Love and Other Delusions | Chilumi

Vortex of Turmoil

It's been so long, it's true. Though she was asleep for a long time and probably didn't have a clear sense of time back then, she could tell it has been a while.

It's not messy by any means, but it seems more lively than usual. There were more decorations, more furniture, the room was overall well-kept.

"Paimon I can't see any of the mint, did you put them somewhere else?" She heard a voice say from the designated kitchen area.

"What? Paimon didn't touch anything from here." Paimon said. Lumine peeked from the door and saw Childe and Paimon preparing something together.

"Look, I put them in that bag last time. I know it." Childe said.

"Maybe you used them all up?" Paimon crossed her arms.

"No? I don't think I did." Childe said.

"Well Paimon didn't get anything from here." Paimon argued.

They're arguing about a simple ingredient. Lumine never thought she'd be seeing the two argue about mint but here they are.

She let out a small laugh which caught the two's attention.

"Lumine! You're here!" Childe greeted. "Weren't you at the party?"

"Well I noticed you two weren't there so I thought I should check up on you." She said.

"I told you you should've stayed behind." Childe muttered.

"And have you get all the glory? Nu-uh." Paimon whispered angrily, though it was a bit loud to consider as a whisper.

Lumine laughed once more. "And what are you two up to exactly?" She crossed her arms.

"Well, Paimon thought we should also put something on the table for you to enjoy. So Paimon made you a salad!" She said proudly.

"Yeah that's not common at all." Childe snickered.

"It's a Paimon special okay?" Paimon argued. She then flew her way to the table and brought her salad to Lumine.

"Tada! It even has a star shape carrot like Paimon's hair piece." Paimon proudly presented her dish.

There was indeed a star shaped carrot on it, however, it was poorly shaped and the proportions were off. Nevertheless, it resembled what it needed to look like.

"Aw, thanks Paimon. It looks great." Lumine said.

"Go ahead. Try it." Paimon handed her a fork and waited for her to take a bite.

"Alright." Lumine said. It was a good thing that she didn't eat much at the buffet just yet. If not, she wouldn't have been able to try it.

"Well?" Paimom waited for Lumine's reaction.

There wasn't much to say, it is, after all, a simple salad with extra carrots. "It's good." Lumine said.

Paimon turned to Childe with a smug look. "Did you hear that? Paimon's salad is good." She said.

Childe raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Well mine will be even better." He said. "Just wait for a couple more minutes."

Paimon laughed. "Well yours take much longer so that makes Paimon's better." She put her hand on her hips.

"That doesn't even make any sense." Childe said.

"Well, when did you get this close?" Lumine raised an eyebrow.

"We're not close / A while ago." They said at the same time then exchanged looks. "What he/she said." They said in unison once more.

"Lumine can you believe this guy? Trying to be your number one companion, clearly Paimon is the best companion here!" Paimon ranted.

"What? You don't even help in fights, how are you better than me?" Childe said with a taunting voice.

"Excuse me, Paimon is the best travel companion in Teyvat." Paimon crossed her arms.

"Alright break it up you two, no fighting in the kitchen." Lumine said.

"Fine." They both muttered.

Lumine then went beside Childe to check on what he was working on. "What you cookin'?" She asked, looking over his shoulder.

Childe stepped back a bit and showed her the pot. "Oh, just my specialty. I thought you might like to try it again after so long." He said rather shyly.

"I know it's as much as what the Yashiro Commission and all that prepared but I can promise the flavor packs a punch." Childe said confidently.

"But you don't have to eat it all of course, I don't want you to force yourself since you're still recovering." He added. "Plus I did cook extra so we could bring some for the others too."

"That sounds wonderful." Lumine said. "I'd love to eat them."

Childe smiled. "Well, I'll go back to the party once this is done. You two should head back before the Yashiro commissioner notices that you've been away for so long."

"Will do." Paimon nodded, so did Lumine.

On their way out, Paimon gave Lumine a very tight hug. "Paimon didn't get to say this earlier but... Paimon's really happy that you're here again." She said.

"I never left." Lumine said jokingly.

"You know what Paimon means." Paimon said angrily stomping her feet on the air.

Lumine laughed and hugged her too. "I know. I'm just messing with you."

The two made it back just in time before someone was sent to check on them. "I was worried that something might've happened to you back there." Ayaka commented.

"Oh I just got a little caught up talking to Paimon." Lumine shrugged. "Oh and we might have an extra dish that will be served tonight so don't get too full." She said.

"Really? I thought this was all that was prepared?" Ayaka said, looking at all the food on the table. "It's already pretty excessive if you ask me." She added.

"Yeah well..." Lumine paused. "It's someone's specialty so I wouldn't want to miss it if I were you." She said.

Ayaka looked at the traveler and then to the crowd. Someone who stood out was no where to be found. She then smiled, understanding the situation.

"I see. Is that why you've been holding back on eating a lot?" She asked with a smirk.

Lumine laughed nervously. "No, I don't think I can each that much anyway. It's merely a coincidence." She said.

Ayaka laughed. "If you say so." She said.