Work Text:
Orientation Day
Yoimiya's major for her masters is electric engineering, so even though her and Lumine study at the same campus, her orientation is in a different buildings. The two girls had been up early, picking out their outfits and hyping each other up for their first semester of their advanced degrees. They had done their undergrad together in Inazuma, but were excited for a new chapter in Sumeru. The nerves have dispersed a bit, but Lumine is definitely a bit on edge. She checks her smartphone, pulling up the map of the campus and navigating to the building where her introductory event is scheduled. The class for biomedical engineering doesn't seem to be too big, the lecture hall for the event has about 60 seats. Lumine made sure to be there a bit earlier, so she has free choice where to sit. She takes a deep breath, remembering her vow to try and make new friends, so she heads to the third row where a small group has gathered already.
They're chatting casually, so Lumine dares to interrupt, smiling kindly, "Hi!, do you mind if I sit with you? I'm Lumine". The blonde girl closest to her energetically stands up, introducing herself as Jahoda, promptly giving her three kisses on the cheek. A taller woman chuckles, "Jahoda, I don't think Lumine is from Nod Krai, this type of greeting might be uncommon here". Jahoda's eyes widen in shock, almost cartoonish, "Oh my gosh, Nefer, you're right!!! I'm sorry Lumine". Lumine laughs softly, reassuring Jahoda. If they become friends this would be a hillarious story to tell. Nefer excuses herself, mentioning that she's already doing her PhD, but was Jahoda's supervisor for past projects, and wanted to see her off on her first day.
There are other people in the group, some sitting down already, others standing, introducing themselves, all with names that give Lumine the impression that she's joined the Nod Krai fraction. Since the seats are arranged in rows, Lumine hasn't been able to see everyone, so she leans forward a bit. She wouldn't want to be rude and miss anyones introduction. When she does, she sees a tall guy in a black sweater, with dark black hair that looks almost purple. He has tired eyes, but the corners of his lips move up in an almost smile. Lumine had heard before that people from Nod Krai, generally the north, tend to be a bit more reserved. To her surprise he stands up from his seat, moving towards her. From the past introduction to the other girls, lumine has gathered that three kisses to the cheek are a custom greeting, so she straigtens a bit (He'sis quite a bit taller than the other women).
He does bow lightly in front of her, but instead of coming to kiss her cheek, he reaches for her hand, ghosting his lips over her knuckles. Lumine genuinely worries for a moment that she might pass out. Looking up through his messy hair, he introduces himself as Flins. Lumine's spell is broken when Jahoda whines, "Fliiiins, you're so old. Who still does introductions like that. And why didn't you great me like that?". "I already know you", he replies deadpan, returning to his seat. Lumine later learns that Flins took a break from studying after his Bachelors degree and had been working in the industry before returning for his Masters.
Lumine leans over to Jahoda, "Do you mind explaining the greeting culture to me? I studied in Inazuma, so I'm a bit lost.". Jahoda nods thoughtfully, and seeing that some other students joined their group, she exclaims loudly, "Guyssss, we should do formal introductions. Maybe with your name, where you're from, and how you greet others?". Jahoda must definitely be member of some kind of student group, Lumine thinks, this much enthusiasm and social charisma would be wasted otherwise. They decide to move to the front of the room where there are no chairs. They have 15 more minutes before the formal event kicks of anyway.
"I'll go first~. I'm Jahoda from Nod Krai, but I've done my Bachelors here. If women meet each other at home, they give each other three kisses on the cheek" (That explains the initial way she greeted Lumine)
"Hii... I'm Aino. I'm just here to learn about the different faculties, I'm still finishing high school. For me it's the same with greetings as Jahoda" (Lumine had been wondering about Aino, since she looked so young)
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Ineffa, I'm supervising Aino today. I have kind of a mixed background. My prefered greeting is just nodding the head." (The girl was nice, but a bit robotic or shy)
"Greetings, I am Kyryll Chudomirovich Flins, for simplicity's sake, you can just call me Flins. That's my surname. I'm from far up north, I realize our customs may seem a bit dated. For women, a bow and kiss of the hand, and amongst men a nod of the head are considered appropriate".
Some others introduce themselves too, and Lumine is excited to see people from all over Teyvat. Inazuma was quite isolated, so she's eager to learn about the different cultures.
"Nice to meet you", Lumine smiles when it's her turn, "I'm Lumine. I grew up all over the place, but I did my Bachelors in Inazuma, meaning a bow is the preferred greeting". She lightly bows to the round, "I hope we all get along well!".
Second week
The first week had mainly been introductions, how to orient yourself around campus, presentations by student associations (Jahoda is indeed head of external affairs for one of them). Lumine's bag is full of flyers, and her head full of information, but after her first proper day in week two, she's so excited to catch up over a warm cup of coffee with Yoimiya. They decided to plan regular study sessions in one of the libraries, so that they wouldn't lose sight of each other during busy study weeks. "How are your classmates so far?", Lumine asks, and Yoimiya giggles as a result. GIGGLES!
"So far everyone is quite nice, we're all a bunch of nerds so it's fun to talk. There's a girl who already has a supervisor for her master thesis, and we only started last week. She's into thermal engineering, cryo conducting and that. She's from Inazuma, so we've been kind of close since the start", Yoimiya explains. Lumine smirks knowingly, "So what's her name? I at least want to know who'll replace me as your number one."
"It's Ayaka", Yoimiya whispers. Lumine nods sagely. She'll be meeting her soon enough, seeing that Yoimiya is also a very extroverted girl and always happy to bring friends together.
"What about you, Lumi?", Yoimiya asks, sipping on her latte.
"It's been nice. I told you about the introduction day, right?" - "YES! How could I not remember Mr. Hand Kiss" - "That's just his customs, don't read into it too muuuch~", Lumine whines. Truth be told, she's totally been crushing on Flins, his collected demeanor, quite confidence, good style, deep eyes, ..
"Earth to Lumine!" - Lumine startles out of her trance, "Sorry", she blushes, "But moving on - I've been hanging out with the students from Nod Krai a lot, it's been so cool learning about their backgrounds.". Yoimiya raises an eyebrow, "Their backgrounds, huh. I bet you're just trying to gain some intel on You-know-who. We really need a code name for him".
Lumine pouts. It's not like that's her only motive, she does genuinely enjoy talking to everyone. That some of her questions are specifically designed to gain more information about Flins is just a lucky coincidence. Academic rigor. Compeltely appropriate and socially sound!
Third week
It's Thursday, meaning that there are only lectures in the morning, the afternoon is free. Most students are using it to search for a thesis topic or do some self-study. Lumine had looked at the open thesis topics early in the first week, and already applied to an open one. The supervisor asked her to come by today during lunch so that they could discuss it further. Lumine enters the lab on the third floor, and before she can fully enter she notices a tall figure in a lab coat at one of the benches. "Good afternoon, Flins", she greets, recognizing him quickly. Flins isn't looking up, currently preparing a mix of liquids. He rasps out a vague "Mhh", which Lumine interprets to mean something along the lines of "Hi, I'm concentrated right now", so she heads to the supervisor's office that she spotted at the back of the room.
The talk with the supervisor goes well, she's impressed with Lumine's wide range of prior experiences, and tells her that if she wants this thesis, she can confirm it to her until next Monday. "Ah, and you may know Flins? He's a quiet guy, but I'm sure you can come to him if you have any questions about this lab" the supervisor adds to her goodbye.
Lumine smiles when she walks out, and sees Flins leaning against one of the counters. She raises her hand and gives a wave, which he acknowledges with a nod of his head. "Did you eat yet?", Flins asks. Lumine shakes her head, "Not yet, I was going to grab something now and then do a bit of studying. What about you?". Flins shakes his head, and explains that he works as a lab tech on Thursdays. "But there's not much to do today. Mind if I join you for lunch?". Lumine nods and smiles slightly. Internally she's screaming and blushing furiously, so she feels quite proud that externally she's presenting calmly.
The cafeteria is very crowded, both with people coming to or leaving their lunch break. Flins strides ahead, gesturing Lumine to stay behind him, while he's guiding them through the crowd. Lumine has a quiet hope that they may never find a seat and can walk around like this forever. She's perfectly content staring at his back for hours.
They do find a table and chat casually during lunch, coming onto the topic of hobbies. Lumine asks Flins if he watches any shows, to which he replies, "No. Not really. I do like graphic novels though" - "What kind?" - "Everything. I'm not too picky, for me it's mainly about the visual aspect, so I can enjoy almost every story. What about you?". Lumine laughs, "I really got into anime in Inazuma. It's kind of embrassing, but I really like high school romances". Flins tilts his head, looking at her with those calm eyes, "How come?", he asks.
"I'm not sure. I guess there's something melancholic about it. We never stayed in one place for long when I was in school, so for me those type of romances seem like they just can't happen anymore, now that we're in the adult world. I think there's something bittersweet about this youthful kind of yearning, the wondering what if, what if not. Not sure if that makes sense though, haha".
Flins had tilted his head during Lumine's explanation, noding every now and then. "Do you have any recommendations? A lot of those anime are based on manga or graphic novels, I might like them". Lumine is a bit shy (since she feels a bit childish for liking that genre), but writes some titles on a sticky note, handing it to Flins. He folds the paper and places it in the breast pocket of his jacket gently, almost conspiratory.
Fourth and fifth week
Lectures and studying have taken up the majority of Lumine's mental capacity, but somehow she still finds herself thinking about Flins for a large percentage of her day.
In their 8 AM lecture on Monday morning she's sitting next to Flins. They both chose the same special lecture, so the group is much smaller. Lumine had stayed up late on Sunday to watch the new episode of an anime that was released, and is feeling all the more tired today. She yawns and raises her arms above her head for a big stretch. Her eyes are closed, but she feels her sweater move up, exposing her stomach. She only feels the cold for a short bit, and when she opens her eyes she sees Flins jacket bunched up in her lap, covering her midriff. She looks at him with red ears, but he just shrugs, saying "'s cold", as if that explained everything. She keeps the jacket on her lap throughout class, enjoying the warmth and the posessive feeling in her chest.
When she retuns from the restroom in the short break she finds a warm cup of coffee on her desk, a matching one on Flins desk. She secretly takes a picture of it, texting it to Yoimiya with the caption "He just put that there. No comment. WHY AM I SWOONING OVER THIS", to which she gets a text back that just reads "Delulu".
On Wednesday the Nod Krai group is having lunch together, they all have different specialied laboratory classes in the afternoon, and wanted to eat together because of it. Jahoda asked Lumine to join, who was more than happy to.
When they finished eating and everyone is packing up their bags, Flins asks across the table, "Lumine, where's your next class?" - "Building 3, I think it's in the biosafety labs" - "I'll walk you then, my class is nearby". Lumine smiles cheerfully, happy for some shared time walking across campus. When they left the desk, Jahoda rolls her eyes and whispers to Nefer, "He's so forgetful, his class is across campus in building 17". Nefer chuckles, "I don't think he forgot, you know?", but doesn't explain any further when Jahoda begs her with an excaggerated pout to explain what she meant by that.
Yoimiya and Lumine have their usual study date on Friday, quietly enjoying the shared time in the library. Lumine's absorbed in her paper, when some apples, nuts, and small chocolates are gently placed in between her and Yoimiya. Lumine glances up to see Flins quietly smiling down on her and whispering, "I was just walking by and thought you could use some energy. Keep working hard", and he's gone as fast as he came. Lumine needs to cover Yoimiya's mouth with her hands to stop her from Wooo-ing loudly and distrubing any of the other students. When she calms down, she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, "I think the fairy prince has left you an offering". Lumine blushes, both at the suggestion, and the fact that fairy prince has become their code name for Flins. It suits him.
Lumine learns that Flins joined the volleyball club when she sees him walking out of the gym in his practice clothes. Her head is immediately filled with him in all sorts of poses inspired by animes she watches (A particular fave is tossing his sweaty hair out of his face, to get ready for the next ball with a concentrated look). "How was practice?" Lumine asks, to stop herself from quietly staring at him for too long like the total weirdo that she is. "Good. We actually have an informal tournament on the weekend." he adds, "Will you join?" - "Ah, I don't play volleyball at all", Lumine replies hesitantly - "You don't have to play. Come cheer for me?". Lumine wonders if she has accumulated a lot of good karma to deserve these opportunities. She agrees, and Flins says he'll text her the details when he's home. It's almost ridiculous how Lumine is staring at her phone, waiting for the notification all afternoon.
____
One day she calls Yoimiya for an emergency meeting. "He's just so... URGH", Lumine groans, hiding her face in her palms. Yoimiya is quietly watching while snacking on a chocolate bar. They decided that talking outside was safest, in case they might be overheard in a cafe or the library. "Everyone says that he is always serious and quiet, but are they blind? You can totally tell when he's smiling, reserved sure, but you can see high eyebrow rise or when he moves his mouth to hide a laugh", Lumine rambles, "And he's always so elusive, but I'm somehow always running into him. That can't be a coincidence, right?" - "You are in the same major, isn't it kind of normal to see each other a lot?" - "Not like this! At least to me. Yoimiya, be honest, do you think it's obvious that I have a crush on him?" Lumine is looking at her friend with puppy eyes.
Yoimiya chews slowly, moving her finger to her jaw in a thinking gesture, inhaling deeply to build anticipation, "Oh yeah. He totally knows", she says deadpan.
Lumine buries her face in her hands again, "Then why does it all feel so uncertain? I'm blushing and worrying, I feel like I'm back in" her voice lowers, "school...". Could it be, she dares think to herself, that he's doing this on purpose?
She shares this thought with Yoimiya, who calls her delusional, but asks her to present some evidence for her theory. After Lumine tells her what's been happening in the last weeks (offering to walk her to class, brining study snacks, inviting her to cheer for him at a tournament), Yoimiya looks less doubtful, but still thoughtful, "Yeah, it totally seems he's totally courting you like you're ina romance anime. But you said he's from the north right? I'm just wondering" she grins cheekily, "If it's maybe normal northern courting behavior". Lumine feels herself blushing as usual, dismissing the comment. Maybe they're just misunderstanding the culture, and this is all totally platonic.
Meanwhile
Jahoda is strolling around the library and notices Flins from behind. Ever the dilligent student, she thinks, glancing at his desk. She's considering asking him for some help on a topic, when she notices what's on his screen. He's... watching anime in the library? Jahoda has to do a double take, but indeed, he has a notebook open, two novels with several sticky note marks, and on his screen he's playing an anime. Is he in a new club? or trying to relate to the youth of today by learning about pop-culture? Well, not that Jahoda needs to know, but she has some suspicions... Time for an investigation.
"Yo", she whispers, but Flins doesn't even flinch, always put together and calm, "What are you doing, gramps?". She's taken to calling him that after learning he was her senior, and given his odd behaviors. "Research" Flins replies without moving a muscle, as if he's completely serious. Jahoda rolls her eyes, "Well it's clearly not for class, so what is it for???", she asks. "For who", Flins corrects and his eyes do something weird. To Jahoda it looks like a weird concealed grimace, "You know what", she sighs, "I don't need to know. You're weird like this", and leaves him be.
Flins has a crysis that he didn't necessarily expect having to face in his adult life. He's been searching for the perfect kabedon opportunity. He has found in his research that most behavior in romance animes is completely aligned with what he would consider appropriate and comes easily to him. He's found with certainity that kabedon is quintessential for a romance... but what if that's too violent? He's no longer 14, and being cornered by a grown man could be scary, or come off as try hard. He's even sketched blue prints for different scenarios, but everything feels intimidating or even predatory. In real life, those types of behavior just don't align with his values at all. It's customary to court with manners, gently, maybe a bit teasing, but always proper and respectful. He exhales... he still has to do more research, he thinks.
_____
Lumine has found herself in a study group this Thursday afternoon. Flins finished work in the lab early, and joined them. Yoimiya had brought along Ayaka, and Jahoda was loud enough for two people. When Flins joined them Lumine immediately moved to the side so he'd have some more space, which he took as an invite to sit next to her. While Lumine moved her stuff over, her sweater that she'd placed beside her fell from the chair. Before she can fully bend back to pick it up, Flins has also reached down to grab it for her, caging her. Their eyes meet for a painfully long second, in which Lumine's brain kindly provides enough suggestive images to fill her head for the next days. He grabs the sweater and straightens himself, Lumine following suit. He folds the garment neatly, reaches around Lumine's back and places it over the back of the chair, brushing her back as he does. Lumine knows that her homework today will not be done well, too flustered to even find the right document for several minutes.
After spending about an hour diligently studying stealing glances at Flins and trying to slow her racing heart whenever their legs brush against each other, Lumine clears her throat and quitely announces that she'll refill her water bottle. Flins grabs his own (full) bottle and says he'll join her, "The water I have is stale" he explains. Jahoda is rolling her eyes and secretly signaling that's a total lie to Yoimiya and Ayaka who both grin.
Lumine is filling her bottle at the fountain, Flins standing next to her, leaned against the wall, quietly looking at her. Before her bottle is completely full, Lumine abruptly places it down, says "Screw this", turning to Flins, pushing him further against the wall and slamming her hand next to his head, "Are you ever going to make a move or not then?" she demands fiercly. Flins face might look neutral to onlookers, but Lumine can see his eyes widening slighelty, eyebrows raised. She continues "I'm going crazy like this! Are you flirting or are you just like that. You should make your intentions clear, or-"
She's interrupted when he grabs her face leaning down, pressing his lips onto hers. The hand she had propped against the wall relaxes, falling against his neck and tangling in his hair. He parts from her, eyes half closed and whispers against her lips, "Date me". It's not phrased as a question, but Lumine whispers back "Yes" and their lips connect again. That's one way to make one's intentions clear.
When they walk back to the study table Jahoda looks up, squinting her eyes. She's never seen Flins looking like that, it's almost scary to her, "Did you DRUG HIM?" she shrieks. Someone in the library shushes her. "No seriously though", Yoimiya whispers, "he looks so serene, like he's seen heaven". Lumine's cheeks are furiously blushing red when she signals her friends closer and whispers something. Yoimiya leans back with an impressed look on her face, "Reverse Kabedon? Nice job", giving a thumbs up at Lumin and Flins. Lumine has rarely felt so embarassed, trying to bury herself in her hands, but is pulled to Flins chest. He rests his head on hers, and Jahoda has the second shock of the day. The man's smirking is seriously scary.