One step at a time, me

After resting for some time, the two of us stood up and moved on to doing what we were planning to in the first place, much to my reluctance, as Lumine dragged me into the center of the room before bringing over the surprisingly undisturbed pile of clothes she brought with her.

Thankfully, during the time that I was out cold, she's pretty much dealt with the majority of the cleanup, which was nice, though I couldn't decide whether to be amazed or concerned that she's even prepared to deal with something like this.

Now, the only thing to be worried about would be whether the entire store managed to hear us given how loud we were undoubtedly being.

And judging by the fact that we're still here and have yet to be dragged away for public indecency, then it's safe to assume that we've dodged the bullet this time around.

In any case, now with everything hopefully swept under the rug, I was left standing naked in the middle, staring into my own reflection as Lumine cheerfully hummed a tune while browsing through the numerous selections she had on her hand.

'It barely itches now. More so than before. I wonder why?'

During the week we've been out adventuring, on the rare moments that we managed to have time for just us two, Lumine proposed that, in order to deal with the constant itch I get when looking in the mirror, I should 'face my fear head on' and accustom myself to the sensation as much as I could.

'I think they call it exposure therapy or something.'

Surprisingly, it worked. Obviously it wasn't an instantaneous cure – as much as I would like that to be the case – but the decrease in sensation was noticeable enough that I'm more than happy to continue doing this for as long as I need to.

It's a surprising improvement, but certainly a welcomed one.

'What could've brought this on, though?'

The moment I stared directly into the mirror the first time around was during the sudden outburst I had. Even then, that shouldn't really make much of a difference since I didn't do anything that would warrant such a drastic change.

'If that's the case, the only thing I can think of that might have done something would be….'

…

'…surely, there's no way right?'

…

'…yeah right. There's no way something so ridiculous could possibly have that positive of an effect.'

…

'…just in case though… it wouldn't hurt to explore the possibility. In the astronomical chance that it works, there's no harm in trying, right?'

…

'...it's certainly not because I enjoy it or anything. Nope. This has nothing to do with that. Not at all.'

"Here you go."

The sudden call coming from my right broke me out of my thoughts. Looking over to the source of the voice, I saw Lumine holding onto a rather tall and neatly stacked pile of clothing on her hand

"Try these ones first, and we'll slowly move towards the rest."

"...this much?"

Taking the clothes from her hand, I briefly looked through it and saw a single pair of black clothes alongside a set of robes and skirts of different colors.

"Mmhm. And those are just the first couple of sets or so by the way, we still have a lot more to go through." She said, pointing towards the pile on top of the cart.

Despite how many of them she handed over to me, it doesn't seem like it made a dent on the overall amount.

"While we won't be buying every single one, it'll be a waste to not have something to remember them by, don't you think?" Pulling the Kamera out of her inventory, Lumine proceeded to put it aside before making her way next to me.

"Seriously…?"

"Mmhm." Deftly pulling a pair of white robe and skirt alongside some black clothing out of my hand, she gave it a once over before nodding her head in satisfaction. "Let's start then. Don't worry, I'll be helping you throughout the entire thing."

"Thanks, I guess."

Without any more dilly-dallying, she told me the proper way to put these on according to what the employee from before told her. As it turns out, it's nothing overly complicated, though it is still a pain to put on. Mostly because of how loose they can be when not properly tied up.

The main offender turns out to be the sleeve in this case. Apparently, you're supposed to tie them up with a ribbon they provide in order for it to not get in the way.

Once everything was put on properly with the help of Lumine, I was finally able to get a good look of myself once she stepped to the side.

A simple white robe with a streak of blue along its collar with sleeves that were tied using a ribbon of similar color that prevented it from being blown by the wind, as previously mentioned. For the skirt, it's a dark blue one that extends all the way to the legs, tied with a thin yet robust rope along the waist to prevent any accidents. And beneath all of that, is an inner clothing consisting of what basically is a black long sleeved t-shirt and pants.

Completing the entire set is an outer garb that serves as a coat made out of a surprisingly thin material embroidered with patterns of a bamboo. It's similar to the robe it covers beneath it in the way that it has the same unnecessarily flowy sleeves. Unlike the robe however, they're not meant to be tied up, meaning I have to be careful when walking in order to not accidentally damage them.

'I look like a stereotypical young master right now. And with this kind of face, it's surprisingly fitting.'

Click!

The sound of a mechanical shutter closing alongside the whirring of the gears inside the small wondrous box in Lumine's hand caught my attention.

"You look great."

Taking my eyes off the mirror, I saw Lumine off to the side, airing the newly printed picture. With her now taking off both of her stockings and boots, I saw, for the very first time, her naked body in its entirety.

The word beautiful doesn't quite do her justice.

"I'll take your word for it." Slowly lowering my arms, I made sure that the coat's sleeve wouldn't be dragging itself on the ground before walking towards where Lumine was standing.

"I mean it, you know?" Gazing into the picture, she nodded her head in satisfaction before giving me a smirk. "Quite dashing, I must say. Perhaps I should start calling you a prince given how fitting it seems."

Positioning myself behind her, I peeked over her shoulders onto the picture in her hand. Or I was, until I saw the bite mark I left on the side of her neck. Unable to resist the urge, I ran my fingers through the fading scar, causing a sigh to escape her lips while a feeling of giddiness permeated throughout my body.

"Since that's the case, does that mean I am exempt from trying on the rest of the clothes?"

Before I knew it, my hand started to move on its own, making its way towards her face as I gently pressed my digits all over it as if trying to memorize the contour of her face before slowly making its way down.

"Not a chance." As she tried to restrain a laugh, Lumine put the Kamera aside before grabbing onto both of my hands. "Nice try, Yuu, but you're not weaseling your way out of this one."

Moving a step closer, I rest my head on her shoulder as she slowly leads my hand towards her chest once again. Feeling the soft mound hanging freely in the air, I proceeded to gently brush the side of her breast while tracing a finger on her nipples every once in a while.

Despite the sexual nature of the action, there was no such intent behind it.

"Tch. It was worth a try, I guess."

Letting out a hum, Lumine leans her head back, causing the hanging fabric of the outfit I wear to drape over her for a moment before she tugged them down into her stomach as she slowly traced a circle around her belly button using my hands.

We stayed that way for a bit, with her leading my hand all over her upper body, and me burying my face on her neck, closing my eyes as I focused on the sensation of my hand as I hum a random tune, the vibration of which caused her to intermittently laugh.

After enjoying the rather intimate moment for some time, Lumine eventually broke the silence. "So, what's with you suddenly being all lovey-dovey like that?"

Feeling a slight shift coming from her head, I reluctantly raised my head from her shoulders and was met with the sight of her bright golden eyes staring right at me. Surprisingly, the urge to look away that always lingers on the back of my mind is not there at this moment.

Though after everything that happened, having some form of self-confidence should be the last thing to be surprised about.

"Does it really seem that way?"

"From a bystander's standpoint? Yes. By your standards? Very much so."

"That's true, I suppose."

Shifting my gaze forward, I pondered over her question for a bit before forming an answer. "Hmm… I suppose you can say that I'm taking several steps out of the proverbial shell I confined myself in. It's not much, but it's progress."

"I see." Closing the distance between us, she cups my cheek before giving me a quick chaste kiss. "In that case, you're doing a very good job at it. There's no need to rush, though. Take all the time that you need."

"Thanks."

"Mhm. Now then." With a final pat on my shoulders, she walked towards the pile of clothes atop the cart and began to grab a complete set of the same outfit as I was before making her way back. "Here. Put this on me, if you'd be so kind."

"Wow." Taking off the coat I was wearing and putting it onto the nearby chair, I took the pile of clothes from her hand. "A real slave driver, aren't you?"

"Oho, would you rather not help?"

"You need to stop putting words in my mouth, princess."

"Then get to it."

"As you wish." Looking over the clothes she handed to me, I grabbed the same pair of inner clothes I wore and set the rest of the pile aside. "You might want to put away your beloved flowers first though."

Once she did so, I began the process of helping her put on the ceremonial clothes. Though perhaps it's less helping and more dressing her up given how she practically left everything to me.

Following the same steps as she before, I put on both the robe and skirt in that order before tying the small rope around her waist and moved on to tie the long golden ribbon around her sleeves.

Draping the thin coat over her outfit, I gave her a once over before nodding in satisfaction once everything was in order.

"There you go."

Although the overall outfit is similar in design, compared to the darker color of my outfit, she was wearing a set of pure white dress with golden accent on both the robe and skirt, while the thin coat over her was decorated with a cloud pattern tinged with a slight golden hue.

With both hands raised slightly to the side, she gave me a little twirl as she looked over to me in anticipation. "How do I look?"

"You look great. Though there's something missing about this whole thing, if you know what I mean." I replied, as I pointed towards the two Inteyvat flowers sitting atop the cart. "I'd like to help, but I know how much you treasure those. Besides, I know next to nothing about putting something like that on, so…."

Looking over towards the flower her brother left for her, Lumine's gaze linger on them slightly before she eventually makes her way towards them. Gingerly picking them up, instead of putting them on like I expected her to, she instead handed it over to me, much to my surprise.

"Here."

As I looked between the flowers and Lumine, I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure, princess? You heard what I said, right?"

"Loud and clear."

"Then–"

"Yuu."

Holding the flowers close to her chest on one hand, Lumine's other hand made its way towards my cheek, gently running it up and down while brushing my bangs to the side. "I trust you, you know?"

"I know. But this is–"

"Important to me." Interrupting my words, Lumine continued on with a sincere tone. "Which is why I want you to do it."

"...are you really sure?"

"Yes I am, you dummy." Booping my nose, her hand returned as she once again offered the flowers to me.

Giving her one final look and seeing her nodding her head, I reached over and took the flowers from her hand, trying my best to stop my hand from shaking as I handled them like the most fragile thing in the entirety of Teyvat.

"Phew… okay… I can do this."

"If I see so much as a crack on those flowers, I'm going to personally end your life."

"Oookay… maybe I can't do this after all."

"Relax, I'm just joking."

"Are you really?"

Seeing me tense up and trying not to fumble my hands, she laughed as she took one step closer towards me. Gently brushing her hair with her hand, Lumine slightly lowered her head as she pointed towards the spot the flowers usually rest. "Go ahead Yuu."

Taking a deep breath, I held one of the flowers in the air with anemo while I grabbed the other one by the stem, slowly parting her blonde hair as I placed it on the right side of her hair.

Once the first flower was in place and I made sure that it wouldn't come off, I slowly retreated my hand and grabbed the other one and placed it just slightly above the first one.

Taking a step back to admire my handiwork, I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"See?" Gently touching the flowers adorning her hair, a gentle smile formed on Lumine's face. "That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

"No, but the pressure to not fuck things up certainly made it harder than I would've liked."

"Sorry about that." She said, taking a step forward and gave me another kiss on the cheek. "You'll forgive me though, right?"

Touching the place where her lips made contact, I couldn't help but release a sigh when I saw the cheeky smile on her face. "You can be incredibly unfair sometimes, you know that?"

"That's something you have to keep in mind, Yuu." Walking past me, I heard a rustling sound coming from the cart for a while before she eventually returned. "All is fair in love and war."

Rolling my eyes in response, I took the Kamera from her hand alongside the metallic fan she offered. "Duly noted."

Spreading the fan open, I took some time to admire the drawing painted on it.

A scenery of a mountain surrounded by a majestic river alongside the plants and animals inhabiting it. Of particular note, however, are the numerous flock of cranes standing in the river drawn in great detail.

Closing the fan, I levitated the Kamera to our front before holding it in place. "How should we do this, princess?"

"Hmm… what do you think about this?" Spreading her own fan open, she held it in front of her chest, exposing the words painted on the paper that makes up the leaves.

"That'll do, I guess."

After grabbing the coat from the chair and wearing it once more, I stood next to Lumine and copied the pose she demonstrated before wounding the Kamera's mechanism.

"Try and smile for the Kamera this time around, Yuu."

"I'll try my best."

As the gears within the small device began to turn, I couldn't help but think back on what had transpired today.

'Despite how much of an emotional rollercoaster it was, this day would undoubtedly be one that I'll always remember.'

Feeling a slight resistance from the machine, I pressed the button on the side of the Kamera as a smile started to form on my face.

'Was it always this easy, I wonder?'

Click!