as he walked out of their campsite with the net and the large watermelon they had brought with them.
Once they reached the small stream, Childe walked over to the nearby small bridge that let people cross the narrow stream without getting wet. Standing in the middle of it, he placed the watermelon in the net and then tied the top together and lowered it into the water, finishing his task by also tying the net to one of the posts on the bridge railing, long enough that the net-covered watermelon was completely submerged but couldn’t be carried away by the current.
Lumine looked at him like he was crazy.
“What? Don’t look at me like that! Have you never had a mountain spring-cooled watermelon?”
No, she definitely had not. “Why wouldn’t you just put it in the cooler?”
Childe scoffed. “It’s not the same. Come feel how cold the water is here!” He pulled his shoes and socks off, setting them on the bridge before he made his way back to Lumine barefoot. “You won’t regret it!”
He gingerly stepped into the stream, the water only coming up to his mid-calf. If it was cold, it didn’t seem to bother him, giving Lumine a false sense of security. She removed her socks and shoes as well, taking the hand that Childe offered her to step into the water. Before she could take that first time step, Childe suddenly yanked her forward and brought her into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her.
“Wha-” The instant her feet touched the water, she squealed and almost attempted to climb Childe like a tree to get out of that shallow water.
It was freezing cold, enough that her initial reaction was warranted. In Lumine’s mind, the only reason Childe was able to stand the temperature of the water was because he was Snezhnayan, and clearly they had inherited some kind of cold resistant genes. His response to hearse was to put his hands under her, laughing while he easily held her up.
“Oh, come on, it’s not that cold!”
The glare Lumine shot at him made the smile freeze on his face. “Take me out of the water right (((NOW))), Childe!”
“Well, do you see why I put the watermelon in there now?”
The only response he got was another glare that was icier than the water.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry,” Childe said as he carried Lumine back onto dry land where the blonde proceeded to unwrap herself from around his body.
Lumine picked up her shoes and waited for Childe to do the same as they walked barefoot back towards their campsite. The freezing cold water had helped them cool down slightly, but by the time they reached their tent, both were back to being hot and even stickier with sweat.
“What say you about going swimming?” Childe had sat down on the wooden beam that separated the raised gravel bed from the ground below it as he watched Lumine wipe her forehead. “The lake will be warmer than the stream at least but still cooler than this miserable heat.”
Once Lumine agreed, they grabbed their swimsuits and took turns changing in the tent. There wasn’t supposed to be anyone around them, but they didn’t want to take the chance that one of the rangers that patrolled the camp would come by and see them changing. That was why they took turns watching out while the other changed. It also didn’t help that the tent was small, and there wasn’t really enough room for both of them to change at the same time. Lumine went first, also applying sunblock to make sure she wouldn’t burn.
The walk to the lake took them only a few minutes once they’d changed. They walked along the path that led from the campsites, around the stream, and down to the lake. It was wider and more maintained than the one the pair had taken to the part of the stream with the small bridge, the dirt packed down to allow them to walk without hurting their feet. Neither of them had brought water shoes, mainly because Lumine didn’t know that she needed to, and Childe had forgotten his, used to going barefoot in the water.
Lumine let out a gasp when they broke the tree line and reached the gentle slope down to the lake. The sun was shining on the water of the lake, making the blonde squint. The water stretched out in front of her, and she grabbed Childe’s hand to increase their pace. There was a roped off section of the water that a nearby sign indicated it was for swimming, the ground leading up to it made of a large amount of poured and smoothed out sand that had been artificially placed to simulate a beach.
The area was truly deserted thanks to Childe spending an exorbitant amount of money. Lumine could easily imagine that it would normally be crowded by people trying to stay cool.
“It’s beautiful,” the blonde said softly, turning to smile at Childe.
Childe’s chest swelled with pride at her compliment even though it was directed at the lake and not at him, proud that his campground decision had been a positive one. Before Lumine had the chance to turn around and fully look at him, he had grabbed her from behind, lifted her up like a sack of potatoes, and made a wild dash towards the water with her squealing and laughing while scrabbling at his skin so she wouldn’t feel like she was going to fall.
Lumine squealed louder as Childe took a running leap off of the dock and plummeted them into the murky water, completely ignoring the sectioned off swimming area. The water wasn’t nearly as cold as the small stream had been, but the shock of hitting it still knocked the breath from Lumine’s lungs. She came back up to the surface of the water sputtering.
“You menace! You absolute menace!”
Childe just grinned at her, laughing at how she looked like a drowned cat or bunny, as he liked to compare her to. “Not as cold, is it?”
Lumine refused to dignify that with a response, putting her hands on top of his head and shoving him underwater instead. That instantly wiped the infuriating grin off of his face, but it soon returned once he grabbed her and tossed her in the water. The sun had helped warm the still lake to a much more tolerable temperature than the stream had been, and the pair spent quite a while just playing around in the water until Lumine noticed that her lovely fiance was turning a bit pink.
“Ajax! Did you forget to put on sunblock?” Lumine had dutifully put hers on when changing, assuming he had done the same.
The poor man froze, his eyes widening as he looked at his arms. “... fuck .”
The next few minutes were spent with the couple walking back to their campsite. By the time they reached it, Childe had turned to a very obvious shade of pink, and he winced as Lumine looked him over before grabbing the aloe ointment from her bag. It was a combination of aloe vera and sunblock, meant to protect from the sun while it healed the damage and soothed the skin that had already been burned.
“I can’t believe you forgot,” Lumine mumbled as she sat behind her lover at the gravel bed, spreading the green-tinted gel onto his back, shoulders, face, neck, and arms. “You’re ginger .”
He just sighed. “I know. I can’t believe it either.” He was already getting chilled from the sunburn setting in even though it was still so warm out.
Once Lumine finished applying the gel, she moved until she faced him, leaning forward to press a kiss on his lips, just about the only place above his waist besides his eyes that wasn’t covered in alow. “Do you want me to grill dinner so you can stay out of the sun?”
Both of them had worked up quite an appetite while swimming, and the blonde’s stomach growled loudly, making a blush appear on her face. Childe shook his head, standing up, wincing as he rolled his shoulders, the drying gel feeling sticky and uncomfortable on his skin.
“Nah, I can do it. Besides, I make the best burgers anyway.”
He barely had time to dodge the small piece of gravel that Lumine picked up and threw in his direction. Laughing, Childe began to add charcoal to the grill, getting it ready. While he waited for the coals to get hot enough to cook over, he began dinner prep with Lumine at his side. SHe handled the burger toppings while he worked with the meat, adding spices and shaping the ground beef into patties.
The pair worked together like a well-oiled machine, and it didn’t take long for them to finish. By the time all of the ingredients were prepped, they only had to wait a couple more minutes until the charcoal in the grill was hot enough.
While Childe cooked the meat, Lumine got out the rest of the components that hadn’t needed to be prepared beforehand such as the condiments and burger buns. The smell of the meat cooking only made Lumine’s stomach growl even louder, making the ginger chuckle.
“I’m almost done. Can you get the plates ready?”
Once everything was finished cooking, they each had a delicious-looking plate of burgers to share together. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the couple enjoyed it nonetheless. As they ate, the calming sound of the stream gurgling softly around the rocks accompanied them, giving a sense of serene peace.
The sun had begun to disappear behind the horizon by the time dinner was finished and all of the trash had been taken to one of the dumpsters to be thrown away. Still chilled from his sunburn, Childe busied himself with preparing his fishing equipment so that they could set out towards his favorite spot early in the morning. He wasn’t sure if Lumine actually liked to fish or if she was just content to spend time with him. Either way, he was excited.
While Childe did that, Lumine spread out their bedding, trying to make it as comfortable as possible. An air mattress that was big enough to fit both of them wouldn’t have fit in the tent, so they opted for normal sleeping bags, though they both knew that they would likely end up using one as a pallet and the other as a blanket so they could still sleep together.
“How’s it all coming along?” Childe had poked his head into the tent, evidently done prepping his fishing equipment.
Lumine motioned for him to move out of the way so she could exit the tent. “All done. I went ahead and unzipped the sleeping bags and rearranged everything so we could both fit as comfortably as possible. How are you feeling? Still chilled?”
One look from her shuddering, lobster-colored lover confirmed her suspicions. “I guess I'll just have to keep you warm tonight, then.”
She had moved to get a better look at the sky to see the stars that were beginning to be visible, and she didn’t notice Childe sneaking up on her until it was too late. He looped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest, nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck.
“I can think of a few things that would keep us warm tonight…”
Lumine just reached up behind her to tangle her hand into his hair as best she could from that angle. “Oh, stop it. Also, you’re still sticky from the aloe.” She grimaced as she felt the substance on her back.
They were still in their swimsuits, so there was a lot of skin-to-skin contact. Before Childe could further his plans of staying warm, Lumine became distracted, gasping.
“Look, fireflies!” The small insects had begun to light up their campsite, little yellow glows blinking in and out as the natural light continued to fade into the night.
That seemed to distract the ginger, and he grinned. “Follow me.” He took his fiancee’s hand, leading her once more down yet another path.
Lumine brought a small shoulder bag with them that contained a couple of flashlights, some water, and a large towel as Childe requested, following him. There was just enough light that they didn’t need the flashlights just yet. Their walk didn’t last too long, and soon enough, they broke the cover of the trees.
“Tada!” Childe said with a grin, pointing in front of them.
They had emerged from the wooded path near another part of the lake, the water stretching out in front of them. There was another dock, larger than the one they had jumped off of and swam near before.
“I used to come out here at night all the time when I was younger to look at the stars,” Childe explained as he led Lumine out onto the dock before he sat down, beckoning for her to join him after she laid out the towel for them to lie down on.
Curled up against each other as the remainder of the sunlight faded into night, they watched the stars, pointing out the constellations to one another. Right beside each other, the Viatrix and Monoceros Caeli patterns twinkled in the inky blackness of the sky, forever intertwined just as the two souls who were born under them were.
After a good while, the heat of the day lent way to the chill of the night, and Lumine was shivering as they walked back towards their campsite. She was glad that Childe had asked her to bring the flashlights since there was no artificial lighting to be found at the campgrounds except for in the restrooms.
By the time they reached their tent, Lumine’s nose was numb. Instead of opting for a fire, they decided to turn in early, crawling into their tent. Childe went first, getting comfortable while Lumine took her shoes off and slipped inside the tent. The ground was uncomfortable even though they were on top of a fairly thick, unzipped sleeping bag. They both knew they’d have aches and pains the next morning.
Instead of dwelling on that though, the two cuddled close.
Lumine could feel Childe shivering beside her, his skin extra warm from the sunburn even though he felt like he was freezing. Trying to help him, she pulled off the top layer of clothes she’d changed into before they went to the docks, slipping out of them until she was in just a think tank top and underwear. She could feel Childe staring at her in the darkness, clearly interested in what she was doing.
“Don’t get any funny ideas. I’m just trying to keep you warm,” the blonde mumbled as she was pulled into his embrace.
“Aw, you’re no fun,” Childe purred into her ear, giving her a little nip on the earlobe. “What if I need to warm up?”
Lumine turned in his arms to give him a flat stare. “The ground is too hard for that.” Before he could speak again, she covered his mouth. “Do not say it.”
She could feel Childe silently laughing in the dark, his shoulder shaking, quiet until she removed her hand from his mouth. “That’s not the only thing that’s har-” A sharp elbow jab to his diaphragm stopped him from finishing that sentence.
“What did I say?!” Her exasperated tone was clearly filled with amusement, the blonde chuckling as well, lightly rubbing where she had elbowed him.
The ground was uncomfortable, and she kept shifting where she had laid down, trying to find a position where it didn’t feel like she was trying to flatten her bones. Childe seemed to notice and suddenly pulled her onto his chest, making her gasp.
“I’m cold,” he said simply, pulling the blanket higher up over them, “and I bet this is more comfortable for you than the ground. I have been known to make a good bed, you know.”
Lumine just sighed, pressing a kiss to his lips, feeling him shivering below her. Making a decision, she lightly ran her hands up his chest to circle her arms around his neck, making him raise his eyebrows. “Well, I suppose we can have a little fun. Just don’t cover me in aloe vera.
Childe received a slap against his arm for what he responded with, and they both laughed together, two people alone in the night, basking in each other’s warmth, full of love for each other.