A Place and A Home

"Cmon you two, I apologized already didn't I? I even gave you some of the delicacies that I had saved." I said with a wry smile, to the duo that is currently glaring at me.

"It isn't enough, there's no saying that this would be the last time this happens after all." She only harrumphed in return.

"That's right, that's right!" Don't worry, I didn't forget you, little demon.

"It's just an emergency, I promise it wouldn't happen frequently." Sly and slick.

"Frequently? So you won't stop?" Damn, she caught me.

"..." I decided to keep quiet, but she didn't stop glaring at me.

"Ah! Look at the time! We should go now. It would be better if we witnessed him coming out personally." Since there's no lesson to be learned, I decided to teleport us again without informing them first.

" "Ahhhhhh!!!" " I screamed with them because it seemed fun!

"...Phew! Warn us first you slit-eyed god! I hope you won't be able to open your eyes for a while!" Paimon cursed as she was able to float at the last minute. I on the other hand, landed successfully, and readied my arms to catch the falling Lumine.

"Gotcha!" And I did, perfectly at that.

"Dear heavens, I can't believe it! A heavenly angel fell into my arms!!!" I posed with one of my arms, as the other embraced her tightly. It didn't take long for my magnificent performance to turn her into a blushing mess.

"It's already dark outside to be daydreaming, we can do anything you were currently thinking later though~." I awakened the dazed Lumine with an additional tease.

"L-Let me go Ziya! Put me down!" Not really that convincing if you're stuttering with a flustered expression. I let her down, but only after fully satisfying myself with a quick peck on her cheek. There shouldn't be anyone spying on me now, but for some reason, I got goosebumps.

"W-Wha-! Don't take advantage of the situation!" A sword came at me, but too bad, I already expected it. I parried it and unarmed her quickly, before hugging her from behind.

"Don't be so feisty Lumi-Lumi, we'll have enough time later~." I patted her head as I embraced her, to calm the princess down.

"You can't take Lumine away from me as long as I'm here!" Paimon's loud mouth helped her come to her senses and she quickly got out of my hold. She opened her mouth for a few times, but decided not to say anything, hence the silence.

The world didn't seem fond of the quiet atmosphere as the rift that I saw with my clairvoyance finally opened. I may not be able to see anything of the abyss, but it's another matter when it appears on my domain, specifically, all of Inazuma.

Our crew kept staring at it until finally, an exhausted man came out, only to be shocked by our presence.

"Dainsleif?!!!" Lumine finally snaps from mumbling to herself. Too bad, I didn't hear a single thing as I was focused on the rift.

"Ehhh?! Your old friend is...is... Dainsleif?!!!" Is that supposed to be a burn? I have male friends too, you know!!!

"Yo! ...You finally grew some balls and even looked a bit badass now aren'tcha kid?!" A normal greeting should suffice for this reunion.

"...You really came back?" He asked in disbelief.

"No shit Sherlock!" He's probably thinking who tf is Sherlock now.

"...You too, you changed a bit old man. A bit brighter than you used too I guess..."

"Guh!!!" His slight smile didn't last as he started coughing blood. I immediately stopped his injuries, but it still needs special treatment as we can only be too careful against abyssal energy.

"Don't push yourself."

"Suicide is badass! ... But only if its me." I showed a wide smirk before ending in laughter.

"You really need to say that?..."

"Stop it, it brings back bad memories." I only continued my laughter as he grimaced.

"What are you two talking about?" Lumine chimed in while Paimon only nodded in agreement.

"Oh, right. I didn't tell you about that."

"I'll tell you once we had time... or maybe Dainsleif can tell you his version of it later." It took some persuading, but he agreed in the end. Keeping information from the traveler will only damage our trustworthiness. 

Dainsleif was able to move for a bit and hurriedly closed the rift with his newfound powers after the Cataclysm. So that's how it works... I can use that, or him for it.

"So? Do you have a place in mind?" I asked the homeless man.

"Not really, I mostly goes travelling until I found some important traces of the Abyss Order." I heard of it, and ironically, the leader is our favorite traveler's brother, which sucks... for her.

"Then stay in Inazuma for now until you recuperate. You can pay me back with interest later once I had something in mind." Cmon now, there's no way I'm helping him for free.

"Can you let me go this once? For the reunion or something?" I only released my usual smile in response.

"Thought so..." You're paying or all this work ain't worth it. I then teleported us back to the castle, which surprised him, but the duo only deadpanned at me for not warning them... again.

"Why are you so exhausted anyway? Did you had a fight with my brother?" Lumine asked anxiously.

"Nothing of sorts. For some odd reason, an earthquake started in the Abyss which made me hurry on opening a rift back to Teyvat, leaving me exhausted." I wonder why...

"That is really unusual... But there's no need to think too much about it. If it didn't happen we wouldn't meet after all." I slyly stated. I had a feeling Lumine just thought 'What a bastard- No no... My kind Lumi-Lumi wouldn't think of something like that. That flying devil definitely did though.

"That's because-" But before Paimon succeeded in exposing me. My lovely Makoto appeared at the perfect timing. Just according to keikaku (TN: Keikaku means plan).

"Come with me Dain-chan and let's get you healed up okay?!" The former archon then proceeded to drag Dainsleif mercilessly. He tried to signal me for help, but I only gave him a thumbs up, which resulted in him firing the middle finger. There was a moment of silence before Lumine then talked.

"I don't like how you do things but I don't hate you..." I didn't notice that Lumine was glaring the whole time I was focused on manipulating the situation as usual.

"Then since we're alone now, I have something to offer for you." I didn't bother playing around as I told her the same offer I gave to Kokomi, Sara and Ayaka. 

I took a shot even though I estimated that the chances of her accepting were 50-50. Before she noticed how I do things, it was around 80 percent with all the action I did to get closer to her.

"You do understand that If I refuse, our connection would be strained right?" A traveler must travel. I thoroughly understand that.

"I can say the same to you." It's my last ditch effort, then all that's left are forceful methods. She should be having flashbacks of all of our moments until now. All I can do is wait for an answer. Paimon isn't even saying anything, as she senses that the situation is too serious for her.

"Sigh* I believe that you're a good person... so I'll trust you Ziya-" She answers with a complicated expression.

"Master."

"Zi-"

"Master."

"...Mas-ster..." Tsunderes are hard to handle. Phew!

"Thank you for trusting me, I promise to not betray it. I won't stop you from traveling, but remember that you now have a home to come back to." I showed her a genuine smile for once. She continued to stare at me before staring away with a blush. I got closer and traced her face until it landed on her lips.

"Since you trust me now... Can we now deepen our bond Lumi-Lumi~" I cupped her face and directly stared at her eyes with a teasing smile. After a few seconds, she then took Paimon and ran away hurriedly with a red face.

"How troublesome... You can run all you want, but you can't escape my clutches... Lumine." I whispered as I walked slowly, heading for my workshop.