After The Ending [Ayalumi]

After the ending

It was finally all over. She had her brother back after such a long time, after so many sacrifices. She should prepare to leave for the next world with Aether, that's what she's been fighting for for so long afterall. Yet, now that she finally had what she wanted, she couldn't bring herself to bid goodbye to Teyvat, especially not to a certain someone. It had been a while since her last visit to Inazuma and Lumine missed Ayaka like crazy. She couldn't just leave like that, without even seeing her one last time, but she feared that if she went back for a goodbye, she would never be able to actually leave. 

She was currently sitting down on her bed in the Serenitea Pot, reminiscing about all the times she and the Shirasagi Himegimi spent together. From the moment they first met, to the events of the Irodori Festival and that one time Ayaka dressed up as a character from a light novel, the Traveler remembered it all so vividly. She treasured those memories and wished she would've created more with her before leaving Teyvat. Alas, their time together had run out before she knew it.

Just then, her brother walked in the room to check up on her. She was supposed to be taking the things she needed for their next trip and Aether was there to assist her so they wouldn't waste as much time. However, Lumine was too caught up in her thoughts to bother with that. Aether's presence and voice snapped her out of her trance.

"Lumine, I was wondering if you were ready to-" Aether cut himself when he noticed the state of his sister. "Is something wrong?"

She almost felt bad for worrying her brother with something so trivial and while she wanted to lie to him that everything was alright and that she was only tired, she couldn't bring herself to it. She couldn't even bear to look at him in the eye. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Aether sitting down on the bed next to her and placing a hand on her back.

"You can tell me if something is bothering you, we'll fix it together." She couldn't help but feel guilty hearing his words. After all she did so they can travel again together like they used to, all she wanted was to teleport straight to Ayaka and never leave her side again. She had suspected that she held feelings of that kind for the silver-haired girl, she knew nothing would come out of it and didn't pursue any sort of relationship, hoping that her feelings would slowly fade away until they would eventually disappear and maybe she would even manage to forget about Ayaka entirely. A big part of her, however, didn't want any of that. 

She slowly turned her head to her side to finally look at Aether. A look of worry was on his face as he waited for her to say something, anything. "I think... I don't want to leave Teyvat." She finally whispered, ashamed. She felt as if she was betraying her sibling and the life of travels they shared, but she couldn't control her emotions. But even if she somehow could, she would still choose to feel that way about Ayaka, nothing could compare to the way that elegant lady made her feel. It was a feeling like a blessing and a curse tangled into one. A blessing, because she made her feel like nothing bad existed in the vast universe, like it was only her and Ayaka in a peaceful world, Ayaka felt like her home. At the same time, it was a curse, because every hour she spent away from her felt like torture, because the 'Princess' occupied her mind every day, all day. 

"Why not?" Her brother was certainly taken aback by her answer, Aether was sure that she wanted to leave this world more than he did, turns out he was wrong...

"Because of someone. There's someone I don't want to leave." She retorted to Aether's inquire and at that moment, he slightly widened his eyes surprised. His sister wasn't one to get attached to the people in the countless worlds they met, that was something he was more inclined to do.

"I see... Do you love that person, Lumine?" That was a question the blonde girl was afraid to answer, she struggled to admit it, but she secretly knew she did love Ayaka deeply.