Much to y/n's disappointment, she couldn't really stay at the Tavern for long.
Though she did like working there, having a job all the way in Mondstadt would be quite difficult.
She'd saved up a lot of mora so taking care of herself and Haiyang wouldn't be difficult, at least until she could finish this "thinking" thing.
Today, she was relaxing for once, having planned a picnic for her and Haiyang.
Y/n had cooked for hours, only allowing Haiyang to help by going out and fetching some groceries.
Unfortunately, y/n couldn't make as many dishes from home because if her lack of lavender melons and sea grass but she could improvise.
"Can I open my eyes yet?" Haiyang asked as y/n guided him by his free hand, the other carrying the basket of food.
"Not yet, Sui."
Haiyang grumbled but didn't protest, allowing himself to be dragged. It was kinda scary to see how much he trusted y/n. To be honest, the young lady was worried for him.
Shouldn't gods be a bit less trusting?
While she was here worrying about him, Haiyang was wondering if he should actually try to stay Childe and Zhongli next time they came near y/n.
Oh? You thought y/n was the one attacking them with a spear?
Nope. It was Haiyang.
He'd innocently ask y/n to infuse a spear with electro energy to supposedly catch a boar. Seconds later, he would go outside and throw the thing as hard as he could.
Each time, the amount of centimeters between the spear and Childe plus Zhongli slowly decreased.
One of these days, Haiyang was actually going to hit them. And when he did, would dump their bodies into the sea.
"Here we are!" y/n exclaimed, "You can open your eyes now, hehe!"
Haiyang opened his eyes and blinked.
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"It's beautiful..." he murmured, staring out at the harbor and the sea.
"Haha, I'm glad you like it!" y/n chimed, smiling sweetly before clapping her hands together, "Can you do me a favor and set things up? I'm gonna go see if I can find some chili peppers!"
"Alright!" Haiyang exclaimed, eyes sparkling a little with determination.
Y/n had given him a task, he wasn't going to screw up! No way!
...
Okay, so the blanket y/n brought was awfully aggressive. Laying it out on the ground would be very difficult.
As Haiyang was fumbling around with the blanket, y/n was searching for the chili peppers. She eventually found some.
As she was gathering some, she couldn't help but notice someone nearby. When y/n saw the blond hair, she immediately assumed it was Aether and prepared to retreat.
But...
The individual turned, glancing at y/n. Ohh, it was a girl! She looked an awful lot like Aether, y/n almost thought it was him!
"Oh! Hello there!" y/n greeted with a smile, waving to the girl, "Haha, you scared me for a second there!"
The girl blinked then awkwardly waved back, "My bad. I didn't mean to."
"It's fine, really!" y/n exclaimed, "Out for a walk? Strolls during the afternoon are quite relaxing, aren't they?"
"Ah... they are." the girl replied quietly.
There was an awkward silence.
"I'm Y/n! You are?"
"...Lumine."
"Lumine..." y/n repeated then beamed, "I like your name! It's pretty!"
Lumine's cheeks were tinted with pink and she nodded, "Thank you, y/n."
"Of course! Y'know... you sound a little stressed. Exhausted, even." y/n commented.
"I do?"
"Mhm! I can hear it!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Please don't take that the wrong way, I just have a very good sense of hearing-"
"I figured." Lumine replied simply.
"If you're stressed, I recommend making tea! I recommend Matcha! It's really good!" y/n said with a blissful expression, "I haven't had it in a long time... but it does help reduce stress! At least it does for me. You should try it!"
"I'll think about it." Lumine replied with a nod and a small smile, "Thank you for the recommendation, y/n."
Y/n nodded, "No problem! I should probably get going. Sui is probably wondering where I am-"
"Sui...?"
"It's a name someone close to me came up with for someone special to them. I just use it as a nickname for my friend." y/n replied then smiled sheepishly, "He was never a creative person when it came to thinking of names."
"...?"
"I'll be going now! Bye-bye!"
"Bye..."
~~~ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ•°*
Haiyang did a surprisingly good job, looking extremely proud of himself when y/n returned and thanked him.
"Here! Try this first!" y/n exclaimed, holding out a food Haiyang didn't recognize, "It's onigiri!"
Haiyang blinked at it before dragging y/n's hand closer by her wrist and tentatively nibbling on the rice ball.
A look of shock was on y/n's face as Haiyang hummed quietly, uttering a, "It's good." before taking another bite without bothering to hold it himself.
He hadn't eaten anything aside from fish in a while. Y/n cooked a lot of fish-based meals when he was with her so it was the first time in a while that he'd had something else.
Haiyang's steel blue eyes met y/n's and he blinked, noticing her look of shock.
'Ah, right.' he thought, 'Feeding each other is something couples do... that would explain her flustered look.'
The God's lips quirked up into a small smirk, 'It wouldn't hurt to tease her a little.'
Y/n's soul almost left her body as Haiyang finished off the onigiri and licked off the remaining grain of rice on her finger.
"That was very good. Thank you, y/n." Haiyang said with an innocent smile, giving no sign that he'd been teasing her.
As far as she knew, he just did it because he liked the food.
"I-I'm glad you liked it!" y/n stammered before hastily trying to decide what to give Haiyang next, "What do you wan to eat next-?"
As y/n began frantically rambling, face feeling unbearably hot, she didn't notice Haiyang's look of amusement.
