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Lumine is roused from her sleep by a pair of hands shaking her gently awake. She already knows to whom the hands belong to without needing to open her eyes—had memorized the long, beautiful digits after seeing them dance and play the lyre and, on rare occasions, a lute and a viola. She’s in love with the owner of these hands, exceptionally so, but it’s somewhere around three in the morning and Lumine’s tired and cranky and cold.
“Wake up, Lumi,” her beloved whispers, lithe fingers curling around her shoulders before sliding down, down, down until they’re pushing down the duvet so they can curl around her waist, his light touch warm on her exposed skin from where her tank top had crept up in her sleep. She feels soft puffs of breath against her face before she feels the press of lips on her eyelids, gentle and sweet, greeting her and coaxing her eyes to flutter open.
From above her, Venti’s teal eyes glittering with excitement and love greet her. His fingers squeeze her waist reflexively as he leans forward once more, pressing a sweet kiss on the corner of her mouth before pulling away completely and getting off of their bed. The warmth his body brings disappears with him, leaving goosebumps to rise on her skin and she scowls, closing her eyes and attempting to bury herself deeper into their duvet.
“Lumi,” he calls out playfully, tugging the duvet further down her body and laughing quietly when she lets out a disgruntled sound. “Lumine, my starlight, please get up.”
“It’s the middle of the night,” she grumbles, opening one eye to peek at him tiredly.
“But I have something to show you,” Venti says, reaching a hand to touch her cheek lovingly. His eyes gaze at her imploringly. “Please? For me?”
Lumine huffs. “Why not show me tomorrow?”
“I can’t—it has to be now.”
“Why?”
“Come with me and you’ll understand.”
Lumine purses her lips, staring at the man before her and wondering if what he had to show her would be worth leaving the warmth and comfort of their bed. It’s not even a full minute before she’s letting out a slow breath, glancing away from the sight of her partner’s eyes brightening at the knowledge that he’d won. “Fine,” she mutters. “Just—close the windows first. It’s cold.”
Venti’s up before she finishes her sentence, fingers finding the latch of their windows and sliding them close. Though, he keeps the curtains open to allow the stream of moonlight through to give her enough light to guide her as she shuffles her way out of their bed and the nest of blankets she’d been wrapped in. He finds his way back to her, his fingers curling this time around her wrists and giving them a soft tug. “Alrighty, sleepyhead. The windows are shut—time to get up.”
She lets herself get pulled up and before Lumine knows it, she’s standing on their soft carpeted floor, toes wriggling against the fibers. Her boyfriend reaches past her, tugging the comforter around her shoulders until it’s secure, before he’s pulling her out their bedroom door, past the kitchen still smelling strongly of the vanilla cookies they’d baked last night, and out the french doors that led to their porch.
Lumine tugs the duvet tighter around her shivering body, and huddles closer to Venti, nuzzling her cold nose against the warm skin of neck and smiling when she feels his arm wrap around her waist to bring her closer to him. She thinks they’re done—that maybe he just wanted to get some fresh air and felt Lumine would want to do the same (she didn’t, by the way, but they’re also at the point of their relationship where if he’d asked her to partake in the polar plunge with him, she’d probably do it just because he’d asked)—and is about to twist in his arms to head back inside, when he stops her. Instead of directing her back in, back to the warm embrace of their bed, he pulls away just enough to grab their slippers and crouches in front of Lumine.
Blinking owlishly, Lumine watches with confusion as Venti maneuvers her feet into her slippers before sliding his own quickly. Straightening, he sends Lumine a grin before shepherding her down their porch stairs and towards the far end of their backyard.
“Okay, sit down.”
“What?”
“Sit down,” Venti repeats, pushing her shoulders gently until she’s settled on something soft and decidedly not-grass. Glancing down, Lumine’s baffled to see one of their fleece throw blankets on the ground but any questions she has disappears when she feels Venti settle behind her and wrap his arms around her waist. His face is beside her now, soft puffs of breath against her skin as he whispers. “Okay, now look up.”
Lumine wants to protest because he’s outside in the cool night air in nothing but a thin T-shirt and shorts and the least she could do was wrap the blanket around the both of them first but the glittering excitement in his eyes stops her. Instead, she looks up and lets out a gasp.
Out here, in the backyard of their small two-bedroom house and far away from the city lights and the rest of civilization, Lumine can pick out the dots of light twinkling merrily high above them.
Stars, she realizes. Her eyes dart around, taking in the sight. “Oh,” she murmurs in awe.
She can feel Venti’s smile against her cheek as he curls in tighter around her. “I wanted you to see this sight,” he says quietly. “I know it’s nothing compared to the clear sky of your hometown but—”
“It’s perfect,” Lumine interrupts, turning her head just enough so she could smile at him.
“But—”
“It’s perfect,” she repeats firmly. Her eyes dart sideways briefly, suddenly feeling shy. “Because you’re with me.”
“Oh,” Venti says, speechless.
Lumine giggles and twists fully around his arms. Lifting one side of the blanket, she offers it to her boyfriend with an inviting smile. “Now get in here. It’s cold and I don’t want you getting sick. I want to stay out just a bit more.”
“Okay,” Venti acquiesces as he takes the duvet and wraps it fully around the two of them. “Okay,” he murmurs, lips brushing against Lumine’s temple gently.