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Chapter Text

Aether couldn’t believe it. Okay, he could, but it didn’t make it any less unpleasant. The day before the paintball finals, of course venti had gone out drinking and was now suffering from a huge hangover. Aether stared at him as he walked down the street with his other teammates, Xiao and Kazuha. Venti trudged along behind them, wearing extremely dark sunglasses even though it was cloudy. 

“Come on, Ae! Don’t be mad! How was I supposed to know those drinks were that strong?” Venti whined, clutching at Aether’s hoodie arm.

“You always drink them! They were the same!” The blonde shrugged him off and glared at him. “And now you’re too incapacitated to play, and we’re gonna have to come up with another plan. Teams are required to have four able-bodied players. You know this!”

Xiao and Kazuha just looked at each other, the former rolling his yellow eyes.

“Let’s just hope that Lumime has something to fix Venti up. It usually helps.” Xiao offered as a peace treaty between the two that were bickering.

Aether just crossed his arms and walked faster. They reached their destination a few minutes later. It was a small coffee shop on a side street that wasn’t known for having much foot traffic. Still, it has a warm and inviting atmosphere, 

They stepped in, the air conditioning lightly ruffling their hair and instantly cooled them off after walking in the sweltering summer heat. It was fairly empty, with only a few of the people Aether recognized as regulars going about their business.

A brunette manned the cash register, ringing up an elderly lady. “Okay, that’ll be 250 mora for the medium coffee!” She said cheerfully.

The elderly lady thanked the cashier, patting her hand as she handed her a tip, Then the brunette, spying the group of four, gasped and waved. “Hey guys! What brings you here so early? Lumi’s break isn’t for another 30 minutes.”

Aether just jerked his thumb in Venti’s direction. The brunette grimaced when she saw him still wearing shades. “Ah…”

Aether nodded and Venti sheepishly grinned. “Yeah, he’s hungover the day before our match. Can you grab Lu for us when you can spare her?”

She grinned and also nodded. “Sure! I bet Jean won’t mind if she takes a small break a bit early.” She turned and walked to the back door, opening it.

The smell of coffee grew in strength as Amber poked her head into the back room. “Hey Lumi, can you come out here? Your brother’s here!”

An affirmative was called in a sing song voice and Amber turned back to the cash register. “She’ll be right out, want anything while you wait?”

The boys each ordered a small drink, with Venti’s being extra strong. A few moments later, the spitting image of Aether if he had short hair came out of the back, dusting her palms on her apron. She beamed at them as she looked up, briskly walking over.

“Ae! Guys! You’re early. What’s…ah.” She paused as she saw Venti, who has laid his head on the cool table. “I see.”

Aether sighed and clasped his hands in front of him, getting straight to the point. “Oh please, dear sweet baby sister of mine, can you make Venti one of your famous hangover cures?” He gave her a puppy dog expression, and she just rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder.

“Stop calling me your baby sister. I’m less than ten minutes younger than you! We’re almost the same age!” She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face.

He just gave her the same look, shaking his hands as if in prayer. “Pleaaaaaase, Lu? We have our match tomorrow and we desperately need him!” He begged.

Lumine sighed and put her hands on her hips. “I can make it, but with how rough Venti is looking… I’m afraid he won’t be well enough to play by the match tomorrow.”

Aether immediately looked crestfallen and put his head down on the table as he sat heavily, mirroring Venti’s position. He sighed dejectedly and pushed his coffee cup back and forth across the table. Xiao and Kazuha exchanged glances and nodded.

“Well…” Kazuha began.

Aether didn’t let him continue before he whined and tangled his hands in his blonde hair. “Ugh and tomorrow’s match is against him . What’re we gonna do? I’ll literally never hear the end of it if we don’t play.”

Kazuha cleared his throat loudly and obnoxiously, making Aether look up. “I think Xiao and I have something in mind,” he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Aether looked between them. “Well unless you have a way to clone one of you, nothing is gonna help us. We’re a man down, and Childe would take all of us at our best to beat.”

To this, Kazuha laughed. “Well, we can’t clone ourselves but…” his grin widened. “You have a double.” Xiao nodded sagely in agreement, letting Kazuha do the talking.

Aether slowly raised his head, and they all turned to stare at Lumine. She took a step back, eyes wide. Aether suddenly jumped up and ran over to her, clasping her hands in his. He turned to look at the others. “You two are geniuses!!” He laughed almost maniacally as Venti started snoring peacefully at the table.

He turned back to Lumine and repeated his earlier sentence to her, now with a new goal in mind. “Oh sweet, sweet sister of mine, we have a proposition for you.” She glanced in between them and pursed her lips , taking her hands out of Aether’s and put them back on her hips.

“You have got to be kidding me. What about the hangover cure?”

“Forget the hangover cure.” Venti snapped his head up at that, wincing as his sunglasses fell off. “Hey!”

Aether ignored him. “You said it yourself! He won’t be able to play by tomorrow! And… AND we know you’ll do amazing! You even have tomorrow off, right?”

She rolled her eyes at how doggedly he was pursuing this idea. He scooted closer to her, leaning close to whisper in her ear. “I’ll take out the trash and scoop Paimon’s litter box by myself for 3 weeks.”

She turned her head to him, her eyes narrowed. “4 weeks and you’ll pick up Inazuman takeout once a week for those four weeks. AND you’ll do the dishes when we cook.”

“Deal.” He said instantly and grinned, his fist pumping the air. He went and downed the rest of his coffee. “Okay after work we’re gonna fit your armor and do the rundown on our strategy, okay?” He eyed her. “All of my armor should fit you just fine. Even the chest piece, cause you’re not that big.”

Lumine squeaked, covering her chest with her arms. “Hey!” 

Before she was able to react to Aether any further, he had already dashed out, dragging a semi aware Venti behind him. Xiao and Kazuha just smiled as they also walked out, waving goodbye to Lumine which left her standing alone in the middle of the shop.

She groaned and went back to the counter where Amber was watching her with curiosity shining in her eyes. “What was all that about?”

Lumine sighed and started cleaning up the area around the espresso machines. “I guess I’m going to be playing paintball tomorrow.”

Amber’s eyebrows shot up. “Have you even ever played?”

The blonde shook her head, indicating that she hadn’t. “This is going to be a disaster.”

Chapter Text

The week really couldn’t get worse than this, Aether thought to himself as he stared at the sky from under the canopy where he was currently standing. Xiao and Kazuha had similar expressions to his dreary one as they helped Lumine adjust her borrowed armor. She wore Aether’s spare set since they were mostly the same size, Lumine’s chest aside. The armor covered her torso and linked around the sides like a thin bullet proof vest. She also wore knee and elbow pads, along with a helmet over a pair of Aether’s pants and sweatshirt.

Lumine huffed as Aether came over to inspect heir work the boys finished outfitting her. She swung her arms and rolled her shoulders, frowning. “Do I have to wear this? It’s heavy and hard to move in.”

Aether put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her. He gave her a serious expression for a moment but followed up with a wink, a slight twinkle in his eye. He loudly replied to her, making sure his voice carried. “Yes, you have to wear it, Lumine. It’s to protect you. These paintball guns-“ he held out a small one that was similar to a pistol, “-are very dangerous, and they will severely bruise you if you get hit.”

Lumine started to roll her eyes but stopped when she heard a nearby whistle. She turned her head to see where it had come from and barely kept her mouth from dropping open. Approaching their tent were four of the most attractive men she had ever seen. They were decked out in the opposing side’s colors, making Lumine quickly glance at Aether, his expression confirming her suspicions.

Aether glared at one of them when he grinned at Lumine’s wide stare. He walked over, ignoring the blonde male in favor of his sister. He stepped close to Lumine, smirking widely. “Hey girlie, what’re you doing wearing this loser’s team colors?” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to a seething Aether.

“If you must know, Childe , she’s our fourth member today!” Aether walked over in between the ginger and Lumine and looped his arm around her shoulder, their armor bumping together loudly. 

Childe stifled a laugh, as did two of teammates, one laughing much louder than the other, Lumine peered at him, impressed by just how huge he was. He had white hair with red lines down his face. She vaguely wondered if it was war paint.

Suddenly one of the other teammates walked  forward, putting his arm over Childe’s shoulder. He smirked, his one visible eye twinkling under a mop of blue hair. Lumine vaguely wondered if he was a pirate. She dismissed the thought when he spoke. “What happened to Venti?”

Aether’s whole team, Lumine included, let out a collective sigh. She was otherwise quiet, studying the other team intently. The one called Childe leaned close to her, and she mentally noted that he had a splattering of freckles across his nose that made him even more handsome. She glanced away to seem shy, focusing on the ground to the side.

Childe took that as an invitation to continue. “Have you ever even used a paintball gun before, printsessa?” He held up his own, a larger model made to look like an assault rifle. “Can you even lift one?”

Lumine bit the inside of her cheek to stifle a snarky reply. That was an immediate answer when Aether moved further in between the ginger and his chosen victim. “Back off, Tartaglia, this is my sister, Lumine. And no, she hasn’t played, but talent runs in our blood. We’ll wipe that smug look off your face this time for sure!”

Childe’s team just snickered, and the blonde one stepped forward, smiling slightly. “Hey, I’m Thoma. And this is Kaeya,” he said gesturing to the blue haired not-pirate before gesturing to the huge white-haired one, “and this is Itto, let’s do well today, okay?”

Thoma’s kindness made Lumine start to smile, and right when Childe opened his mouth to say something, there was a loud whistle. A man wearing a raincoat marked with the official referee emblem stepped up to the canopy. He motioned at Aether and his team. “You’ve been decided as today’s home team as designated by the tournament standing and you get to pick the arena type. Did you send in your choice?” 

He paused for a moment and continued when Aether nodded, and he turned and looked at Lumine. “You must be the sub for the player who can’t compete. Do you understand the rules?”

Lumine gave the man a sheepish smile and shook her head no. She stiffened as Childe and Kaeya snickered at her, her face turning slightly red with embarrassment. The referee ignored it, flipping a page of his clipboard over.

“That’s fine. A little last minute, but I’ll explain the rules, so pay attention, alright?” She nodded and he motioned to the stadium behind him.

“This is the field area where the games are held, usually just referred to as the Arena. The team with the lower ranking gets to pick what terrain and obstacles are in the arena for this game. The terrain varies wildly, from sand and water to ropes and buildings.”

Lumine’s eyebrows shot up and she looked at Aether. He just grinned at her shocked expression.“Wow, that’s…impressive. How do you change the terrain so quickly?” She peered at the arena, suddenly nervous. 

The referee just chuckled. “We have multiple locations for the various zones. So we just hold the games at the chosen arena.” He looked at his clipboard and then at Aether. “You’ve chosen jungle?”

Before aether could answer, Childe made a surprised noise. Lumine glanced at him and saw he had a gleam in his eye that made her gulp. Everything her brother had told her about the ginger came flooding back to her mind. Asshole. Cocky. Confident. Dangerous. She shifted slightly to be more behind Aether.

Childe noticed and his face smoothed into a smirk. “I’m surprised, shorty. You don’t do well in jungle. Planning on hiding in a tree the whole time?” He sneered.

Aether was about to start a shouting match judging from the way his mouth opened.  The referee put his hand between the two team leaders. “Enough. Save it for the game. Let me finish explaining the rules.”

Aether mumbled an apology as the referee turned his attention back to Lumine. “It is a mixture of capture the flag and battle royale. Are you familiar with those terms?”

She hesitantly nodded, putting a finger on her chin. “That’s like…where you have to take take the enemy’s flag back to your base or knock everyone out, right?”

The referee smiled at her. “Sort of. In this modified rule set, you either capture the leader OR their full team, leader aside. You can also bring the opponent’s flag back to your base, where your own flag is.”

Lumine frowned slightly. “That seems weird. You can win by beating everyone BUT the Leader OR just the leader? Wouldn’t that mean that the best strategy would be to take your whole team and just go after the leader?”

From behind the referee, Childe clicked his tongue, shaking his head. He started talking before the referee could, his tone confident. “You’d think that, girlie, but that’s why the leaders get some extra firepower.” 

Lumine stiffened slightly and looked away to roll her eyes at the ginger before turning back with a sweet, disarming smile.” Oh, I see. What kind of firepower?”

The referee took over again, giving Childe a look that said “keep your mouth shut. This is my job.”

He picked up where Childe left off. “They gain an additional weapon, for a total of three and also get melee weapons. To win, you must hit their armor in a place deemed to be a killing blow such as the chest. You can also hit both legs to count as a kill. Or both arms. Those are called incapacitating blows. Got it all so far?” 

She nodded once, deep in thought. “So it’s a lot harder to take out a leader, even if you have more people going against them?”

Childe grinned sarcastically at her. “Wow, you’re picking it up in no time.” He walked over and leaned down to her, side-stepping Aether. “I’ll even let you get a free hit on me. As a handicap.” 

Lumine just looked away, frowning. She made eye contact with Aether where Childe couldn’t see and gave him a cunning half smile. The plan was going smoothly so far.

She looked back at Childe, holding a hand to her chest shyly. “I appreciate the help.” She smiled warmly. “I can’t believe my brother says you’re an ass. He’s usually so good about reading people…” she trailed off, looking sheepish.

Xiao and Kazuha had to look away to stop from laughing. Even Aether had to cough to hold back a laugh. Oblivious to the opposing team’s odd actions, Childe just puffed out his chest at the praise. “What can I say, girlie. There’s more to me than meets the eye.”

The referee sighed. “Back on topic, please.” Lumine nodded her head in an apologetic manner. “Right. Each team can pick their loud outs. Also known as your gear. Each ranged weapon costs two points, melee weapons one point, and armor is also one point. You have a total of five points to use while team leaders have eight. Make sense?”

Lumine nodded earnestly. “So I could have five knives if I wanted?” Everyone, including her own teammates, turned to look at her with skepticism. “N-not that I would, of course.”

Childe laughed, bending over to put his hands on his legs to brace himself as he laughed. He wiped his eyes with a gloved hand and grinned. “ I can see why you’re twins now. You’re both…unique,” he said, clearly meaning it as an insult.

Lumine’s eyes flashed, and she quickly had to look away to keep herself from responding with her own quips. He could make fun of her all you want, but if anyone insulted Aether, all bets were off. As if sensing the waves of anger rolling off Lumine, Aether walked up and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. 

He gave the referee a warm smile, completely ignoring Childe’s comment. “I think she’s got the basics. Can we have some time before the start to go over our strategy after picking our load out? You know, since she’s new.”

The referee pondered for a moment before Childe answered for him. “Sure, we can give you some extra time. You are playing with a handicap after all. “ 

With that, both teams went back to their respective areas to prepare. They were under glorified canopies in front of their base in the arena, where they would all choose their starting load outs. Various paintball weapons were laid out on a table as well as armor and melee weapons. As the teams suited up, Aether and Lumine were lowly talking to each other. 

They gave each other Cheshire grins and walked over to the equipment table. Kazuha and Xiao were already suited up, selecting their weapons. Lumine started unbuckling the chest piece that she had painstakingly put on before.

“You know, I hate that it took so long to put this on before,” Lumine mumbled under her breath.

Aether just looped his arm around her shoulder. “Yeah, but it needed to happen.” He paused and looked at the other two males. “You all l now the plan?”

They all nodded as the whistle blew once, signaling that they had only a couple minutes left before the walk to the arena.

They all put their hands together, and Aether spoke his traditional words of encouragement, as cheesy as they were. “Alright, today’s the day we’re finally gonna wipe the smirk of that damn ginger’s face. Why? Cause we have a secret weapon!” He looked up and exchanged a grin with Lumine.

The whistle blew again, and they all threw their hands in the air.

“Let’s do this!”

Chapter Text

The buzzer sounded loudly, echoing through the air, and the gates were slowly raised on both sides of the arena. The rain was still coming down heavily, managing to make it quite cool despite being in the middle of summer. The arena was filled with large, fake trees made of sturdy materials that simulated real greenery, and ropes zigzagged above them across the length of the arena. They were wide enough for someone to stand and move along if they were confident in their balancing abilities.

Childe felt the familiar thrum of adrenaline at the thought of chasing and catching his prey, the edges of his mouth twisting up into a maniacal grin. Itto let out a loud whoop, making Kaeya and Thoma laugh. They hadn’t prepared very much, instead goofing off as their prep time dwindled to nothing. Childe was heavily armed, carrying a large knife as well as a wide array of guns. He sported no armor, spending all of his points on weapons as he preferred to be light on his feet. He’d never been tagged in a match before, so armor would only weigh him down. Or so he thought.

Childe’s team made their way to their camp in the actual arena to begin their final five minutes of allotted prep time. Most teams spent this hiding their flags in the base and setting up defenses. His team, however, preferred to always go on the offensive instead of shoring up the base’s defenses. Childe’s plan was simple: he would go after Aether personally while Thoma and Kaeya would spread out and keep Xiao and Kazuha busy. That left Itto to guard the flag. Childe neglected to put any tactics for defeating Lumine, assuming she would be dead weight just meant to give the team their needed numbers to meet regulations for the match.

Kaeya and Thoma both had assault rifles, pistols, and body armor. Itto was fully decked out with armor, only sporting a shotgun-like model of gun since he was mainly a last defense. Childe hadn’t used all of his points, preferring to gain victory with a self-imposed handicap because it felt oh so much sweeter for him to win that way.

Aether’s team ranked fairly well in matches but had never managed to defeat Childe’s team before, despite having clashed several times. Childe knew their “comfort strategy” by heart. Xiao would man a spot in the trees to easily jump down and surprise someone while Kazuha distracted them. Their teamwork was superb and usually guaranteed them at last a few points. Venti was normally cover fire as a sniper, and without him there to give support, Childe knew exactly what he was going to do.

In Childe’s line of thought, without a doubt in his mind, Lumine would be left at the flag while Aether did his thing and would go after Childe like he always did, unable to act logically due to his competitive nature and being faced with his rival.

Soon, the starting buzzer counted off and sounded. Kaeya and Thoma took off together into the brush while Childe casually started striding straight for the other base. Itto took up position at the base, their flag out in clear view behind the large oni. 

It was as if the buzzer was also a signal for the rain because it started to come down a lot harder, turning the ground into a large expanse of mud. Childe rolled his shoulders and started moving faster, taking off into a light jog. It would only take him a couple of minutes or so to make it to the other base with his long stride. These matches usually lasted for less than 30 minutes, even less if Childe was playing seriously. He shook his head, pushing his wild hair back off his forehead, making it stick up all over the place more than usual.

He heard the first buzzer about a minute later, signaling that someone had been taken out. He chuckled to himself, ever confident. Seems like Kaeya and Thoma really have their heads in the game today , he thought, 100% sure that it was a member of Aether’s team that had gotten eliminated. The second signal happened less than thirty seconds later, and it made Childe pause. Kaeya and Thoma were good, but good enough to take two people out right after each other? That he wasn’t so sure of.

He shoved the thought out of his head, instincts telling him to go faster. He ignored those instincts and continued at his languid pace, making it to the edge of the trees that signaled Aether’s base ahead. Childe paused and smirked to himself at the sight before him. Aether had really botched it this time, his earlier assumptions about where everyone would be placed was completely correct. The buzzer had not sounded again yet.

Lumine stood with her back turned to Childe with her hands on her hips right in front of the flag, which was also out in the open. He sighed softly under his breath, a bit disappointed at the lack of a challenge. Slowly he approached, not bothering to conceal the sound of his footfalls, boots sloshing loudly in the mud. Up ahead, Lumine still hadn’t noticed him.

He ignored the alarm bells in his head telling him it was a trap. He’d studied Lumine earlier. She was leaner than Aether and didn’t look like she had an ounce of muscle on her, at least not that he could see through all of that armor. An easy target for sure.

He called out to her as he strode up. “Hey, girlie, this isn’t how you play the game!” His voice was light as he reached her.

Childe reached out, putting his hand on her shoulder. “I said I’d give you a free hit. Aren’t you interested in trying at all?” He said with another disappointed sigh.

It was over in an instant. He spun her around and froze, mouth dropping open in surprise. Aether grinned back at him as the next buzzer sounded and a loud, booming voice announced “Team Viator takes the victory!”

Both a million things and nothing went through his mind in the next second at the same time. Aether shrugged Childe’s arm off of him with the largest shit-eating grin Childe had ever seen on his face. The ginger turned and immediately started walking to the announcer’s table, visibly shaking with anger. This had to be a mistake.

He heard Aether walking behind him humming a cheery tune, and it took everything Childe had to not punch the small blonde. It took a couple of minutes to reach the announcer’s booth outside of the arena. Aether’s attempts to annoy Childe were working, the waves of anger rolling off Childe nearly palpable. 

Up ahead, the rest of the teams were waiting on them. Childe’s eyebrows shot up once more. Itto was covered in mud from head to toe and Kaeya sported a large splatter of yellow paint on his chest piece. Somehow, Thoma had both the yellow paint of Aether’s team AND the red of Childe’s on him. All three of them were silent as Childe approached and looked as flabbergasted as he did. He didn’t notice the other team at first.

“What the hell happened?!” He yelled, his voice almost cracking with how angry he was.

Kaeya and Thoma looked at him with sheepish expressions while Itto  just brought his hands up in front of him as if he was begging for forgiveness. “We got our asses kicked, dude!” He exclaimed.

Childe heard soft laughter and watched Aether jog past them to his team. Xiao and Kazuha were only partially wet from the rain with no signs of mud or red paint on them at all. And then he saw her. Aether’s sister, Lumine wasn’t wearing the armor she had on before. No, like Childe, she wore absolutely no armor, standing there shivering in a muddy tank top and some very short shorts. Her hair stuck up as well, not as much as Childe’s, but still an impressive amount.

He was unable to comprehend the sight before him, instead stomping his way to the announcer booth.”There’s gotta be a mistake.”

The same referee from before was talking to another standing near a screen replaying footage. He turned and looked at Childe.”No mistakes here. Aether’s team won by eliminating the rest of your team.”

Childe stared incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “Bullshit. I wanna see the tapes.”

Aether chose that moment to walk up to the booth as well, still grinning.  “Actually, I wanna see it too. Though I’ll be watching this jackass’s face. I should have brought popcorn.”

A few minutes later, both teams were assembled at the large announcer’s canopy. Childe was still in a horrible mood, staring at the blank screen as he waited for the replays to begin, choosing to ignore the water dripping off of him.

Aether leaned against a pole with Lumine beside him. She shifted awkwardly as she felt the opposing team just staring at her. Three sets of eyes were awestruck and the last one was furious. Golden eyes met blue when she glanced up, and she quickly looked away from his intense gaze. Finally, the announcer started the footage.

Childe leaned forward as it started playing. The first clip showed Kaeya and Thoma walking in the woods. There was no audio, so visuals were all they had. Suddenly, something hit Thoma in the back between his shoulder blades. He quickly turned and was shot twice in the chest. Childe could imagine Thoma yelling as he was suddenly spun around and Kaeya’s shots were fired into his own teammate’s chest plate. That explained why Thoma had both teams’ colors on him.

What happened next had Childe’s nails digging into his crossed arms. Lumine had suddenly appeared, bending Thoma forward and rolling over his back. She slid forward and rolled under Kaeya’s legs, springing up again to shoot him in the back. She had then taken off at breakneck speed to their base.

It was quiet aside from Aether’s snickering. The referee played the next clip. It showed Itto at the base camp standing guard in front of the flag. Suddenly he looked up and the camera jerked up to show Lumine running across the thin wires above his head. She dropped down onto Itto’s shoulders and used her thighs wrapped around his head to flip him onto the ground, Itto landing heavily on his back. Childe winced at the action as the footage showed Lumine twisting to stand back up, ending the match by firing two shots into Itto’s chest plate.

It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop as Childe stared at the screen that was now blank. Finally, he looked up and made eye contact with a very smug Aether. “You played us,” he said angrily.

The short blonde just shrugged and put an arm around his twin sister’s shoulders. “Actually, she played you, but all's fair in love and war. Wasn’t it you that said that after our first match?”

Childe just scowled and got up, stalking over to the twins. He ignored Aether, who stiffened and moved in front of Lumine. Once again, her gold eyes met his intense blue ones. This time, there was a playful fierceness reflected in those molten gold eyes that caused his heart to flutter painfully. He couldn’t help but think she looked beautiful, even with the mud covering her. He shoved the alien feeling down as he stopped in front of her.

“How?“ was all he said.

She just cocked her head, the corners of her mouth lifting into a confident smile. “You assumed I’d never played before. “ She humored him though and explained. “Ae and I switched armor. Nothing in the rules says you have to keep your own, after all. The rest was just playing an innocent girl who’d never held a gun. It was your own fault for underestimating me.”

She gave him an innocent smile, her eyes widening on purpose to appear more angelic. “Do I still get that free hit?”

He huffed through his nose, but suddenly, his mood flipped on a dime. He was all smiles, his blood singing again at the thought of going against someone who could easily bring down his three strongest friends exciting him. Aether loudly cleared his throat, stepping further between them at that moment, however.

The referee spoke as if he could read Childe’s mind. “No violence outside the arena.” 

Both Lumine and Childe slightly deflated at that, and Aether suddenly looked concerned. He put his hands onto Lumine’s shoulders and started steering her away. “Come on, Lumine, I know you have classes early tomorrow. You need all the beauty rest you can get,” he lightly teased, trying to get her away from Childe as soon as possible.

Kazuha and Xiao both noticed and exchanged an exasperated glance. Childe watched Lumine until she was out of sight, extremely curious about this hurricane of a girl that he’d just met. His feelings were complicated, to say the least. On one hand, she was twins with his biggest and most annoying rival. On the other hand, he grinned at the thought of fighting against her.

The men on his team all collectively sighed as he mouthed her name under his breath. “ Lumine , huh?”

Suddenly he wasn’t so angry about losing the match after all.

Chapter Text

The next week passed by uneventfully for Lumine as her final exams loomed ever closer. She worked part time at the coffee shop as she was getting her degree and was always busy. The excitement she felt at helping Aether win his paintball match had started to die down and was replaced with light anxiety.

Lumine had finished her normal academic class finals and only had the one  in her drawing class left, the one she needed to complete her degree. They had been studying human figures for a couple of weeks, and today they would start their large project that was worth over a third of their final grade. 

She got along well with the usual model they sketched, Zhongli. He was usually positioned on a small stage as the students gathered around and drew him. She had always been impressed with how patient he was, and she was looking forward to talking to him after class. He always had some historical fact or small amount of obscure knowledge to share, and she intended to ask him for some extra one-on-one time to work on her project with him after class.

She walked into the classroom and grabbed an easel, dragging it across the floor to her preferred spot by the window, where she could get the best dynamic lighting possible to enhance her drawings. She busied herself with setting out her drawing supplies: a large sketch pad, charcoal, erasers, and a smudge blender. 

Soon the other students arrived, and her chosen friend in the class, Collei, approached her like she usually did at the beginning of class. She heard her walk over, not looking up as she dug through her bag.

“Hey Lumi,”Collei said cheerfully as she dragged her own easel over to be beside her. “Did you hear about Zhongli?”

Lumine finally looked up at Collei, arching an eyebrow in curiosity. “No? What happened?”

Collei leaned close and softly spoke, “Apparently he has the flu and won’t be coming in today.“

Lumine suddenly paled considerably, her heart beating erratically. She had been banking on him being there so she could ask him about staying after. The final assignment was supposed to be a piece of art showcasing their skills as best as possible and most of the other students had been working on their projects for a while, but Lumine hadn’t started hers yet. She cursed under her breath, sighing and resting her head forward on her sketch pad that was perched on the easel.

“Still haven’t started on it?” Collei asked, sympathy coloring her voice.

Lumine just shook her head, confirming Collei’s suspicions. “No. I was helping Aerher last weekend with his stupid paintball game, and I was so tired that I zonked out afterwards.”

She frowned to herself and was distracted when she went to put her pencils on the easel, cursing as the case opened and her pencils rolled everywhere. “Ugh just my luck.”

She bent down to start picking them up as the professor walked in. He cleared his throat, clapping once. “Alright, as some of you may have heard, Mister Zhongli is currently sick and can’t come today. I also know that some of you were wanting to use him in this figure study as a part of your final.”

Lumine gulped from where she was picking up her pencils, feeling everyone’s eyes on her. The professor continued. “Well, I also have some good news for those slackers. He found someone to replace him for today’s session.”

A hand entered Lumine’s view as she continued picking up pencils. The scent of expensive cologne made her head spin, and she looked up, gold eyes meeting familiar blue ones. She gasped, standing up, almost dropping the retrieved pencils. Childe straightened up as well, holding out the pencils he had picked up for her. He wore a crooked smirk, eyes filled with both surprise and amusement.

“Never thought I’d see you again so soon, girlie,” He said casually.

Lumine just stared at him, rapidly blinking. Collei looked between the two of them, her eyebrows arched. “Do you know him, Lumine?”

The professor also chimed in. “I would also like Miss Viatrix to enlighten us, if she so chooses, of course.” His tone left no room for choice.

Lumine cleared her throat, sitting heavily on her stool, blocking Childe from her view with her easel as she answered. “He’s an uh…acquaintance of my twin brother is all.” She shrugged, trying to act casual.

Childe’s low chuckle reverberated in her ears, and she internally groaned, still flustered at seeIng him again after kicking his ass so thoroughly. “Interesting,” the professor said unconvincingly, changing the subject. 

“Well, he will be the model for today, and if any of you are planning on using today as a rough start to your final, you will have to schedule with him to see if he wants to continue. Today he’s here as a favor to his friend, so bribery might just be worth it if you want to pass my class.”

He glanced at Lumine, narrowing his eyes. “That means you, Viatrix. I know you were waiting for today to start in particular.”

Her shoulders slumped as she realized she would have to start all over and plan a new idea, which would take a large amount of time that she didn’t exactly have. Either that, or she would have to beg Childe to model for her outside of today’s class.  She didn’t know which would be easier at this point and could feel Childe’s gaze on her.

The professor walked up to the chair seated on the small platform in the middle of the room, and he motioned to Childe. “If you could come sit up here, that would work well. I’m sorry I couldn’t take the time to talk with you before class started. I won’t ask you to pose nude,” he said, chuckling. “But the students are working on muscles, so if you could remove your shirt if you’re comfortable, that would work perfectly.”

Lumine looked up sharply at the thought of her brother’s rival shirtless, and she found his gaze again as he seemed to be more focused on her rather than on the professor. Childe looked away finally, leaving Lumine to sneakily observe him. He was wearing a hoodie with jeans, his hands in his pockets as he sat on the stool.

“So all I gotta do is sit here shirtless?” She could hear the smirk in his voice, and she tried to resist rolling her eyes. “Easy enough.”

With that, he pulled his hands out of his pocket and grabbed his hoodie at the bottom, lifting his arms to discard it onto the floor. He also discarded his shirt in the same fluid motion. “This good?”

Lumine sucked in a breath as she saw Childe’s body closely for the first time. At the match, he’d been in another hoodie, hiding his physique. But now, now she could see his chest and arms in their full glory. He was lean and muscular, muscles rippling as he adjusted himself how the professor wanted him to. His torso was covered in light scars and freckles, and she found herself staring with a slight blush on her face. Aether didn’t tell me he was so hot, she found herself thinking.

The professor pulled out his timer, setting it for an hour. Lumine glanced away from Childe as he positioned his head in her direction, and she felt his gaze on her once again. It was going to be a long hour for her.

It only took a minute or two for Lumine to get over her slight awestruck feeling over Childe’s body as she got into the zone of drawing. She began to tune out the professor, the other students, and even Collei, as she became captivated by the act of creating art. She would look at him with a keen eye, swiftly sketching a rough shape before filling in the muscles with charcoal.

She started with his torso, making each and every scar she could see stand out with a white pencil against the dark paper and darker charcoal. She bit her lip while she was drawing, not noticing Childe’s gaze lingering there as she worked. Finally, she gazed into his eyes, seeing everything about him and yet not him at all, focused on capturing the darkness in them. If she had been paying attention to all of him and not just capturing the depths of his eyes, she would have noticed a slight blush on his cheeks, going up to the tips of his ears from how intensely she studied him.

The hour passed before she had realized it, and the timer went off loudly, startling her into dropping her eraser. She picked it up, stretching her stiff limbs from sitting still for so long. When she reached her arms up, it exposed her midriff, a small navel piercing glinting in the fluorescent light. 

The professor cleared his throat. “Thank you, Ajax. You did splendidly. We have a fridge in the faculty break room. Feel free to go get a water bottle or something to snack on. Just tell them you are the drawing model replacement and they will let you in.”

Lumine looked up when his name was spoken. She tried recalling if she had ever heard Aether call him anything other than “Childe” or “that ginger asshole,” but she couldn’t. She filed it away in her mind as she pushed her easel into the growing line of them. 

“Look at that. Didn’t even have to say it. You all know what time it is. Your favorites! Critiques!” Everyone groaned audibly at that.

Childe returned from getting his water a moment later, watching the proceedings with interest. Each easel was positioned in a line with the students standing in a group a few feet in front of it. He looked over the drawings, impressed at seeing himself caught in such fine detail.

The professor noticed him and motioned him over. “We usually do this with Mister Zhongli, but he’s gotten to know each student’s style over the past couple of months, so it’s no longer a surprise.” The professor chuckled with a gleam in his eyes. “Why don’t you pick out which one you think captured you the best?”

The ginger just nodded, turning to the line of easels. He wondered which one Lumine had drawn, but he had no idea of how she would have gone about it. He approached each one, looking at them. Childe didn’t have an eye for the visual arts, bu he kept finding his eyes wandering back to one in particular.

Most of them captured the generalistics of him: muscular, messy hair. A few of them gave him a couple of scars, but almost all of them had given his eyes more life than they actually possessed. He looked back to the one that had caught his attention.

In it, he was sitting as he had been posed, but the shadows across his face were dark with his eyes being darkest of all. Scars littered his body, drawn in white, something the other pieces hadn’t detailed in. They accentuated the muscles and actually made him feel attractive and not a gnarly mess of scars. He turned back to the students and professor, cocking his head to motion to that one while he crossed his arms.

The professor smiled widely, nodding. “I see you have picked our black sheep.”

Childe arched an eyebrow. “Black sheep?”

There was a slight murmur in the group of students. The professor just chuckled. “Yes. This class focused mainly on the bigger objective, but this person gets caught up in the details often and takes much longer than the other students.”

He approached the drawing in question, motioning to some of the background of the drawing in question. “We call this the toilet bowl effect. You were drawn in the center of the paper with no background or orienting. No doubt they ran out of time attempting to draw your impressive resume of scars.”

He looked over his shoulder at the students. “Isn’t that right, Viatrix? You’d do well to practice more. Or are you still caught up with switching from gymnastics to art?”

Childe’s eyebrows shot up once again as he made eye contact with Lumine who was blushing slightly. Gymnastics would certainly explain her agility and athletic ability, he thought to himself.

The professor shook his head, not letting her answer him before motioning for her to approach. “Alright, can you tell us your thought process?”

She shifted nervously, no longer meeting Childe’s eyes. The professor continued as if he hadn’t noticed. “Tell us your process. Be detailed.” He turned back to the class, addressing them. “As some of you might have noticed, this particular entry in Viatrix’s portfolio is a bit different than her others. Can anyone tell me why?”

He pushed Lumine to stand near Childe as if he knew that it made Lumine nervous. “Besides her not finishing it, which isn’t that uncommon for her,” he teased her, oblivious to her slight frown as she looked at the floor.

Childe side-eyed her, noticing her fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “Well,” she began. “I really just wanted to focus here.” She motioned to the general face area. “And here.” She motioned to the littering of light scars across his body.

She took a breath and composed herself, suddenly more confident. “The model was cast in dark shadows along his face from where I was sitting, and I wanted to complement the darkness of his eyes.” 

Childe’s eyebrows raised higher, and he turned his head to look at her. Lumine’s face was animated, and her eyes reflected the soft light from the sun in a way that his hadn’t in so long.

The professor was nodding, “I can see your passion in this Viatrix. Good work.”

There was a soft round of applause, and Lumine was almost beaming, her smile warm and bright. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, Childe’s eyes following the movement. He was starting to become very interested in his biggest rival’s twin sister. For the rest of the class, he stood up near the easels, watching while everyone’s work was poked and prodded, though none of them received nearly as much hard criticism as Lumine’s had.

Finally, when they were done, the students moved their easels back to begin the next segment. Childe was given a break, and he spent the time trying to stealthily watch Lumine draw. She kept going back and working on the drawing of him, which had him interested.

Slowly he watched her develop the drawing even more. It became infinitely more detailed. He put his shirt back on as the professor clapped his hands once again. “Alright everyone. Good class today. Viatrix? See me after class.”

Childe watched Lumine stiffen where she sat on her stool in front of her easel, but she nodded and started to pack up. He hesitated before the door, wanting to stay and talk to her more. The professor noticed and motioned him over as well.

They spoke lowly as Childe approached. The professor clapped a hand on Childe’s shoulder as he walked up. The professor then walked past him to the door. “Don’t disappoint, Viatrix. This project is what makes or breaks your final grade. Get to it.”

Childe just stood there dumbly, his brow furrowing in comfusion. Lumine just pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. He smiled to himself as he watched her remove her hand, charcoal dust now coloring her pale face. He barely resisted the urge to wipe it off.

She sighed, her shoulders drooping as she turned to him. He arched an eyebrow at her. “Was that about me?”

She just nodded. “Yeah. He uh…” she trailed off and then looked at her feet sheepishly. “He said this is the best work I’ve produced.” She sounded embarrassed. 

“Is that a bad thing?” He approached her easel and looked at it. Childe didn’t know much about the studio visual arts, but even he could tell it was a higher quality work than the other students’.

“It’s… Ugh .” She turned to him, jabbing him in the chest, making him take a step back, a bewildered expression on his face. “He wants me to draw again for my final. Draw you .”

“Oh.” He said dumbly once more. Then suddenly, he grinned, realizing this was his big chance.

“ Oh . So you need me.” It wasn’t a question.

Her face scrunched up in annoyance. Cute , he thought. She huffed, packing up her stuff. Her back was turned, but she spoke finally, shoving her giant sketchbook in her portfolio carrying case.

“How much will it cost?” She finally said.

“Huh?”

“To have you model for me. I just need four, no, five hours. Maybe.” She spoke desperately. “I need this class to graduate and I can’t afford tuition to retake the class.”

He gave her a sly smile as he looked at her, takin his time in answering her. “Oh, so you do need me, huh?” Childe repeated himself smugly.

He closed the distance between them, making her hold her chin up to keep eye contact with him. “Go on a date with me.”

She opened and closed her mouth, uncomprehending what he said. “What? Why? You don’t know anything about me! Aether hates you!”

He just grinned at her. “Well, girlie, you kicked my team’s ass. That’s hot, and I’ll get to know you on our date. I wanna know how you managed to get the one up on my team.”

She huffed again, frowning. He just shrugged, turning away. “All well. I thought you needed this class. Guess there’s nothing I can do…” He started walking away but was stopped when she grabbed the end of his hoodie sleeve.

“Wait!” She sighed, giving in. “When?”

He basked in the feel of victory. “Three days. This Saturday. I’ll take you on our date and then I’ll model for you at your place.” He paused, suddenly a bit worried. “You don’t live with your brother, do you? That could be awkward.”

She rolled her eyes.”He’s practicing in the training arena this Saturday, so it’s fine.”

He caught her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing her one of her knuckles softly, smirk widening at the blush that appeared on her face. Childe enjoyed making her flustered, if only to amuse himself. He turned to walk away, swiping his finger across her cheek, holding it up in front of her. “You’ve had charcoal on your face this whole time by the way.”

Her eyes widened and she frantically scrubbed at her face as he laughed and asked away to the door. He looked over his shoulder at her. “I’m looking forward to our date, Printsessa.”

Chapter Text

Lumine looked at herself in the mirror, grumbling to herself under her breath. She had changed clothes at least five times and had no idea what to wear. It had been quite a long time since she’d gone on an actual date. She paced to her closet and yanked the door open, scattering bits of clothing everywhere. From down the hall, she heard a muffled voice, Aether, asking if she was alright.

Lumine ignored him and dug through her closet once more. She wanted something casual but not too casual but ALSO something she could draw in later since she intended on fully taking advantage of their time to get some of her final project done. There was a knock at her bedroom door, and she turned to see Aether standing in the doorway with a confused expression. He had no doubt come to check on her since she hadn’t answered him.

“What are you doing, sis? You’ve been acting weird since Monday,” Aether questioned. He arched an eyebrow at her when she just rolled her eyes.

“I have a date,” she said simply as she stuck her head back into her closet. 

Aether’s voice shot up an octave , and it audibly cracked. “A DATE ?” He pulled her out of the closet, hands on her shoulders. “Who?!”

She instantly regretted what she’d said, rolling her shoulders and knocking his hands off. “Nobody, don’t worry about it,” she mumbled.

He wouldn’t drop it, however, following her around her room as she gathered pieces of her outfit. “Do I know him?”

She turned and gave him a blank stare, and he was about to sigh in relief when he stopped cold at her reaction. “Something like that.”

With that, she pushed him backwards out of her room, locking her door to finally be able to think in peace. She eventually picked out a simple blouse and skirt, wearing her typical black halter bra underneath. She stepped out of her room a few minutes later to walk into the bathroom to affix her flowers in her hair. Aether was about to start badgering her again when she gave him The Look which instantly shut him up.

“I can take care of myself, Ae.” She ended the discussion before it had begun, walking to the door of their shared apartment. “It’s just the model I’ll be using to do my final.”

He instantly calmed down as she opened the door to leave. “Oh. Well that’s a lot better.”

He started to wave as the door was swinging shut when a realization hit him. “Wait, Lumine! How do I know your model?!” The door closed, leaving him standing there, “Lumine?!”

It was only a short walk to where she and Childe had agreed to meet. Far enough away for him to not know immediately where she lived but close enough that it was convenient for her since she hadn’t been able to afford a car yet. 

She sat down on a bench, glancing up at the cloudy sky. It looked like she would rain any time, and she had neglected to bring an umbrella. She folded her hands in her lap, looking around at the people nearby, looking for the shock of ginger hair. 

There were a few children playing with foam airplanes, throwing them in a nearby field. Trees lined the whole walkway where she sat next to the field, and she shivered in the shade, rubbing her exposed arms. It only took a moment before she heard a voice call out to her from nearby.

“Hey, girlie!” She looked up to see Childe closing the distance between them in just a few strides of his long legs. 

She arched an eyebrow at his attire as he paused in front of her. He was wearing a red button-up shirt that was untucked with the bottom couple of buttons undone to give him a stomach window with a similarly buttoned up jacket. He caught her staring and broke out into a smug grin.

“Like what you see?” He teased.

She pursed her lips and rolled her golden eyes. “No, I was just wondering if you got dressed in the dark.” She flicked the hem of his shirt since he stood in reach. “Plus I’ve seen you in much less.”

She realized what she said, her eyes widening slightly as a mother with a small child gasped, covering their kid’s ears as they walked past at a faster pace. This made Childe bend over he was laughing so hard. He wiped stray tears from his eyes, still grinning widely at how flustered Lumine already was.

“Well THAT has already made this date have one of the best beginnings I’ve ever had so far.” He continued teasing her.

She just snorted and stood up. “Oh boy, one among a sea of others, I’m sure.”

She didn’t see Childe’s frown because she started walking before him, but she could feel his gaze on her back. He took a couple long steps to end up walking beside her. He kept his voice casual as he looked ahead while they walked. “What has your brother told you about me exactly?”

He arched an eyebrow when she faltered beside him. “Well. He says you’re an ass that is an adrenaline junkie and literally the worst person on the planet and the archons must hate him to have the misfortune of meeting you.” She gave him a side eye. “The rest I deduced on my own.”

He let out an impressed whistle. “He really hates me.” It wasn’t a question. He sighed and linked his fingers behind his head as he walked. “Does he know you’re with me today?”

She let out a laugh that made him smile as well. “No. I just told him it’s someone he knows.”

That made Childe laugh as well. “He’s gonna blow a gasket when he sees me later, huh.” That also wasn’t a question.

She glanced at him as they reached the end of the walkway. She poked him in the chest, having to crane her neck up to look him in the eyes. “And that’s why we picked today. He’s going to be gone later while I’m drawing you. He will never know you’re there.”

He pouted at her, catching her hand in his when she moved to poke him again. He intertwined his fingers with hers, grin widening at the slight blush that appeared on her face as a response. “You aren’t letting me have ANY fun, are you Printsessa?”

Without waiting for an answer, he tugged her in the direction of the nearby parking lot where he’d appeared from, her hand still firmly grasped in his larger one. She almost had to jog after him with her much smaller stride. 

He paused as they neared the end of the walkway, and she nearly ran into him as he suddenly stopped. “What’re you doing?” She followed his gaze.

There were the children that had been playing with the foam airplanes before, and now they stood under the trees lining the walkway. “Hold on a sec, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer again, he let go of her hand and walked up to the kids. Lumine couldn’t hear what he was saying since he was speaking quietly, but all of the children started smiling. Childe ruffled their hair, one with each hand, and looked up at the tree. Lumine watched as he easily jumped up, his long arms assisting him as he climbed the tree. After only a few moments, he reached a branch where the children’s toy airplane had landed.

He freed it from the thick leaves and jumped down, Lumine’s eyes widening as he landed without any effort. The children cheered as he handed them their toy back. They stood talkin for a moment, and suddenly they looked her way. Lumine waved slightly as Childe rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

The children ran over, surrounding her. “Hey miss, you’re really lucky!” The one holding the airplane chimed in happily.

She leaned down to him, cocking her head to the side as Childe approached behind them. “Oh? How so?” She asked curiously.

All the children grinned at her, and their response had her face turn redder than her date’s ginger hair. “Your boyfriend is really cool!!” Her eyes widened, and the children ran away, waving back at them before disappearing over a hill.

Childe chuckled as he stood beside her, a slight blush decorating his handsome, freckled face. “Kids, huh. They say the damndest things.”

She just gave a shy laugh and nodded as he started leading her again. She was relieved when he didn’t grab her hand like the time before. Lumine was already tired of the way Childe could effortlessly make her blush.

They reached the nearby parking lot quickly. She looked around at all of the cars, and Childe noticed, twirling his keyring on one finger. She glanced at him, looking away as he caught her looking. “Where are we going today?” She asked him finally, realizing she hadn’t set any boundaries for the locations. “I was just wondering.”

He grinned at her, pausing at a VERY expensive car. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it all planned out. WITH plenty of time for you to draw your muse,” he teased her with the name the professor had called them. 

She stared at the shiny red car for a long moment as he tried to cover up his laugh with a cough. He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door, sweeping his arm out in a bow. “Your door, madam,” he said in an overly stiff voice.

She couldn’t help but smile at his antics as she stepped into the car and sat down. The seats were also expensive, black leather that squeaked as she adjusted herself. He closed her door with a wink and walked over to the driver’s side, getting in. His seat was pushed back to make room for his long legs.

He turned on the car, and the engine almost purred as it came to life. Lumine could feel how powerful the engine was through the vibrations in her seat. She sent a prayer to the archons that Childe would drive safely, because she just KNEW that this car could fly. He pulled out of the parking spot smoothly, the car moving like it was an extension of him.

She quickly decided that the archons had forsaken her. As soon as they were out of the parking lot, Childe sped up and drove almost recklessly, grinning as Lumine squealed. She had latched her hand onto his bicep, squeezing it every time he changed lanes.

“What’s a matter, girlie?~” he asked in a singsong voice, laughing as he quickly slowed at a stop light.

Lumine’s face was tingling from the amount of wind she had been buffeted with with the window down. “You’re insane. Absolutely crazy.” She glared at him, which only made his grin widen.

“You’re just now figuring that out?” He leaned his arm on his door, drumming his fingers on the lip of the open window. His attitude sobered suddenly as he kept his eyes on the road. “Your brother is wrong about me by the way. I’m not just some fuckboy.” He glanced at her while the light was red.

She caught his eye before he looked back to the front. “That doesn’t really surprise me. Ae can… over exaggerate sometimes.” She was looking out of the window and missed the slight smile that graced his face.

“Where are we headed anyway?” She asked with curiosity. She had absolutely no idea what he even liked to do, aside from paintball.

“Patience, Printsessa .” He sped up again, this time less abruptly, as the stoplight switched to green.

Lumine quietly looked out the window, forgetting she still held Childe’s bicep, until she heard him turn on his blinker. She snapped back to attention, looking around. He pulled into a parking, one she easily recognized. It was connected to a large arcade, one she and Aether visited sometimes.

“Oh! Ae and I have been here!” She said, looking at Childe while smiling. She caught him looking at her, and she blushed slightly at his calculating gaze.

“Yeah, I figured you had. This is actually where I met him. At a paintball signup,” Childe explained.

“Oh. I see.” He cocked his head towards her hand that was still on his arm. He flexed his bicep, and she quickly let go, the tips of her ears red from embarrassment. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

He just laughed and got out, walking over to her side to open her door before she could do it herself. He bowed again, smirking at her, his eyes twinkling through his messy bangs. She just huffed as she got out, making sure her skirt hadn’t ridden up too much when she got out. 

“Ready to get your ass kicked?” Childe challenged fiercely.

It was her turn to arch an eyebrow. “Oh, you’re going down, ginger. Them’s fighting words.”

They laughed together as they walked to the building. The booming bass-boosted music could be heard even before they reached the entrance doors. Lumine could feel the beats reverberating through her chest, making it tingle slightly as they opened the doors. A few of the people at the front waved when they saw Childe: clearly he really was a regular.

One of the men behind the counter winked at Lumine, and she looked away to roll her eyes. She missed Childe glaring at the guy hard enough that he held his hands up in surrender. Instead, Lumine focused on the new additions to the arcade since she had last been there. It had been quite a while, mainly because she had been busy with both her university classes and her part time job to pay for those classes.

"What do you wanna lose at first?" 

His comment made her glare up at him, having to crane her neck back since he was so much taller than her, even if she was in heels. She crossed her arms and looked around at the various arcade machines. There were various selections, ranging from basketball to skee ball, pinball to darts, and various other games to choose from. Her eyes kept going back to one machine in particular, but she kept pushing it out of her mind. 

Childe followed her gaze, and when he saw what she was looking at, he grinned evilly. "How about that?" He motioned with his head to the machine in question.

Her eyes lit up like she was a kid on Christmas morning, clearly surprised that he suggested it. She nodded and immediately started walking over to it, leaving him to trail after her like a lost puppy. The machine in question: Dance Dance Revolution. 

She was almost bouncing up and down when they reached the machine. Childe leaned on the railing at the back of the dance pads with an amused smile on his face as Lumine shuffled through the song selection. She turned back to look at him with a smile when she had selected a song. He arched an eyebrow at her, one side of his mouth lifting into a smirk.

“Quite bold, aren’t you? This isn’t really a song for beginners, you know.” He rolled his shoulders and jumped over the railing to stand on one of the dance pads.

Lumine returned his smirk, even though she couldn’t jump over the railing to show off as well due to her much shorter legs. Instead, she trailed her hand across the railing as she walked around it, taking up her spot next to Childe. 

“Who says I’m a beginner?” She said, an unspoken challenge in her voice.

They both turned to face the screen when Lumine pushed the button to start the song. Almost immediately, Lumine knew she had no chance of winning. Her eyes widened as the arrows started flying across the screen, getting distracted with the ease of how Childe moved. He didn’t miss a note, even looking over to shoot her an infuriating wink. She was able to keep up fairly well though the ginger hit more “perfects” than her.

They were both sweating and panting as the song ended, and Childe ran a hang through his hair that made it even more disheveled, a bit of it now sticking up worse than before, and it somehow made him even more attractive. Lumine was both panting from exertion and glaring at the score like it was the machine’s fault she lost.

“You’re not too bad, Girlie, but I told ya I’d kick your ass,” Childe said smugly.

“Hmph.” She glared at him.

Before she could say anything, he lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face, exposing his abs even more than the stomach window showed. Lumine’s face turned even more red, and she was thankful she could pass it off as her just being overheated from the dancing.

“My turn to pick,” Childe said in a singsong voice. He grabbed her hand and tugged her off further into the arcade.

She squeaked at the action, staring at the back of his head as they weaved through the people and machines. He stopped in front of one that was loudly playing rock music, and Lumine peered at the machine. It was a shooter, with the objective to kill more zombies than the other person. Childe leaned on the machine, smacking his hand against the side lightly.

“Not to brag, but I have the second highest score on this bad boy.” He smirked at her, clearly trying to show off. It made him miss the gleam in her eyes. 

She looked at him with her large doe eyes, putting a hand on her chest. “Oh no, whatever will I do? There’s no way I can win!” She said in a shrill voice, hoping to give him a false sense of confidence.

Unfortunately for her, Childe had learned his lesson during the paintball match to not underestimate her, and he put his game face on as he put game tokens into the machine. The game started off easily enough with each of them gaining a fair amount of points. Then the “frenzy” mode was triggered where waves after waves of zombies appeared. Lumine surged ahead in the point war as she took out enemy after enemy.

Childe was taken down in one of the last matches when he had started to show off and hadn’t refilled his ammo in time before a zombie got him. He huffed as the high score screen popped up. Suddenly, he turned to her, realization in his eyes. The top score’s name read “Lumi,” and it all made sense to him. He had been bested by underestimating her again, despite knowing that he shouldn’t have. She laughed, and suddenly, it was alright for him to lose because that sound warmed his heart and made him smile goofily.

The machine spit out a small amount of tickets, and Childe grabbed them, shoving them into his pocket. They made their way to other machines, fiercely competing with each other at every turn. After a while, they sat down to take a break at one of the tables in the refreshments area the arcade had. 

Lumine sat sipping her soda when something caught her eye. It was a large stuffed narwhal at the prize redemption desk. It was light blue with a swirl pattern on its back, and it was one of the cutest things she had ever seen, besides her cat, Paimon. Childe followed her gaze once more and smiled to himself at the face she was making.

Suddenly, he got up. “I’ll be right back. Can you grab us some more game tokens?” He handed her his wallet and walked off without waiting for an answer.   

As soon as he was out of Lumine’s direct line of sight, he waited for a few seconds until she got up to get more tokens. He then made a beeline to the prize counter with a smile on his face. He would have that whale, even if it meant spending a ridiculous amount of money on tokens. Luckily, he didn’t have to because he had a previous balance of tickets he’d been saving up. The arcade was large enough to have an online “bank” of ticket amounts for regulars for a small yearly fee.

Lumine had her back turned while feeding mora into the token machine, so she didn’t hear Childe approaching her. He suddenly covered her eyes with one hand, his breath tickling her ear. “Guess who!”

She nearly jumped out of her skin, more because of his proximity than his hand over her eyes. Still, she calmed her racing heart and played along. “Hmm… I wonder. Could it possibly be…the worst enemy of my twin brother? Or maybe an insufferable ginger? Oh wait, they’re the same person.”

His deep chuckle made her stomach twist into knots, but before she could do anything, he released her from his grip and spun her around. She gasped at how easily he could move her around like a rag doll, and she opened her mouth to complain but was rendered speechless when she saw what he was holding. The whale plush was a lot bigger up close than she had realized, and she looked up to stare at him with a look of disbelief.

“For you,” he said simply but then followed it up with “just saw you admiring it earlier.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he handed her the plush that seemed to dwarf her due to its size.

She hugged it close, a huge, genuine smile on her face that made his heart flutter as he just then really realized how much he liked to see her smile. She hid a slight blush as she buried her head against it. She mumbled very softly. “…thank you.”

They stood there for a few moments just looking at each other, gauging what to do next. Childe spoke first, glancing away and rubbing his neck once more. “Do you wanna grab some lunch now?”

Her stomach responded more quickly than she could, grumbling loudly. He let out a laugh, making the blush on her face darken. “S-shut up!” She slapped him on the arm playfully, turning on her heel to walk to the exit, leaving him standing there as he laughed.

He effortlessly caught up with her at the entrance to the arcade, opening the door for her and her giant narwhal. He hummed quietly as they walked back towards his car, enjoying the cool breeze on his skin. Once at his car, he opened her door again with a bow, eyes twinkling underneath his messy bangs. She got in and shoved the narwhal onto the center console. Of course Childe had to have a sports car with no back seats, so the narwhal had to ride up front with them. 

He got into the car, suddenly deciding he wanted to see her smile again. He looked at her as he started the car, giving her a disapproving glance. “Is this really how you’re going to treat our child? Just shove him into the middle? He’s not even strapped in!”

She stared at him in confusion until he nudged the narwhal, and then she shook her head in exasperation, her blonde hair ruffling in the breeze that blew through the open windows as they sat in the parking lot. Lumine laughed quietly as she took the narwhal and sat it in her lap, hugging her arms around it.

“Better?” She asked, all smiles.

He purposely took a long moment, leaning over and tugging on her arm to test her grip. She kept a tight hold on the sea creature so it didn’t move at all. He nodded in satisfaction and started the car, pulling out of the parking space. “Better.”

Lumine craned her neck, barely able to see over the narwhal in her lap. She watched as the buildings flew by with Childe’s aggressive driving, though she didn’t feel unsafe now. She had to admit to herself that she was actually having a good time, and she wondered if Childe felt the same. She shook her head and glanced over at him, studying his profile as he kept his eyes on the road.

She could see him in much more detail since she was much closer to him than she had been while drawing, and she noticed more details than she had before. She could see the dappled freckles on the bridge of his nose and his cheeks, and she made the mental note to add them to her final project when she’d be drawing him for it later. The scars on his body extended to his neck, and she studied how his jaw flexed and clenched when he was annoyed at another driver. Finally, she was swept into the abyss behind what should could see of his eyes. It was like the depths of the ocean, where no light could ever reach.

Suddenly, he glanced her way and gave her a lopsided smirk, and her eyes widened as she realized he had known she was looking at him. “Like what you see, Printsessa?” He said in a teasing tone once more.”

She huffed and looked out of her window, not gracing him with a response. They sat in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. “ I haven’t actually picked a place for us to eat. I was hoping you’d tell me a good place, since I picked the arcade.”

She nodded to herself and looked at him again. He was facing the front again, eyes on the road. “Hm, we’ll, there’s a pretty good place that sells Liyue cuisine not far from here. If that sounds good to you. It isn’t very expensive either!” 

He smiled as she described the restaurant and he turned off the highway that led to it. He recognized the place as somewhere his roommate spoke of often. They pulled into the parking lot, and he got out of the car first, once again opening her door for her. Lumine put the stuffed narwhal in her seat, buckling it in as an after thought. It made Childe chuckle lightly.

They walked in together, and a member of the staff seated them almost immediately. It wasn’t an upscale restaurant by any means, more of a casual dining place. The hostess led them to a small table for two, and Lumine internally panicked when she realized they had been seated in what was usually the part of the restaurant reserved for couples. She caught Childe’s eye, and he just gave her an infuriating smirk as he pulled her chair out for her.

She sat down, and he pushed her chair in with her on it with ease, showing how strong he was. He then sat down across from her. The hostess brought them menus, and Lumine started to tell Childe about the various specials and meal options. She already knew what she wanted to buy: butter crab, while Childe opted for Qingce stir fry. The hostess took their orders and disappeared into the back after attempting to flirt with Childe. 

Lumine tried to ignore it, but she was scowling at her glass of water by the time the hostess left. Childe had politely answered her questions but otherwise was uninterested, keeping his eyes on Lumine. Finally, after she left, Childe slumped slightly in his seat and rubbed his face with one hand.

He noticed Lumine staring at her glass of water, and he reached over and squeezed her hand affectionately. She jumped in her seat and looked up at him. His gaze was intense, searching her face for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something, but right at that moment, the hostess came back, giving the, complementary jade parcels.

She started to twirl her hair and was about to start flirting with Childe again, but he put a stop to that right away. He reached across the table and intertwined his fingers with Lumine’s tugging on her hand to bring it closer, and he planted a soft kiss on her hand. “Thank you for giving us such good service on our anniversary,” he said smoothly as his gaze was focused on Lumine. 

Her eyes widened at his words, and Childe just smiled broadly as the hostess sputtered and shortly dismissed herself. Once she was gone, Lumine snatched her hand away from him, belatedly noticing how warm and callused his hand had been. On that note, when had he removed his gloves?

He winked at her, and she huffed, looking away as her face flushed red. It didn’t take long for the food to arrive, but as soon as it did, Lumine noticed that Childe had a panicked expression on his face. She looked from him to his food and back up again, pausing with her chopsticks in hand.

“What is it? You aren’t allergic to anything in it, are you?” Her brows knit together in worry.

He gave a shaky laugh and shook his head, picking up his pair of chopsticks. “No, it’s nothing like that.” He grimaced as he dropped one of the utensils into his food. “I just uh…” he picked it back up and attempted to grab a bit of his story fry but sighed as it fell back to his plate. “I can’t use chopsticks,” he mumbled, glancing away, refusing to meet her gaze.

She couldn’t help herself. She burst into a fit of laughter, her shoulders shaking from her attempt to stop. He just frowned at her as she wiped tears from her eyes. “Oh, wow. Aether doesn’t know, huh?” She smiled wickedly, and it was Childe’s turn for his eyes to widen.

“You wouldn’t.” 

“I would.” She wore the biggest grin of the night so far at his dismay, immensely enjoying teasing him. 

He looked pitiful, almost like a kicked puppy. He poked at his food, struggling to eat it. “Why don’t you just ask for a fork?”

He gave her an exasperated look, “I’m not going to let these pieces of wood beat me,” he said stubbornly.

She watched as he dropped his food for the umpteenth time, she reached out, and he looked up at her with a confused expression crossing his face. “Gimme your hand. I can’t watch this anymore.”

He let her take his hand in hers, showing him the best way to use the chopsticks. She was so focused getting his long fingers to bend the right way that she didn’t notice that he had been staring at her with a soft expression the whole time. She was finally satisfied, and he missed the feeling of her hand with his when she moved hers back to continue eating.

He was moderately successful after she showed him, and some small part of him was a bit sad that he didn’t have an excuse to have her hands in his anymore. The dinner passed uneventfully as they both finished their food quickly, having been fairly hungry from competing with each other at the arcade.

Finally, they got up to leave. Lumine got out her wallet to pay, but Childe put his hand on it, lowering her hands back to her sides. “I don’t think so, girlie. It’s my treat.”

She huffed and opened her mouth to argue, but he just chuckled, bumping her with his side as he walked up to the hostess to pay. They stepped outside only to notice that it was raining heavily. Lumine sighed and outstretched her hand into the rain, shivering slightly. The temperature had dropped several degrees while they enjoyed their food. 

Childe looked down at her and then out at the rain. He pulled off his jacket and dropped it over her head and shoulders. He couldn’t help but think she looked extremely cute with his jacket over her, and he saved that mental image for later. Lumine huffed and attempted to take it off, but he just wrapped his arm around her shoulder and steered her out into the rain.

They quickly made it to the car with Lumine mostly dry and Childe…not. He opened her car door and let her in and dashed around to his side, almost diving into the car. Once inside, he shook his head much like a wet dog did after a bath, splattering Lumine with the rain droplets from his hair. She squealed and threw his jacket at him which he easily caught. He ran a hand through his hair, making some of it stick up even wilder than before.

Lumine couldn’t help but this of how attractive it made him look. She shook her head, trying to dismiss the thought. He was only someone to help her do her final project. Aether’s rival. Nothing more. He probably didn’t even like her.

She looked back at him only to catch him looking at her as water dripped from his hair. He gave her a lopsided grin and started the car. “Your place now?” He waited patiently for her to give directions.

With Childe’s driving habits, it seemed to barely take any time at all before he pulled into one of the apartment building’s guest parking spots. The rain was still coming down heavily with large puddings spanning the lot. Of course her apartment building didn’t have a covered lot.

Lumine shot a quick text to Aether to make sure he was still at the arena practicing with the boys. There was no answer, so she knew they had at least a couple hours. Childe was waiting in the driver’s seat, watching as she fiddled with her phone. She turned back at him to find him with one arched brow.

“Sorry,” she laughed. “I’m a bit nervous.” She fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

He chuckled good-naturedly, opening his door. He jogged around the car and opened her door, throwing his jacket over her once more. “What, girlie, you haven’t had a boy over before? Your brother wouldn’t let you?” He teased her.

“H-hey! It’s not that!” She pulled his jacket around her and led him to one of the outer staircases. “Ugh. Just come on. It’s up here.”

They slowly made the trek up the covered staircase to the apartment Lumine and Aether shared. Lumine was both anxious and also excited about finally beginning her final project. Childe though? He was more excited to get to know this little blonde conundrum that was so different than her brother.

Chapter Text

Lumine hesitated at the door to her apartment, shooting Childe a look over her shoulder. He cocked his head to the side, arching his eyebrows with an infuriating smile on his face. “Are we gonna stand out here all day, or are we going into your apartment?” He teased her, clearly amused with how she was acting.

She shushed him and looked down the hall to make sure no one had heard him. Her actions made his eyebrows raise even more. He opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing when the door next to hers started to open. Lumine panicked and dropped her keys, loudly swinging her purse into her apartment door when she bent down to get the keys. It made a loud thud, effectively having the opposite effect than what Lumine wanted.

Childe was failing to hold back his laughter at her antics. Their neighbor’s door opened to reveal a middle-aged woman with a baby on her hip. She looked surprised, her gaze flitting between her neighbor and the ginger with her. Her surprise turned to a smug smile. 

“Oh, Lumine! It’s about time you brought someone home! And what a looker you snagged! Good for you!” The baby on her hip babbled and reached out to Childe.

Lumine’s eyes widened. “Oh, he’s n-“ Childe smoothly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her snug against his side. “I think I’m the lucky one here, actually.” He planted a chaste kiss on the side of her head, successfully short circuiting Lumine’s brain.

He then cooed at the baby, making faces as the baby laughed. Childe let the baby hold onto one of his fingers, and the neighbor lady grinned at Lumine. “ AND he’s good with kids?” She spoke as if Childe wasn’t right there hearing everything she said.

Lumine gave a nervous chuckle and smiled. “Haha, yeah he’s… something.” She and Childe stayed outside her apartment for a few more minutes while the neighbor told Lumine about her plans for the day until the baby started to get fussy. Lumine was nervously pressed against Childe’s side the whole time, though she wanted nothing more than to disappear altogether. 

The neighbor bid them farewell and walked down the steps with her child staring back at Childe the whole time. Once they were out of sight, Lumine freed herself from Childe’s grasp which only made him chuckle. She unlocked the door and pushed it open, beckoning the ginger to follow her inside.

Childe’s azure gaze swept across the apartment, studying how his rival and his person of interest lived. He could probably fit the entire apartment in the living room of his own place, but that didn’t bother him. He noticed that the interior was cozy, with a few plants scattered around a mismatched furniture set. 

Suddenly, he heard a loud yowling and looked down to see a large fat, white cat rubbing itself on Lumine’s leg. She shot Childe an apologetic look. “Wait right there while I feed her, alright?”

She kicked off her heels and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a can of cat food for the loud animal. The cat in question, Paimon, ran into the kitchen at supersonic speeds when she heard the can of cat food open. Lumine poured it into a bowl which she then stuck into her microwave for a few moments to heat it up for the fussy cat.

Childe chuckled as the cat’s yowls became louder. “Okay, Paimon! Archons, you act like you haven’t been fed in weeks!” She set the food down which the cat immediately started scarfing down at record speed.

Lumine walked back to find Childe taking off his shoes to set them beside the door as well. He followed her into the living room and hesitated, unsure if he was allowed to sit or where she even wanted him to sit. She looked over her shoulder at him as she unfolded a large easel that had been sitting in a corner. 

She motioned to an ottoman with her head, indicating for him to sit there. “You don’t mind if we get started right away, do you?”

He shook his head and sat down on the ottoman, waiting for her to tell him how she wanted him to sit. Childe watched as Lumine set up her easel with various art supplies scattered around it in an order that only made sense to her. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and he watched the motion, enraptured. Evidently she felt him staring, because she looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

“How do you want me to sit?” He finally asked, leaning back on his hands as he sat perched on the ottoman.

Rather than saying anything, she just approached him and fiddled with the overhead lights above him until she was satisfied with the level of brightness. She then tugged on the sleeve of his shirt. “Off.”

It was his turn to arch an eyebrow. “Wow. So forward, girlie. Asking me to strip when I’ve only just walked in the door?” He playfully winked at her before he removed his shirt in one fluid motion. He didn’t miss the way she focused on the lean muscles of his chest.

He smirked at the reaction. Childe’s eyes widened when she suddenly grabbed his arm and started to reposition him how she wanted. He clenched his jaw when he felt her fingers ghost over it, positioning his head to be looking  directly at the easel a few feet away. His hands itched to pull her down with him, but he somehow managed to resist that urge, though only barely.

Finally, she seemed satisfied and plopped down on the stool she had pulled up to the easel. “Okay, it shouldn’t take me too long to get the basics. Hold still.”

He sat still for a few minutes, the only sound in the room was Paimon’s collar jingling and the soft scrape of pencil on canvas as Lumine did her rough sketch. It was then that Childe realized something: he hated sitting still. He fought the urge to fidget for a few minutes, but it was almost unbearable for him. Finally, he broke the silence.

“You know, it’s kinda unfair for me to be the only one that’s shirtless,” he said in a teasing tone.

Lumine leaned to the side on her stool to look at him around her easel, an incredulous look on her face. “Seriously?”

He nodded, forgetting he wasn’t supposed to move. Her scowl deepened, but after a moment of silence, she shrugged with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Alright.”

“Alright? What are yo-“ the words died in his mouth as Lumine unbuttoned her blouse and discarded it.

Underneath, she was wearing the black halter top she had changed into before the date. She looked up to see his face bright red all the way to the tips of his ears. Childe opened his mouth to talk but no sound came out, his eyes trained on her figure. Lumine chuckled at his reaction, pleasantly surprised that she had made him speechless after hearing from Aether that Childe always had something to say.

She laughed, the tips of her ears also a bit pink from being under his intense gaze. “I didn’t think that would work…” he said quietly, unsure of what to do next.

“You were right. It’s only fair. Now stop moving. I need to capture the light on your face. Just look at me or something.”

Truth be told, he would have hard a hard time looking at anything but her. His focus shifted slightly as the piercing in her navel caught his eye, and he found his mind wandering, wondering if she had any other piercings. He would definitely like to see those as well.

They were both silent for a few minutes, the only sound being the light scratching of pencil on canvas once more. Finally, Lumine sat up straight and stretched her arms above her head. She felt Childe’s gaze on her still and she looked up at him. 

“Okay, we can take a break and you can stretch or whatever, alright?” She got up from her stool and put her hands on the back of her hips and leaned backwards, cracking her back like a glow stick. “Bad habit of sitting hunched over,” she explained when she saw him arch an eyebrow.

She flopped down on the couch, sitting with her legs crossed. Childe got up and also stretched, grinning smugly to himself when he felt Lumine watching how his muscles flexed and rippled. He sat down beside her on her couch, reclining back. 

Lumine shyly fiddled with the hem of her skirt as they sat in silence. Suddenly, she glanced sideways at him, blushing when she caught him looking at her. “So…”

“So?” He arched an eyebrow.

“Do you…want any tea?” She blurted out suddenly, immediately turning bright red as she jumped up to go to the kitchen.

The sound of his laughter followed her, and she was tempted to smack her head against the refrigerator.  She wanted to disappear from existence because she was so embarrassed at her actions. She heard the old couch creak as Childe got up, following her into the kitchen. He grinned at her and leaned against the counter.

“Sure. What kind of tea do you have?” She brightened at his question, her eyes lighting up.

Beautiful , Childe thought to himself. It was the largest smile he had gotten out of her, and he definitely wanted to see more of them. He watched as she tucked some stray hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear.

“Ahaha, well, we have a lot of varieties. It’s kind of a special interest of mine.” She said it quietly and then gave him a sheepish smile.”Kinda dumb, huh?”

He just smiled in return and shook his head. “No way. Nothing’s dumb if you really like it.” He shrugs at her when her expression turns curious. 

“What are some of your hobbies then?” She asked as she started taking tea supplies down from the cabinets. She grimaced as she noticed that Aether had put the kettle on a high shelf, and she reached on her tip of her toes, still unable to reach.

“Back in Snezhnaya, I used to go ice fishing,” he said with a fondness in his voice that had her pausing and looking at him. “I haven’t gotten to do it in a while, but I plan on going back in a couple months to visit my family.”

She smiled at him and turned back around to keep reaching for the kettle, too stubborn to get a stool. “Why does Aether always put it up here when he needs a stool to get it too?” She had muttered it under her breath, but Childe must have heard her.

She suddenly felt his warm, shirtless body press up against her back as he reached above her to get the kettle. She froze immediately, her arm still outreached. His low chuckle reverberated in her ears, the smell of his cologne filling her senses. As soon as it happened, it was over, and Childe retreated, holding the kettle in his hands.

“Maybe he just wants to see you suffer?” He smiled as he said, answering her earlier comment.

She attempted to reign in the butterflies in her stomach but was only partially successful judging from the widening smirk on Childe’s face. She rolled her eyes and snatched the kettle from his hands. “I’m not you. Aether would never.”

He just laughed and leaned against the counter, crossing his ankles. He watched her quietly as she got out various tea varieties for him to choose from. She turned around and proudly motioned to him, grinning. “Go ahead and pick one.”

He walked over to stand beside her, picking up each box and studying it. He put a finger to his chin, scratching it in exaggerated concentration. She elbowed him, smiling, clearly enjoying his goofiness. Finally, he picked one: apples and cinnamon. A look of surprise crossed Lumine’s face at his choice, and it was gone a second later. It left him wondering if he had even seen it in the first place.

“What? Did I choose a bad one?” He arched an eyebrow at her.

She shook her head, smiling as she gingerly took the box from the ginger. She took out her tea infusers, both shaped like little stars. She put the tea in after filling the kettle and turned it on. It was an electric kettle, so it would only take a few moments. A few agonizing, silence-filled moments. Evidently, Childe felt it too, shifting from foot to foot.

Lumine glanced at him as she watched the kettle with him. “Do you have ADHD?”

He stopped what he was doing and stared at her for a moment before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. “That obvious?”

She just gave him a soft smile and shrugged. “It’s easier to tell if someone has what you have.”

It was his turn to look surprised. “There’s no way you have it too. You seemed so focused while drawing..”

Another shrug from the blonde. “It manifests differently in different people. Plus, there’s always hyperfixation that comes with it. I’m sure you have something you’re super interested in.” She held up a box of tea and shook it meaningfully. 

“Hm, I guess there’s kicking ass. I’m pretty interested I’m that.” That earned him another laugh from the blonde. 

Their conversation was stopped as the tea kettle beeped, letting them know it was fully heated. Lumine took it and poured its content into two mugs, setting a timer to ensure that the tea wouldn’t over steep. Comfortable silence settled over them once more. Childe was interested in what she had said, but he wasn’t going to push it.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Lumine’s head shot up, and she looked at Childe, like he’d somehow know who it was. He just shrugged. She walked quietly to the door on her toes and peeked through the peephole. It was the neighbor from before. Childe had followed her and spooked her when she felt him speak right near her ear, his hot breath fanning the side of her face.

“Who is it?”

She jumped and yelped, turning to smack him on the arm. “Don’t do that!”

He just laughed and opened the door before she could stop him. They had both momentarily forgotten they were wearing very little on their top halves and what kind of message that would send. They were reminded of this fact very quickly when the neighbor started to ogle Childe, her face turning bright red.

“O-oh! I didn’t mean to interrupt!” She leaned close to Lumine and whispered something in her ear.

Lumine’s face turned a brighter red than the neighbor’s did and she just stared at her. “It’s not-“

Childe chose the worst moment to interrupt, wrapping his arm around Lumine and pulling her back against his chest. “What, you’re gonna just leave me out?” He rested his chin on her shoulder, the image of innocence.

She stiffened and smacked at his arm, but the damage had been done. The neighbor shoved a small box into Lumine’s hand and waved as she walked back to her door. Lumine stared after her, clutching the box like it was a life preserver and she was adrift in the ocean. She glanced up at Childe and shrugged his arm off.

"You're a menace. An actual menace!" She whirled on her heel and went back inside, sorely tempted to leave him locked right outside. 

He just laughed and followed her back inside. "Oh, don't be like that! You know it was fun!"

She turned and walked back to him, the look in her eyes causing him to put up his hands in surrender. She did not accept it and jabbed him in the chest with the now forgotten box. "I have to see her every day! What is she gonna tell everyone? Tell AETHER ?" 

 Childe's eyes widened as if he had just now remembered that Aether even existed. The look turned hungry and he stepped forward once to bring her within arms distance. He grinned down at her and wrapped his fingers around her arms, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Does that mean he'll actually fight me? For real?"

She just stared at him for a moment. "I guess he wasn't lying when he called you battlesexual." 

He tugged her against his chest with one hand and wrapped his arm around her, a large amount of their skin touching thanks to the only clothing between them above the waist being Lumine’s halter top. Childe was warm. Very warm, and his hair was still damp from the rain.

Lumine couldn't help but notice that the freckles on his face extended to his shoulders, chest, and no doubt, his back. She belatedly thought to remind herself to add them to her drawing later. He looked down at her for a moment as she wiggled against his chest, not getting anywhere.

"What did the neighbor say to get you all flustered anyway?" He let go of her suddenly as the tea timer beeped a warning.

Lumine cursed, distracted, and tossed the box from the neighbor on the couch before she ran to the kitchen. A loud whine could be heard as she poked her head back around the door opening. 

"Childe, the tea over steeped and-" She was cut off by the sound of him chuckling. "What's so funny?"

He had his back turned near the couch and he turned around, tossing the box from one hand to the other. Lumine's eyes widened and her face turned bright red, which only fueled his laughter. She shook her head and disappeared back into the kitchen, not wanting to hear another word from him about it. Unfortunately for her, he had other ideas.

He stepped into the kitchen, leaning against the doorway. "Nice of her to offer, but there's only one problem." He held the box and shook it. "Too small." 

If her face was red before, now it was darker than a ripe tomato. She glanced from him to the box and back, shaking her head once more. "I don't need to know what size CONDOM you wear, Childe!"

The neighbor could probably hear his laughter through the walls. He just tossed the box behind him somewhere and walked over to the tea that lumine was remaking. She refused to look at him, the tips of her ears still bright red. He took the time to finally study her profile like she had done to him in the car.

Her eyes were gentle and like molten gold with golden tresses framing her face. He found the way she scrunched her nose up in concentration adorable. The sun filtered through the window hit her just right, and his eyes widened as it almost seemed as if she glowed. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and his eyes followed the movement.

He was in the process of reaching out to brush more hair out of her face when Lumine's phone suddenly chimed. She looked up and turned to go get it from the coffee table, and he acted smoothly to bring his hand behind his head like he'd meant to do that the whole time.  Suddenly Lumine cursed.

"Shit! Okay, you gotta go now!”

He looked at her in bewilderment. "Why?" He was enjoying himself quite a bit, which was a surprise, even for him.

"Aether is coming up the stairs!" She hissed her words out and started pushing his still shirtless form towards the window. 

He grabbed his shirt but didn't have time to put it on, catching her idea quickly. He opened the window and she unceremoniously shoved him out. He looked back at her, a baffled, crooked smile on his face.

"Can't say I've ever had to leave on a fire escape after a date before, girlie.”

She paused when she was about to shut the window. "Ugh, okay it was fun. I had fun. But you have to go now .”

He grinned as she rolled her eyes and closed the window. Childe pointed at himself and then held his hand up to his ear like he was talking on the phone and then pointed to her. She gave him a thumbs up and slipped out of view.

He smiled to himself as he went down the staircase, oblivious to the face that all of the neighbors could see him from their windows. "What a surprise you are, girlie,” he mumbled to himself under his breath.

While Childe was having a good time thinking of his day, Lumine was in full panic mode. She grabbed her sketchbook and closed it, pushing the easel back. She grabbed their teacups and dumped them out, tidying up right as Aether walked through the door.

He grinned at her but faltered for a moment when he saw what she was wearing. "Archons, Lu! I know it's hot out but you don't have to walk around shirtless!" He jokingly hid his eyes as he dumped his paintball equipment into a pile in the living room. 

Lumine wiped her forehead with her arm, secretly relieved that Aether was so oblivious. Or so she thought. His choked and alarmed cry from the other room filled her with dread.

"Lumine?! Why is there a box of condoms on the couch ?!”

Chapter Text

It had taken Aether over an hour to calm down after he had discovered the box of condoms on the couch and his sister home wearing almost nothing above the waist. It took another thirty minutes to convince him that he’d have no problem with whoever had given her the giant narwhal plush, which was a bold-faced lie on her part. He had finally let Lumine escape to her room where she had paced and fought with herself over whether to text Childe already or not.

The blonde found herself realizing that the “date” had been the most fun she’d had with anyone in a long time, and she also found herself wanting to see him again. The only problem was that Lumine always seemed to second guess herself about other people’s feelings towards her, so she had herself convinced that there was no way Childe wanted to see her again.

Still, he had text her first a couple of hours after she had managed to calm Aether down, and since then, she had text him frequently, enjoying his humor. He had mentioned meeting up with her again, but she had either been busy with working or classes. That voice of doubt still nagged at her.

That was Lumine’s dilemma as she stood in front of the counter at the coffee shop where she worked, zoning off instead of counting pastries. She absentmindedly sketched the ginger that invaded her thoughts on the piece of paper she was supposed to be tallying the sweets with. 

The manager eventually noticed and walked over, looking over the petite blonde’s shoulder only to see several doodles mixed in with the tally marks. She poked Lumine on the cheek, startling her out of her stupor. She looked down to see the sheet of paper and saw Childe’s dark eyes, sketched in pencil, staring back at her.

“That’s the third time this week that you’ve filled an entire page of sketches with this guy. Who even is he?” She gave Lumine a wink, patting her on the back. “You’ve drawn him as quite the looker here.”

Before she could answer, her phone rang. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she saw the name on the caller ID. Lumine looked up at her manager, and it must have been written on her face because she laughed. “Go take your break and answer your boy. When you come back, I expect you to be focused on your job though.”

She quickly walked out of the back door, still wearing her apron. Her heart leapt into her throat as she accepted the call and put her phone to her ear. “Hello?”

His smooth voice on the line made her shiver despite it being warm outside. “Hey, Girlie,” he  said in a singsong voice before continuing. “I was just wondering when you were gonna call.” 

She hesitated a moment and laughed awkwardly. “I wasn’t sure you wanted to talk to me.”

His chuckle sounded so close that it was almost like he was standing right by her. “Oh, I wanna do a lot more than that.”

Before she could ask him what he meant by that , he kept going. “I was actually wondering if you’d want to go on another date with me, since you seemed to enjoy the last one, or did I read the room wrong? I was trying to wait a bit longer, but I really want to see you again,” he said with honesty coloring his voice.

She paused and fidgeted a moment before answering. “I did have fun, but why would you wanna hang out with me?”

Another chuckle. “Well, why wouldn’t I?” He was gently pressing her for an answer, though he definitely wasn’t demanding one.

She shifted her weight to her other foot and held the phone between her shoulder and neck while she stood behind the coffee shop. “Well, you’re popular, smart, funny, good-looking…” that last one had slipped out on accident, and her face turned bright red when she realized what she said.

And of course he picked up on it. “Oh? You think I’m good looking?” His voice was smug.

“S-shut up. I didn’t mean to say that.” She paused. “I-I…wouldn’t mind seeing you again. As…as long as I can keep drawing you,” she mumbled.

There was a moment of silence, and Lumine panicked slightly that she had read him wrong. Finally, he spoke. “Are you not working today?”

She frowned, confused. “What do you m-“ she couldn’t finish her sentence before the manager suddenly threw open the back door.

“Lumine! That boy you keep drawing on our inventory sheets just walked in!”

Lumine’s face turned a darker shade of red and she rushed in, still holding her phone. Sure enough, Childe was standing right inside the coffee shop, and he broke into a grin as soon as he saw her. He was dressed in a hoodie and jeans, messy hair framing his face as usual, and she was reminded once again that he was the most attractive man she had ever seen.

He motioned to her with his phone, and she looked at hers and hung up, coming out from around the corner to nervously stand in front of him. Lumine suddenly realized that she looked like a mess with her hat and hairnet on, completing the look with a dirty apron. If Childe noticed, he either didn’t notice or he didn’t care.

Suddenly, she heard whispering coming from behind her, and she turned and looked and saw her coworkers all watching them. She was reminded that she had only ever brought Aether around before and attempted to fix her hair but was stopped when he wrapped his large hands around hers against her head.

She turned back around and looked at him with curiosity. “You look great,” he said, as if he had known what she was thinking.

She just shook her head, changing the subject. “How did you know where I worked?”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Your brother always brought food from here, and I saw your work jacket hanging up at your apartment. I just connected the dots.”

She nodded, accepting his answer. Suddenly, he brushed the back of his hand across her cheek and gripped her chin, tilting her head up to look him in the eyes. “I’ve seen you much worse. Remember, the first time we met, you kicked my team’s ass and were covered in mud. You were hot then too.”

Her cheeks flushed, both from his hand touching her and also at the memory of him seeing her like that. He kept going, and she didn’t manage to stop him before he added, “ and I’ve seen you shirtless.” 

There was an audible gasp from her coworkers behind her, and she reached up on her tiptoes to cover his mouth. In response, he wrapped his arms around her and tugged her against his chest and also licked a long stripe up her palm which made her instantly uncover his mouth.

“You’re awful! Disgusting!” He just kept his arms around her and rocked her side to side, a shit-eating grin on his face.

Suddenly, the manager walked up to them, also smiling. “Well Lumine, are you going to introduce us to your boyfriend or are you going to leave us all guessing?” She smacked Lumine’s arm playfully. 

Before she could answer, Childe did. “I’m Ajax. Nice to meet ya.” He leaned forward and planted a kiss on Lumine’s forehead, effectively short circuiting her brain like he had outside of her apartment. “Thank you guys for taking care of her. I know she’s a handful.” She knocked his hands off her, glaring at him. 

“Yeah, well, she’s drawn you on nearly every piece of loose paper we have.” The manager complicated things further by saying that. 

“Oh really now?” His tone was smug.

She held up the piece of paper that Lumine had doodled on earlier and handed it to Childe. He looked thoughtful for a moment before he grinned at Lumine. She rolled her eyes in response.  She spoke quietly, “I should probably be getting back to work…”

She trailed off, but her manager had other plans. “Nonsense! Spend time with your boyfriend and take the rest of the day off. We aren’t expecting it to be busy and it’s not like you were being very productive anyways.”

She blushed and nodded before looking at her “boyfriend.” “Let me go change out of my apron, alright?”

He just nodded and sat down at one of the tables to wait, scrolling on his phone. Lumine went into the back locker room and changed, grimacing at herself in the mirror. She fought with her hair that was messed up from the hat and hairnet combo, but she wasn’t very successful. On her way back, she heard the manager talking to Childe. 

“So, what made you fall for her?”

His voice was soft as he responded. “Well, I know her brother from his paintball matches. She stood in for one of his teammates during our last match, and she totally kicked my team’s ass. After that, I was helping her with some of her artwork. And we’ll,” he paused for a moment. “I guess that’s when I realized that I liked her. She’s so different than her brother. I’d love to get to know her more.”

She came back then to see a light dusting of pink on Childe’s cheeks. He shot up when he saw her, bridging the gap between them in a few long strides. He grinned at her and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. The manager came up from behind him and clapped her hand in between his shoulder blades. “Take good care of her.”

He smirked over his shoulder and nodded. “Will do.”

He wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her close to his side as they walked back towards the entrance. Once they opened the door, they realized that the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It was pouring rain, and Lumine shivered a bit as a breeze blew through and pelted them with raindrops.

Childe removed his jacket and held it out for her. She looked at him, wide-eyed. “I can’t take it! You’ll freeze.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, I’m used to the cold. Besides, it was colder the other day anyways. Just wear it.”

He watched as she put it on and then tugged the hood up over her head.  She was dwarfed in his jacket, but it kept her warm, and it smelled like him. He smirked at her. “To hide that hat hair.”

She elbowed him, but he succeeded in making her smile, which had been his plan. He looked her up and down, nodding to himself. “I like how you look in my clothes.” He leaned close to her, eyes gleaming mischievously. Before he could do anything, they both heard a strangled noise coming from behind Childe. 

Aether was standing there in the rain, staring at them. Childe just turned around and gave an awkward laugh, tugging Lumine closer with his arms wrapped around her. If looks could kill, he’d be dead.

“Get away from her!” Aether started forward, but Lumine wrestled her arms free and held the, up in front of her.

“Aether, wait! I can explain!” She was worried, having never kept anything from him before.

It seemed as if Aether had just noticed that Lumine was wearing Childe’s jacket. “Lumine…what…”

Childe sensed the tension and offered a suggestion. “Maybe uh…maybe we could talk about this somewhere out of the rain?” His shirt was soaked through, clinging to his body.

The twins both seemed to agree that this was for the best, though the walk down the street to the covered bus stop was filled with a tense and awkward silence. Once they were somewhere covered, Lumine started speaking first.

“Listen, Ae, Childe is the model for my final project. And…” she glanced at Childe, unsure of what he was to her. He sensed why she paused and he took it from there.

He pulled her close to him, resting his chin on her head. “I want to date your sister.”

Both Lumine and Aether made identical expressions, both surprised. Aether’s was borderline furious though. He looked at his twin angrily. “You’ve heard me say for HOURS what kind of a guy he is, and you’re going to date him?!”

Lumine trembled slightly in Childe’s arms, and he lightly rubbed circles with his thumbs onto her waist. “I..I like him, Aether.” She was embarrassed, but she continued. “He may be an ass sometimes, but he’s also sweet and kind.”

Her face was bright red, and she knew Childe was quietly listening. “Will you give him a chance? For me?” She gave him the best puppy dog expression he could, knowing it was his weakness.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “How long has this been going on?” He paused. “Just…just don’t do anything gross in front of me.” He sighed and gave in, knowing his sister’s happiness came before his grudge.

Childe chose that moment to be a menace. “I’ll make sure to seduce your sister when you’re not home.”

Lumine gasped and reached up and pinched his cheek. Hard. “Stop making it worse.” He just chuckled and nodded.

Aether awkwardly coughed. “I’m gonna… I’m gonna go home I think. I only came to pick you up, and I’m guessing you wanna be alone with your boyfriend.”

Aether shoved Childe off of Lumine and gave her a hug, glaring behind her at Childe the whole time. He just grinned as the blonde walked away, leaving the couple alone. Childe looked to his new girlfriend, smiling.

“I actually have a question for you. Would you like to come to one of my paintball games? We have one coming up.” It was his turn to give her a pleading look.

She just rolled her eyes playfully. “What, so you can show off?”

His grin widened. “Why else? I’ll do better if I know my beautiful girlfriend is there to cheer me on.”

She just lightly punched him in the arm. “Fine, but you owe me a couple of drawing sessions. I need to get a better look at your eyes.”

He smirked and stepped closer until he was looking down, their noses almost touching. “I think that can be arranged.”

They spent the rest of the day chilling in Childe’s car, just talking about whatever came to mind, slowly learning more about each other. Finally, he dropped her off at her apartment, flashing a smile at Aether when he opened the door to let her in.

Chapter Text

The days passed quickly as the paintball match Childe had invited Lumine to loomed ever closer. She hadn’t had a chance to see him since the incident at the coffee shop because her final exams were looming ever closer and the holiday season had approached so the coffee shop was extra busy. She had also tried to keep her relationship with Childe on the down low until Aether got used to the idea. 

But finally, the day of the game arrived.

Lumine peered out of the windshield of her car at the arena that dwarfed everything around it. The event was set to be an urban cityscape so there were buildings and cars piled up in the arena center, providing excellent cover and places to snipe team members from. She remembered Aether saying it was one of his favorite arenas, much more than the jungle one she had participated in. She got out of her car, a stiff breeze blowing her hair all around her, making her shiver slightly. 

She made her way to the ticket booth and was about to purchase one when she heard a familiar voice shout for her. She looked up to see Childe waving at her from the edge of the arena where he stood with his team. He yelled to the person issuing tickets that she was with him and that she was to be let into the arena as his plus one. Lumine gave Childe a small smile and a slight wave, not wanting to bother him or distract him from his match.

She walked down to the railing on the edge of the arena, and Childe jogged over, a huge grin on his face. If there hadn’t been the railing in between them, she had the feeling that he would have crushed her against his chest for sure. His teammates, the same ones whose asses she kicked, walked over as well.

“Ah, so this is who you won’t shut up about, eh?” Kaeya spoke with a smug tone, winking at Lumine.

Childe caught his wink and shoved him slightly, blocking his view of Lumine.”Hey! No winking at my girlfriend! Get your own.”

His comment made Lumine laugh quietly along with Thoma. He spoke next, smiling at her. “You’re Aether’s sister, aren’t you?”

When she nodded, he continued. “Makes sense he’d fall for you. He’s always been battle-brained.” Childe huffed at the mark, but Thoma continued unbothered. “Cheer for us, alright?”

Lumine smiled and nodded. She was about to say something when a sneering voice interrupted them. “Ah, Childe. I should have known you’d pull something like this.”

The blonde turned to see who was talking, her eyes landing on the other team’s members walking over to them. Three of the four team members approaching exuded an intense aura, and Lumine shivered slightly in their presence. The fourth member stayed back, a hood hiding his face. The one who spoke eyed her up and down like she was a piece of meat or more likely, something to be studied.

She felt Childe stiffen near her as he took a step in front of her to block her from their gaze. “What do you want, Dottore?” Childe’s voice was low, almost a growl as he spat the words out.

Dottore just gave a harsh laugh, shaking his head, light blue hair moving with the motion. “Why so prickly? Is that really any way to treat your old comrades?” He fixed his gaze upon Lumine.

“Poor thing.” He said it softly, shaking his head as if he pitied her. “She’s far too pretty to be used like she is, isn’t she Tartaglia?” 

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean.” Childe said it harshly, his fists clenched at his sides.

Lumine had never seen Childe so angry before, not even when she had led Aether’s team to victory against him. This was a different type of anger, white-hot and burning. One of the other team members, the shortest of the four, spoke up then.

“Please, you know exactly what he means. You’re just using the girl so her brother will go easy on you.” He sounded and looked bored, as if he just wanted to get everything over with.

Lumine’s eyes widened at the words, and she couldn’t help but glance at Childe. She noticed that his knuckles were white with how hard he was still clenching his fists. He spoke lowly, a clear warning in his voice.

“Take it back. I’d never use Lumine like that.” He spat out the words again, his shoulders tense and his jaw clenched. Lumine couldn’t see his face, but it must have been terrifying because the fourth member took a step back, a panicked look on his face.

Dottore just chuckled, not bothered by Childe’s reaction. If anything, he looked amused. “Please, you know Scaramouche is right. I can’t see you liking someone as…” he looked her up and down like she was a piece of meat once more. “…plain as she is.”

The girl with the team laughed, nodding along. “How long has it been since you’ve dated anyone? Since before you left our team a couple of years ago, I’m sure.” 

Kaeya and Thoma moved quickly, barely managing to hold Childe back as he stepped forward with his fists raised. “Don’t do it Childe. We’ll be disqualified again!” Thoma pleaded with the ginger as he struggled to hold him back.

Lumine just stood there quietly as the other team laughed. Childe finally stopped struggling, but when he spoke, his tone was icy, far colder than anything she had ever heard from him before.

“Take. It. Back.” He shrugged off his teammates and stood there, shoulders trembling from how angry he was. “Don’t ever insult her again.”

Kaeya stepped in, putting a hand on his leader’s shoulder before speaking. His tone was light, but there was something like a warning coating his words. “You know what I think?” He didn’t wait for them to answer. “I think that you’re just trying to provoke him and are mad that your best member left you. And you know what?  I don’t blame him. After all, you couldn’t even find a fourth member,” he said as he glanced at the fourth member who stood there silently trembling.

“He’s just a random guy from your little gang, isn’t he? Just a meat shield.”

His words had a slight calming effect on the situation, at least for Childe’s team. The ginger ran a hand through his hair and faced the other team. “We’re gonna kick your asses. Just you wait.”

After a few more tense moments where both teams glared at each other in what felt like a stand off, Childe’s old team just turned and left, but not before Dottore threw an insult over his shoulder as he walked away. It was aimed at Lumine. 

“Has he told you what he’s done in the past? I bet he hasn’t, which means he doesn’t trust you. Not really.”

His words chilled Lumine to the core, and she shivered, unable to stop herself from glancing at Childe. He was being held back once more, this time by Itto who had grabbed him in a restraining hold from behind and hoisted him off the ground so he wasn’t able to go after the other team.

There was a moment of silence as the team walked away, and it was broken by Childe snapping angrily at Itto. “Put me down, damn you!” He was attempting to wiggle out of the large man’s grasp but was unable to shake his iron grip.

“Hey, man, I’m just making sure we don’t get disqualified again because you punched someone on the opposite team. Save it for the game!” 

Childe just huffed and stopped struggling. Lumine was quiet for a moment before she spoke up softly. “Childe? Who were they?”

It was eerily quiet as Itto set Childe back on the ground. He, Kaeya, and Thoma wouldn’t look in Lumine’s direction, and it began to worry her. The ginger sighed and looked at her, a blank expression on his face.

“It’s a team from back in Snezhnaya that I used to be a part of. The new leader is Dottore, the shorty is Scaramouche, the girl is Signora, and the fourth guy is probably some random unlucky lackey,” he explained in a monotone voice.

Lumine nodded and she approached him quietly, craning her neck up to look him in the eyes. “What they said… “

He stopped her from continuing by pulling her close against his chest, resting his chin on her head so she couldn’t see his face. “Trust me, lyubimaya. I would never use you like that, and the fact that they put that thought in your head…” his grip on her tightened, and he mumbled into her hair. “I’ll make sure they won’t ever do that again.”

Lumine had squeaked when he pulled her close, the sudden public display of affection momentarily silencing her. She struggled in his arms for a moment but gave up when he gave no indication of letting her go. “I believe you.” 

She had said it softly, but he had clearly heard her by his reaction. Childe had tightened his grip on her, and she wasn’t certain, but it felt like he had pressed a kiss into her hair, but before she could respond, the signal blared that indicated that the teams needed to head to their base camps.

Childe released her and lightly bonked his forehead against hers, making a blush spread across her cheeks. “Cheer for us, alright?”

She nodded, smiling up at him before stepping back. “Kick their asses.”

Without thinking of what he was doing and acting in the moment, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips before he let go and jogged to the entrance of the arena, leaving a baffled and red-faced Lumine behind.

It wasn’t her first time watching one of the paintball games in person, but it had been a while. When Aether had first started playing official matches, she had gone to quite a few, but as they had grown up, she had spent more time working or studying than having time to watch them. Even so, this time felt different, probably because this time, it was her boyfriend she was watching.

The thought of calling him her boyfriend had her heart pounding in her chest and her cheeks flushed as she remembered his kiss. She didn’t know it, but as soon as Childe had reached the base camp, he smacked his head against one of the walls a few times, his own face redder than his hair. He also endured some light teasing from his teammates at his actions.

The buzzer sounded, indicating the beginning of the match, and Lumine stared at the screens above the arena intensely, knowing that would be the best way to see the action. It had started off normally with each team taking pot shots at each other, but Lumine was frowning. The screens hadn’t picked up Childe at all even though the match was progressing quickly.

The fourth member of the opposing team had been taken out first with a well-placed shot from Thoma, and Kaeya was locked in a fierce battle with Signora, the both of them showing off while fighting. The cameras found Dottore soon after. He was sitting on a rising and watching the area around him. Lumine saw his mouth moving, but he wasn’t wearing a mic so she couldn’t hear what he was saying.

Then, she saw a flash of ginger. The camera tried turning to capture Childe in its sights, but it was too slow. In the next moment, he was tackling Dottore off the rise and onto the ground. Lumine gasped as the boys scuffled, and the speakers blared a warning to break it up or Childe’s team would be disqualified for inappropriate behavior.

The two men traded blows, with Dottore head-butting Childe and causing the ginger’s nose to bleed. Childe punched him in the face a couple of times until assistants from the referee’s station managed to get there and pull him off. Lumine could see Dottore mouth a few more words before the cameras went dark, his face a bloody mess.

The announcer came over the speakers next, announcing the disqualification of Childe’s team, giving Dottore’s the official win by default. Lumine jumped up and rushed to the nurse’s station which was where she assumed Childe would be getting doctored up. She was correct. Dottore was seated on one bench while someone tended to his face while Childe sat on the other side of the area being tended to as well. There were referees and assistants standing between them to make sure each one didn’t attack the other again.

Lumine rushed over to Childe, and the ginger looked up at her with a surprised expression.  He shrugged off the person trying to doctor up his face and made his way to Lumine, stopping in front of her. They stood together in silence for a moment as Lumine looked at her bloodied boyfriend. A fresh trail of it still dripped from his nose, and his knuckles were bleeding as well from when he was striking Dottore.

The blonde sighed and shook her head. “What happened out there?”

Childe just looked away for a moment, focusing his gaze on a random spot of the nurse’s tent. Finally, he looked back at her, his eyes searching over her face for something. “He insulted you again,” he mumbled softly, making her eyebrows raise up.

“What could he have possibly said to make you go off like that?”

Her comment had him letting out a huff of air through his nose. “He called you easy. Saying you’re going out with me only to make sure I go easy on your brother.” He mumbled that last bit, stepping closer to her.

Lumine held her ground as he stepped even closer, his chest almost brushing against hers. There was a dark look in his eyes, one she hadn’t seen before. Her stomach twisted to her core when she noticed his gaze focusing on her lips. It suddenly reminded her of his kiss from earlier, and a blush started creeping back up her neck and over her cheeks. 

Apparently it was noticeable, because he chuckled lowly. He gingerly cupped his hand around the back of her head and angled her face upwards towards his, making her eyes widen. Childe leaned down, his hot breath fanning her parted lips. And then he was kissing her. She gasped into his mouth, leaving herself open for him to glide his tongue across her teeth after he lightly bit her lip to make her gasp.

Lumine whimpered as he pulled her impossibly closer, his free hand gripping her hip tightly. Her head spun as he kissed her, but she suddenly pulled back as she felt his blood drip onto her face. “Eugh, you’re still bleeding,” she said breathlessly, taking that moment to control her breathing.

He just chuckled and gripped her chin with the hand that had previously cupped the back of her head. He traced his thumb over her lower lips, his hooded eyes lingering on the blood that was smeared over them. Lumine caught the look she was getting from him, and she shook her head incredulously. 

“Ugh, you’re weird. Stop getting turned on by the sight of blood.” She had meant it as a joke, and she was shocked into silence with his next words.

“I can’t help it. It looks so pretty on your pale skin,” he said lowly leaning forward to kiss her again.

Luckily, Kaeya had arrived and stepped in, bumping Childe’s shoulder with his. “Dude, you’re weirding her out. I’m pretty sure that’s the opposite of seducing her.”

Childe’s pouting look made her laugh, and she shook her head. “I already knew he was like this. I don’t mind. It was just…unexpected.” She glanced around and back again, still feeling her stomach flipping at the look in Childe’s eyes,

“Maybe we should go…?” She didn’t say where, and she didn’t have to.

He grabbed her hand and started dragging her towards the parking lot. If it was possible to drag someone willing, that is. As soon as they got in the car, he was on her. Childe leaned over in the driver’s seat, pressing his lips hungrily against hers once more. His hands found their way to her hips, and he gripped them tightly, groaning against her mouth when he felt her open up to his advances. The console between the seats was the only thing separating them.

She broke the kiss this time, putting her hand over her racing heart. He grinned at her, his nose finally no longer bleeding. “Your apartment?” He managed to get out, his voice raspy and deep.

Lumine nodded, and wasn’t able to get another word out before he was pulling out of the parking lot. On the way to the apartment, she began to squirm in her seat, slightly apprehensive of what she knew was to come. 

It wasn’t her first time, no, but she hadn’t had a lover in quite some time, wanting to keep her mind focused on her studies. The next thing she knew, they had arrived at her apartment, and he was scooping her out of her seat in the car and into his arms. Childe was able to effortlessly grab her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs, much to her embarrassment. 

Once he crossed the doorway into the apartment and kicked the door closed, he was on her once more. Childe sat down on the couch with Lumine in his lap, and he nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck, nibbling on the soft flesh there.

She gasped, shivering at his touch. Lumine leaned her head back to give him better access, shifting on his lap and gasping as she felt him harden beneath her. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her and shifted, spinning them around until he was leaning over her on the couch.

Childe lowered himself down and kissed her, swiping his tongue across her lower lip, asking permission once more. She parted her lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him ever closer. His hands began to wander, up from her hips, up under her shirt, and around to the back where he began to unhook her bra. 

She tangled her hands in his hair, tugging at it as he explored her body with his hands. With one hand, she also explored underneath his shirt, tracing her fingers along the scars she knew were there. Childe finished unhooking her bra and pulled it off of her, tossing it off the couch. He moved one hand to her breasts, kneading one of them, making Lumine whimper at his expert touch.

This continued for a few moments until Lumine tugged at Childe’s shirt which made him lean back, breaking their kiss to pull it over his head and toss it away from them. She then did the same with her own shirt, blushing as she noticed his eyes darkening as he caught a glimpse of her body. They had seen each other’s bodies slightly before when Lumine had been drawing him, but it was completely different this time.

Childe trailed kisses down the side of her jaw to her neck and then down to the swell of her breasts, making her gasp and arch her back. He leaned down and pressed her down against the couch, smirking at the little sounds she made when his tongue laved over the peak of her breasts.

Their ministrations became more and more passionate, but they had forgotten one thing. One small, tiny little important thing: Lumine didn’t live alone.

Aether came through the door backwards, the sound of the door opening making Lumine instinctively push Childe up and off her. Her hands grabbed for the first piece of clothing she could find and slipped it over her head. There was only one problem yet again: it wasn’t her shirt that she had grabbed. It was Childe’s.

“Lu? I grabbed that pasta you liked from the store on the way back from practice. I didn’t grab cheese sauce though so I hope you’re okay with toma-“ his words froze in his mouth as he turned around and realized what was going on: Childe shirtless in the floor, hair messed up more than usual. Lumine wearing Childe’s shirt with her hair sticking out in all directions.

He dropped the bag of groceries he had been carrying and stared with his mouth open for what seemed like forever.

“Ae, I can explain!” Lumine managed to get out as Childe picked himself up off the floor.

The ginger just sat down on the couch and tugged Lumine sideways until she was sprawled halfway in his lap. He smirked at Aether’s stunned expression as Childe once again buried his face in the crook of Lumine’s neck.

“Can’t you say you’re interrupting us? You have the worst timing, I swear.” He smirked as Aether sputtered.

“Oh, hell no! Let go of her right now!” He made a grab for Lumine, but Childe was faster.

He scooped her up bridal style and leapt over the back of the couch with her in his arms. Lumine squeaked as she was carried around the apartment with Aether trying to grab her away from Childe. This continued for a few minutes with Childe always being one step ahead of the blonde, his eyes crinkled with laughter.

Finally, Lumine had had enough of being juggled in Childe’s arms. “Alright, enough! You,” she prodded Childe in the chest, “put me down right this instant!” He did as she was told but didn’t let go of her, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She decided that would have to do, gesturing to Aether who still held a couch cushion like a projectile weapon ready to fire. “Stop trying to protect me! I can take care of myself.”

She huffed and made Childe let go, settling down on the couch once more. She accidentally stepped on her bra on the way and swept it aside with her foot out of the way, a slight blush appearing on her face once more. Lumine hoped Aether hadn’t seen it, but with the way she noticed his jaw clench, she knew he had.

Lumine made Childe sit down beside her, intertwining her fingers in his. Aether sat down on the armchair slowly, glaring daggers at the ginger. They sat in complete silence for a minute, the atmosphere thick with tension. She was the first one to break the silence.

“Alright you two, we need to get some things straight, because I’m going to go insane if this continues. Childe?” She turned to the ginger.

“Yes, lyubimaya?” He leaned close and pressed a kiss to her cheek softly. 

Lumine ignored the way her heart fluttered at how sweet he sounded. “You’ve gotta stop antagonizing my brother, alright?” She waited for him to answer before he continued.

“Alright,” he said finally after a moment of deliberation. 

“And Aether?” Lumine turned to her twin, her eyes soft.

“…Yes?” He broke his eye contact with Childe to look at his slightly younger sister. 

She smiled at him. “You’ve gotta stop being so overprotective. I…” she paused for a moment, hesitating. “I really like Childe, so you’re gonna have to get used to him being around, alright?”

Her twin considered it for a few moments, and then he nodded. “Fine, but I have a question.”

Lumine blinked, not expecting that. “Yes?”

Aether glanced at Childe’s face and back at her. “Was it you who bloodied his nose?”

Oh. Lumine had forgotten all about that, realizing that the feeling she’d had on her face was actually his blood. She grabbed at her purse and pulled out her small mirror, looking at herself. It was then that she knew why Aether was upset. A small amount of blood was smeared above her lips and across one cheek.

Childe’s booming laughter interrupted her thoughts. He leaned forward, grinning at Aether. “Hot, isn’t it?”

Aether’s voice shot up an octave. “No, it’s not hot! That’s my sister, you freak!”

Lumine just shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. She could feel a migraine coming on. As if Childe sensed it, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss to her temple. 

“This is fun, but I think I’ve overstayed my welcome for today.” He stood up, turning back to look at Lumine. “I’ll call you, okay?”

She nodded and smiled, watching as he walked to the door. Suddenly he stopped and looked over his shoulder. “You can keep that shirt, by the way. You look good in my clothes.” With that, he stepped out of the apartment, leaving a flustered Lumine and an annoyed Aether.

Chapter Text

It took the rest of that day to get Aether to stop from planning to murder Childe, and by the end of it, Lumine was tired. Very, very tired. She was finally left alone when Aether went to bed, leaving her by herself in the living room. The easel she had been using was still sitting in the corner of the room, and she approached it and put a new canvas on it. After the events of the day and everything that had happened with Childe, she felt a spark of inspiration.

Slowly the sketch came together. It started as just a bunch of shapes that Lumine slowly filled in. She sat there into well into the night, her mind focused on the singular task of capturing what was in it. When she finally sat up fully and stretched as the dawn light filtered in through the window, a wide grin crosse her face.

Childe stared back at her from the paper, his deep blue eyes the only color in the entire piece aside from the crimson of blood that was speckled across his face. Lumine had taken some liberties with the composition and the clothes he was wearing. At some point in the night, she had had to sit down and search up various uniforms throughout history and found one that would fit the aesthetic she had been going for.

He was wearing the winter uniform of the Fatui Harbingers, the old military unit of Snezhnaya. Blood dripped from his clothes and his face, and he held a similarly blood-soaked saber in his hand. There were a few details she wanted to add, but that would have to wait until she saw the ginger and forced him to pose for her again. All in all, it had been a more productive night for her art than she’d had in a long time.

“Did you sleep?” The voice startled Lumine, and she turned to see Aether leaning in the doorway to the living room.

A soft sigh escaped her, and he had his answer. “Didn’t think so.”

He went to the kitchen and began making coffee for the both of them while Lumine cleaned up the various art supplies that had become scattered across the room as the night had worn on. She made her way to the kitchen and gladly took the cup her twin offered her with a sigh as the warm mug soothed the stiff joints of her hands.

“Thanks,” she said as she put her desired amount of cream and sugar in the coffee cup: more cream than sugar. Aether’s had more sugar than cream; they complimented each other that way.

He went and looked at the canvas she had been working on, and he whistled, arching an eyebrow at her. “Damn. This is looking good.”

“You say that about all of my pieces.”

“Well yeah, but I mean it with this one.” He frowned and looked at her for a moment, searching her face for something. Evidently he didn’t like the answer he found because he sighed. “You really like that idiot, huh.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I do.” Her answer was soft, and she took another sip of her coffee, waiting for the scolding from Aether that she knew would come. When it didn’t, she looked up at him with a confused expression. “You’re not gonna chew me out?”

Aether shook his head. “Nah. I felt like that would happen if you met him. You have shit taste in men.”

That made Lumine smack him on the arm. “I do not! I know we look the same, but you shouldn’t be confusing me with you!”

They both laughed and enjoyed their morning together. 

“So what are your plans for the day?” He asked her while watching her work on the background of her project. 

Lumine let out a soft hum and shrugged as she put her pencil down. “I’m not sure yet. I should probably sleep, but I know that if I do, I’ll really screw up my sleep schedule and I can’t afford that. Our final project’s rough drafts are due in a couple days.”

As if it wanted to answer Aether’s question, Lumine’s phone started ringing. The twins looked at each other before she glanced at the caller ID. It was Childe’s number.

“Hello?” She answered it after the first couple of rings, trying to not sound as tired as she was.

Th smooth voice that came over the phone made her heart race.”Hey girlie. I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

She laughed, and Aether rolled his eyes. “No. You uh, you didn’t wake me up. I’ve been up for a while actually.”

“Oh? Well, do you have anything planned today? I wanna see you again.” 

His words made her heart flutter, but she could feel Aether watching her and she attempted to hold back her smile but was unsuccessful. “Not really aside from chilling at home. I didn’t realize you were so desperate, ginger.”

Childe evidently heard Aether’s laugh in the background because he huffed. “Well, anyone would be if it was about you. Since you don’t have any plans, how about we chill at your place? I know you wanted me to model some more for you.”

“Really?” The eagerness in Lumine’s voice was clear, and he laughed.

“Yeah, really. I’ll be over in about an hour if that’s good for you.”

She nodded and glanced at Aether. “Yeah. I’ll see you in an hour.” Without thinking, she almost said something when she was hanging up that would have been extremely awkward. “Lo-“ she froze. “See ya then.” 

Aether’s eyebrows shot up. “Were you about to save you loved him?!” His voice cracked as it shot up an octave.

Lumine smacked him in the face with one of the decorative pillows on the couch. “Hush! It was a knee jerk reaction. You know I only talk to you on the phone!” 

“Yeah, yeah. He’s coming over in an hour?”

She nodded, and Aether groaned. “I’m staying home then. No way I’m leaving that bastard alone with you.”

“Ae!” Lumine smacked his arm with the back of her hand again. “I’m an adult. You go out and have fun. I promise nothing’s gonna happen.” What happened between her and Childe the day before flashed through her head and ,she was unable to stop the blush that crept up onto her features. 

“Uh huh. Well, you’d better be careful. He’s mister charming.” That was all Aether said before he went to go take a shower and get changed for the day.

Lumine had to wait until Aether got out before she could take her own shower, and she cursed when the hot water ran out right as she put the shampoo in her hair. It at least served the purpose of making sure she was fairly alert and awake when she got out. By the time she was back in the living room after drying her hair, Aether had already left the apartment.

She checked the clock, realizing that Childe would be there any minute, and she fidgeted with the skirt she wore while she waited. Lumine had a feeling, an inkling, that Childe was going to want to continue where they had left off before, and it made the coil in her stomach twist with the anticipation of what was to come.

There was a knock at the door a few minutes later, and she got up to answer it. Childe leaned on the doorframe as she opened it, a smirk on his face. He held a single red rose and handed it to her, taking her by surprise. “For you.”

The gesture caused her to smile, the blush reappearing once more. “Thank you, Childe.” She walked into the kitchen and fished out a vase and filled it with water while Childe stepped in and closed the door behind him.

Lumine set the vase on the coffee table in front of the couch and looked up at him. He had been watching her, and he seemed suddenly a bit nervous. “Ajax.”

She cocked her head slightly. “Huh?”

Childe rubbed the back of his neck shut and sat down on the couch, beckoning her to sit with him. She did, settling against his side. “It’s uh…my real name.”

Lumine sat up straight and away form his side a bit, looking at him with wide eyes. A part of her had forgotten thar Childe wasn't his real name. Even Aether hadn't known it, so the fact that he was trusting her with something this close made her heart flutter once more.

"Ch-...Ajax," She said softly, her eyes shining. 

He reached out and cupped her face, pulling her in close for a sweet and chaste kiss on the lips. "I want you to know me. Everything about me, I offer to you." As if realizing how intense the things were he had just said, he cleared his throat and let go of her face.

Lumine could see a light rosy blush on his cheeks along where his freckles went across his face, and she found it adorable that he was embarrassed. It was a side to him she hadn't seen before. One that contradicted the confident and flirty persona he had built up.

She decided to tease him lightly. "Are you feeling shy? This is nothing like how you were yesterday." The image of him lowering himself down on top of her on the couch entered her mind, and a blush of her own appeared, making her look at the floor when he looked into her eyes.

"Am I not allowed to be?" He didn't mean it measly. "I was…excited yesterday is all." He scratched at a spot on his nose absentmindedly as if he didn't know what to do with his hands.

Lumine found it adorable. "Ugh, Aether was right. You do get excited when you see your own blood." The look he shot her had her laughing again.

"What else has that shorty said about me?" He leaned closer and took her arms in his hands, tugging her close again, his bashfulness gone in an instant.

"Well," She began, putting a finger to her chin as if deep in thought. "He said the thing about the blood. And that you have a lot of siblings."

Childe's eyes softened when she mentioned his family.

Could he get any cuter? She couldn't control the thought that bubbled up in her mind.

"Yeah. I gave three younger siblings and three older ones," he said fondly, smiling. "Do you wanna hear about them?"

It seemed he could get cuter, at least to her.

"Yeah, I'd love to hear about them. It's always just been Aether and I together so I don't know what it's like having siblings aside from Aether.”

And so he began to tell her about each of his siblings. His eyes were the closest to being filled with a light that she'd ever seen before, though there was still that slight tint of darkness in them. It reminded her of what that man, Dottore had said the day before.

Has he told you what he’s done in the past? I bet he hasn’t, which means he doesn’t trust you. Not really.

She decided to shrug it off, sure he would reveal whatever it was when he was ready. As he was talking, Lumine began having a hard time keeping her eyes open and staying focused. Staying up the whole night before had really  worn her down.

At some point, she yawned and Childe chuckled. "Am I boring you that much?"

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head to clear her brain of the lingering tiredness. "No, it's not that. I am just tired is all."

He chuckled and pulled her close against his side. "Let's start the movie then. Are you sure you're not gonna fall asleep?"

"I'm wide awake!" She said as she yawned again. "I'll be fine. It's hardly the first time I've pulled an all-nighter."

She clamped her mouth shut after she said that, not intending to tell him she'd not had any sleep. He turned to look at her and furrowed his brows.

"You haven't slept at all ? Lumine, that's horrible for you!"

She puffed out her cheeks and pouted, mumbling. "I know that. I just got inspired is all."

"Inspired? What were you doing all night?" He sounded like he was both scolding her and was also trying to reign in his curiosity, but he failed.

Lumine grinned and got up, only wobbling slightly as she moved to her easel and turned it around. Childe gasped, arched his brows, and whistled. "Whoa. This looks…amazing." He said it breathlessly, getting up to get a closer look.

Even if it was in the early stages of applying the details, Childe was rendered speechless for a few minutes as he combed over everything in it. “The Fatui?” He looked at her with an arched eyebrow. “How’d you know my family tree had a couple members? You been snooping, girlie?”

Her eyes widened. “I didn’t know! It just came to mind since you’re Snezhnayan and the blood on you was ho-…helpful in coming up with an idea.” She had almost called it hot when he was covered in blood, and he did not need to know that she thought that. “If it’s too presumptuous, I can start over. It won’t take me too long.”

Childe just stared at her. “Didn’t it take you all night?”

She just waved off the comment. “Do you want me to start over?”

“No! Please don’t. I like it.” He grinned at her. “My family has some keepsakes from their Fatui days in the past. I’d love to let you look at them sometime.”

Lumine perked up immediately, but she didn’t give him an answer right away. Meeting his family would be a big step forward, one she hadn’t ever taken with a prospective partner before. After being passed through so many foster homes with her twin, Lumine had a hard time feeling any sort of stability, like everything could be over in an instant. That he would eventually see her as useless or boring and then he’d leave her too.

She was taken out of her thoughts by Childe when he gently cupped her face, his brows knit in worry. “Are you okay? You were zoning out. Should I leave so you can rest?”

“No, I’m alright. We should probably pick a movie though.” 

They both came back to the couch and sat down with Lumine tucked close against Childe’s side once more. After a moment of browsing various streaming apps, they agreed on a movie. Both knew it was mainly for the background noise rather than actually watching it. It didn’t take long for Lumine’s head to end up against Childe’s shoulder as exhaustion overtook her.

He smiled to himself when he looked down at her and found her asleep. Childe wrapped an arm around her carefully, a small blush appearing on his face when she mumbled and nuzzled her head closer. Getting an idea, he very, very carefully pulled her against him as he readjusted himself until they were mostly lying on the couch with his head against one of its arms. Lumine was on top of him, and she gripped onto his shirt tightly as she slept, mumbling again and nuzzling against his chest.

“Cute,” Childe whispered to himself as he gently rubbed her back, noticing how tense her muscles were.

They stayed like that, Lumine sleeping on Childe’s chest, for a large potion of the movie. Even he closed his eyes, letting himself get lost in the warmth of her, and before he knew it, he was asleep as well. Before long the credits were playing, unnoticed by the sleeping couple. It wasnt much longer after before Aether came back, and when he walked in, he sighed at the sight before him.

The two of them were still cuddled together, Childe’s hands holding her close, her head tucked against his chest. The ginger’s eyes fluttered open when Aether set his bag down in the living room. 

“You don’t have to get up,” Aether said softly, motioning to his rival on the couch.

Childe arched an eyebrow but didn’t say anything for fear of Lumine waking up. Unfortunately for both men, she stirred and yawned a moment later. Her golden eyes slowly opened, unfocused from sleep, and when she realized where she was, she squeaked and sat up, straddling him. Her face burned when she realized what had happened. 

“Aether? Childe?” She shook her head to clear the brain fog from sleeping from her mind. “How long was I asleep?” She yawned and was about to get off of Childe, but he suddenly sat up and wrapped his arms around her.

“Not long. Maybe an hour?” He grinned and lightly bumped his forehead against hers, making Aether huff.

Lumine blushed at how affectionate Childe was being and made him release her, which he did reluctantly but not before he planted a kiss on her temple. She waited as he adjusted himself to where he was sitting on the couch, and she sank down next to him as he wrapped his arm loosely around her.

“An hour…? I’m sorry, Childe. I really thought I could pull through the sleepiness.” Her cheeks had a soft dusting of blush on them from her embarrassment.

The ginger just chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Printsessa. It was peaceful with you napping on me. Not to mention how cute you look while sleeping.”

She pushed his head away from her with her hand, gripping his hair lightly. It just made him laugh and Aether groan. “Could you not do that while I’m right here?”

“I better go before you fall asleep again and before Aether threatens me with violence. Not that I’m scared. I can kick shorty’s ass.” He leaned over and planted a chaste kiss on Lumine’s lips, lightly brushing her nose with his before he jumped up and stretched.

He dodged a half-hearted punch from Aether aimed at his shoulder and ducked out of the apartment backwards, blowing a kiss at Lumine with a wink added for good measure before the door closed and left the twins alone.

“I don’t see what you see in him, Lu. I really don’t. “

She just yawned and got up to go to her room. “I sure hope not cause then we’d be fighting over him.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Aether said as he sputtered in response.

Lumine just laughed as she closed the door to her room and flopped onto her bed to nap the day away.

Chapter Text

The next few weeks flew by in what seemed like a whirlwind to Lumine. Exam season had begun and was going in full swing, and the poor blonde had assignment after assignment to push through in addition to her normal course-load. Luckily she had been able to finish the artwork of Childe with a bit of help from him to make sure she got the Fatui references correctly, especially the uniform.

She wasn’t able to see much of her lover aside from their drawing sessions where all that was done was artwork. He seemed to be a good sport about it, not complaining even once during the multiple-hour sessions, instead spending the time watching the small changes in her expressions as she drew.

The intense attention he gave her during those times had unnerved her at first. That is, until she realized that it probably felt the same as when she was focused on drawing him. After that, she had relaxed considerably, getting comfortable as she drew him under his supervision.

The day of her critique, Lumine got up extra early to make sure that her outfit and makeup were both as perfect as they could be. The Archons had blessed her that day, or at least that’s what she told herself, because it was sunny and only slightly cool that morning. In comparison, the entire week leading up to the final critique had been washed out by monsoon-like freezing rain and gale-force winds that would have easily damaged her artwork even in its protected portfolio case.

Just before she went into the building to begin the final critique, her phone buzzed loudly in her purse, audible even above the loud jostling of the several bags she carried. Lumine paused at the entranceway and took it out, glancing at the screen to see who had texted her; it was Childe.

Ajax: Your final ends this afternoon at 3, right?

She cocked her head slightly at his message, not that he could see since he wasn’t in sight of her. Her painted nails flew over the keys as she responded quickly to him since it was almost time for her to go in and set up her work.

Lumi: Yeah, it should be done by then. Why?

Ajax: I’m gonna pick you up after, and we’re gonna celebrate. <3

His use of the less-than-three emoticon made her smile widely, beaming as she typed her response.

Lumi: What if I fail? : (

Ajax: Be nice to my girlfriend! >: ( Turn that frown upside down!

Lumi: ) : Better?

She could only imagine the snort he no doubt let out at her message, unable to hold back the little giggle that left her when he responded immediately.

Ajax: Ha HA , Girlie. Cute. You’ll do great today, I just know it.

Lumine put her phone back into her pocket after putting it on silent and clapped her face with her hands to make herself stop grinning. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and steady herself, she stepped into the building.

Childe waited outside of the art building where he’d met Lumine for that second time, where he’d modeled for her art class. He was half-leaning, half-sitting on the edge of a railing in front of a small flower garden, swinging one of his long legs forward and backward as he waited for his love. He knew how worried she had been about the class’s final and its harsh critique, and he had even considered shooting up a prayer to the Archons to give her good luck, but Childe had stopped himself before doing it. Deep within him, he knew that Lumine was going to pass. She didn’t need the blessing of the Archons. No, she was going to do it without them.

As other classes’ finals ended, a few students had walked out of the nearby buildings and had stared at him with curiosity, but Childe had ignored them, entirely focused on the building that Lumine would be coming out of. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was just about time for her critique’s time slot to be over. 

The minutes ticked by agonizingly slowly, until finally, students began trickling out of the building, talking amongst themselves as they passed the ginger. He racked his brain, trying to remember if any of them had been in the class he’d modeled for but was unsuccessful. He couldn’t remember any of their faces, not when the only person he’d focused on then was the girl who successfully stole his heart.

Finally, after waiting several more minutes, Childe saw that familiar golden shade of hair of hers as she exited the building in a small group with a few other students. He froze in place from where he’d jumped down from the railing when the crowd of people moved out of the way enough for him to get a good look at his girlfriend. She wasn’t holding her portfolio, and dread filled him as he watched her wipe her eyes. His heart clenched painfully at the sight of her crying, and he immediately broke into a jog to reach her as quickly as possible.

“What happened? Who made you cry?” He only stopped moving when he was right in front of her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

Lumine jerked her head up, looking at him with wide eyes and a tear-stained face. It seemed like he’d surprised her, like she’d been too lost in thought to remember that he said he’d be there that afternoon. “Ajax? What are you doing here?” 

That confirmed his suspicions that something was weighing heavily on her mind.

“That’s not important right now.” Childe pulled her into his arms, squeezing her close against him in a tight embrace. “It’s gonna be okay. Obviously they don’t know real art even when it’s looking them right in the face,” he said softly, soothingly, mumbling into her hair.

“Ajax?” She repeated. “What are you talking about?” Lumine placed her hands on his chest, fingers splayed out as she pushed against him to give herself a bit more room in his arms.

He stared at her for a long moment, furrowing his brows in confusion. “You look like you’ve been crying”

Lumine couldn’t stop the small giggle that bubbled out of her at his concern. She had to cover her mouth to try and stop them though she was unsuccessful. “They are good tears. You were worried for me?”

“Well yeah, I was. I am. ” He was thoroughly confused at this point, still staring down at her with a worried expression. “So you didn’t fail?”

The blonde laughed again and leaned up onto the front of her feet, gently running her fingers through her lover’s hair, scratching his scalp lightly with her nails. “Well…” She stopped and pushed herself out of his arms, twirling in place once before striking a pose.

“The professor was so impressed by my work that he wants to sponsor me and put my work in an upcoming exhibition!”

Childe’s eyes widened, but after the moment of surprise faded, he scooped her back into his arms, lifting her off the ground. She squealed as he spun her in circles. “That’s amazing, Printsessa!”

He peppered her face with kisses when he set her back down. They both shared a soft moment in each other’s arms, just silently enjoying each other’s company. Lumine wiggled out of Childe’s arms, looking up at him.

“You’ll come to the opening, won’t you?” Her eyes were bright, her smile radiant with pure joy. The fact that she wanted to share that moment with him made his heart flutter against his ribcage. 

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. When is it?”

Lumine suddenly froze in place, her eyes wide before she burst into a fit of laughter, somehow confusing Childe even more . “What’s so funny?”

“I was so excited that I forgot to ask! It should be on the professor’s personal website.” She pulled out her phone and typed in the web address, scrolling through all of the information until she found what she was looking for. “Hm… it looks like it’ll open in three weeks. I think I got one of the last spots available.”

Lumine worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she searched the website with her phone for information, immediately drawing Childe’s attention. His gaze darkened, and he suddenly pulled her close once more, the sudden action making her gasp. The blonde looked up at her boyfriend, confusion written clearly on her face. The question she was going to ask him died on her lips as she noticed where his eyes lingered. The next thing she knew, he had bridged the cap between their faces and captured her lips in a passionate kiss.

Her fingers twisted in the fabric of his shirt, and she let out a soft whimper, making her lover smirk against her lips. When Lumine needed air, she pushed lightly against his chest, signaling for him to move his head backwards a couple of inches, which he did reluctantly. “You’re insufferable,” she said, her voice breathless.

“You like it.” His voice was smug, his eyes shining bright with mischief. “Do you wanna get some food now?”

The prospect of food made Lumine perk up immediately, and her stomach growled loudly, answering his question for her, making her blush deepen.

They had both decided on a small cafe that catered to people who wanted a little taste of foods native to Mondstadt. The atmosphere was lively, and the establishment was crowded when Lumine and Childe arrived. Luckily, it was also a casual eating place, and no reservation was required. A waitress came by after they waited for a couple of minutes and led the couple to a small table for two by a window.

 Once again, like the first time they had eaten together, the waitress attempted to capture Childe’s attention and flirt with him. He ignored her as best he could, but when she ignored Lumine , he had had enough.

“I’m not here to talk to you. I’m here to spend time and celebrate with my girlfriend.” He pointedly took Lumine’s hand in his, pulling it close to kiss each of her knuckles, his gaze heated and focused only on her.

The waitress scowled and let out a huff of breath, leaving them as soon as their orders were taken. Lumine had been glaring at the back of the waitress’s head, and as soon as she was out of earshot, she sighed. “That really does happen a lot with you, huh. Guess I’d better get used to it.”

Childe frowned, his brows knit together as he lightly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “I wish they would leave me alone. I guess it’s not easy being this beautiful.” He winked at her, trying to get her to laugh and improve her mood.

It worked, and she shook her head as she laughed and smiled at him. Their food arrived after not too long, and Childe made sure to look over Lumine’s to be sure that the waitress hadn’t tampered with it. Oh, and to steal a bite, making Lumine smack him on the arm when he did so. She had ordered the Northern Smoked Chicken with some fresh Wolfhook Juice while Childe had ordered Goulash and the Berry & Mint Burst drink.

They began eating, talking about whatever came to mind as they enjoyed both the food and also each other’s company. Suddenly though, Childe began to fidget, drawing Lumine’s attention. She took a sip of her drink, watching him over the rim of her glass of juice. “What’s wrong?”

He pulled at the collar of his shirt, a single droplet of sweat running down his forehead. “I was ah… I was wondering if you’d like to meet my family.” He’d said it in a rush, almost tripping over his words from how nervous he was.

Lumine’s eyes widened as she felt her heart flutter against her ribcage. “You want me to meet your family?” She’d said it softly, almost in a whisper, as if she was afraid that she was imagining that he’d said it.

A soft blush colored Childe’s cheeks, and he nodded once, his sharp eyes studying her face as if he was looking for the answer to something.

“I’d love to.” Her words were all it took to make him break out into a wide, relieved grin. “When do you want me to?”

Childe kissed her knuckles again, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb once more. “How about next weekend?”

Once Lumine had agreed, they both finished their meal and went their separate ways, each nervous about the upcoming visit. The reasons for their nervousness were similar: both of them wanted Childe’s family to like her.

Chapter Text

Lumine was a nervous wreck while waiting for the weekend when she was going to be meeting Childe’s family. After eating out with him the evening of her final exam, she’d gone home immediately, collapsing onto her bed before she screamed loudly into her pillow. It hadn’t muffled the sound completely, and she’d successfully startled Aether into running to her room to check on her, thinking that she’d injured herself. 

But no, she was just nervous.

This would be the most important meeting of her life as of yet, even more so to her than her final exam and exhibition gallery admittance had been. There were many opportunities for getting into galleries, but there was only one Childe, and she desperately wanted to make a good first impression to his family.

She was completely distracted as she ate dinner the night before that big meeting, twirling a lock of her hair while she absentmindedly tried to eat dinner, not even realizing as she dropped her fork for the second time that meal.

“Lu, it’ll be alright!” Aether rolled his eyes at her, clearly exasperated by his twin’s actions. “I don’t understand why you’re worried so much. You aren’t dating his family!”

She finally seemed to realize she’d dropped her fork, picking it up as she huffed. “I just want them to like me!” Aether wasn’t the only one exasperated. Lumine sounded that as well as tired, the poor girl not having slept well the last few nights.

“And who exactly wouldn’t like you? You’re sweet, smart, and successful! You kicked ass on your final and got accepted to a gallery! and you look like me, so they’ll see that you’re physically attractive as well,” Aether joked as he tried to cheer her up and make her laugh.

It did seem to work at least a little bit, pulling a soft scoff from Lumine as well as a roll of her eyes. Even if Aether was a little annoyed from how much she was worrying about it all, he knew where she was coming from. The twins only had a few friends, and neither of them had seriously dated anyone before. And even if they had , they didn’t have any family of their own besides each other to introduce their significant others to, so their beliefs in family ties were strong, important.

Lumine finally managed to finish her dinner, albeit cold because of how long it took her, and she stood up, suddenly filled with determination. “I’m going to go to bed early so I can be fully rested and alert tomorrow!” Not waiting for Aether’s goodnight, she promptly went to her room and shut the door behind her, changing into her pajamas before she laid down to sleep.

Instead of being successful in that endeavor, she ended up staring at the ceiling for what seemed like hours, until her phone suddenly went off, lighting up the dark room. Sighing, Lumine rolled over and held it up to her face to see what the notification was for, the soft blue glow illuminating her face. The clock read 1:42 AM, meaning she had been lying there for a few hours after all.

The notification was a text from Childe.

Ajax: Looking forward to tomorrow, Girlie?

Lumine couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across her face when she read his message. Her manicured nails tapped quickly as she wrote a reply, and she managed to send it after only dropping her phone on her face once!

Lumi: I’m super nervous… :(

Ajax: Aw, don’t be. They’ll love you for sure, ALMOST as much as I do.

Lumi: >///<

Ajax: Haha, just get some sleep. I’ll be there bright and early to pick you up. Goodnight! 

Lumine stared at her phone, a sudden wave of bravery coursing through her as she quickly typed her reply.

Lumi: Goodnight, I love you

As soon as she sent it, Lumine wanted to suffocate herself with her pillow. She and Childe had basically said it to each other in their actions, but neither of them had expressed it as those three little words, not yet. Too nervous to wait for his reply, she set her phone to Silent and rolled over, her eyes shut tight as she tried to fall asleep. 

If she had checked her phone one last time before falling asleep, she would have seen his next message:

Ajax: Love you too, Girlie <3

The next morning, when Lumine’s scheduled alarm went off, she saw the notification of the message from Childe, and she couldn’t stop the squeal that came out of her mouth. The shrill sound made Aether dash to her room - again - almost breaking down the door in his haste to check on his beloved sister.

“What is it?! What happened? Are you okay, Lu?” He looked like he’d just gotten out of bed himself, his hair loose, the top portion of it sticking out in all directions. He was still wearing his pajamas.

Lumine just looked up from her phone with wide eyes, sitting up to point at her phone wordlessly.

“What did that bastard do?!” Aether had correctly surmised that it was Childe who had caused her to squeal, though he had wrongly assumed that it was from something bad. “Just say the word, and I’ll kick his ass.”

She wasn’t able to hold back the laugh that bubbled up from within her, and she shook her head quickly. “It’s nothing bad. He just…” She paused for a moment, waiting for her brother to calm down. “…He said he loved me.”

Aether looked like someone had punched him in the gut, crouching low to the ground to put his head in his hands, shaking his head. “It’s official. I’m in the worst timeline.”

But what he didn’t know was that Lumine wasn’t done speaking. “I said it to him last night first,” she whispered, barely audible.

He had still been able to hear it thanks to the otherwise silent room, and it successfully, further short-circuited his brain. Aether stood up and walked over to her, shaking her shoulders. “Why him? Why him?!”

Lumine just rolled her eyes. “You’re so dramatic. You’d act this way no matter who I decided to date. Do you remember my last boyfriend, the one I dated in high school?” Her twin just gave her a sour look at the memory. “See? I told you!”

“Yeah, okay, point taken, but he’s my rival, Lu! Literally the worst person you could have fallen for.”

With another roll of her eyes, she sat up in bed. “You’ve got him all wrong, anyway. He’s really sweet, and I’m going to impress his family today!” That was how she decided to psych herself up, with false bravado.

Aether just let out a loud huff and shook his head. They argued back and forth for a few minutes until Lumine received another phone notification. Aether tried to peer over at her screen and read the text, but she was ready with the perfect response to make him regret his actions and not do it again.

“I wouldn’t look unless you wanna see the nudes I sent,” she said, lying through her teeth. She hadn’t sent any pictures recently, and they had never been provocative ones anyway.

Still, it had the desired effect. He immediately backed away, his eyes shut tight. Aether turned on his heel and immediately left her room, narrowly missing the door frame on his way out. 

“I did NOT wanna know that!” 

With her brother out of the way, Lumine was free to look at the notification. It was another text from Childe.

Ajax: Good morning, beautiful. When do you think you’ll be ready to go? I think my parents want to make lunch for us as well.

Lumi: I should be ready in a little less than an hour!

Ajax: Sounds good. I’ll be there then, pretty girl.

Lumine locked her phone screen and finally pulled herself out of bed, walking over to her closet to get the clothing she’d picked out to wear in advance. After warring heavily with herself and trying on nearly every article of clothing she owned, she’d decided on a light blue sundress with matching wedge heels. During her quick shower, she played out various scenarios in her head that might happen, trying to plan for everything she would say to Childe’s family. This was one situation where she didn’t want to say the wrong thing and offend or upset his family.

Once she finally stepped out of the shower, she took her time fixing her makeup. Aether banged on the bathroom door a couple of times and told her to hurry up, but Lumine had ignored him until she was satisfied with how she looked. As she left the bathroom, her twin had dashed behind her into the bathroom, nearly knocking her over.

“Hey, watch it!” All she heard in response was the sound of Aether knocking something over.

All that she had left to do after that was wait for Childe to text her when he got there, and Lumine was beginning to get anxious. She didn’t have to wait long, her phone playing its soft jingle to let her know someone had texted her again, and she took one glance at it, already knowing who it was. Everyone but Childe and Aether were set to “Do Not Disturb” in her phone since she’d been sleeping, and she very much doubted that Aether would be texting her from the bathroom when he could just yell through the door.

And sure enough, it was from Childe.

Ajax: I’ll be there in 5.

Lumine grabbed her purse and began walking to the front door, pausing when she reached the kitchen table, eying some of the flowers in a vase there. She took out one of the white lilies and placed it in her hair, suddenly realizing how much it would match her sundress. 

Managing to walk down the stairs and text at the same time, she scolded her boyfriend.

Lumi: Okay, don’t text and drive, loser.

Ajax: I’m at a red light, girlie. :P See you soon ♡

Lumine snorted at the message, putting her phone back into her purse as she made it to the bottom of the stairs, the light breeze blowing through the trees ruffling her hair. Her next door neighbor, the one who had seen Childe with her before (and had given them those condoms) was walking towards the staircase from the parking lot with her child right as Lumine rounded the corner. The mother beamed at her, waving with the hand that wasn’t holding her kid’s.

“Hello, Lumine! You look like you’ve got somewhere important to be!” She nudged her with her shoulder lightly. “Is it with that handsome ginger fellow from a few weeks ago?”

Before she could even answer her, Childe pulled into the parking lot with his fancy car, the roar of the engine attracting the attention of both Lumine and her neighbor.

“Well, I guess that answers that,” the lady said smugly, giving her a wink. “I hope you two have been making good use of you-know-what. I think you are a bit too young for one of these yet.” She just lifted the hand she was holding with her kid, the meaning of her words not lost on Lumine.

That statement made Lumine’s eyes widen, and a soft blush spread across her cheeks and up to the tips of her ears. Luckily for her, Childe hadn’t heard what the neighbor had said, approaching just after she’d said it, but he did notice the blush on his girlfriend’s face. He shot her a questioning look, but before he could ask, the neighbor gave Lumine’s shoulder a squeeze and leaned in close to whisper into her ear.

“They would be cute babies though, don’t you think?” With a laugh, she straightened back up, waved goodbye to the couple, and continued her way to the stairs of the apartment, leaving a very frazzled Lumine and a thoroughly confused Childe.

“What was all that about?” He cocked his head slightly, studying Lumine’s face for any hint as to why she was flustered so much.

Lumine just clapped her hands against her cheeks loudly to snap herself out of the trance she found herself in, violently shaking her head as she accidentally dislodged the flower in her hair. It landed lightly on the ground and was immediately scooped up by Childe. Before she could take it from him, he’d stepped forward to cup her face in his free hand, making her eyes widen and the blush grow darker. Without saying a word, he fixed the flower back into her hair and then bridged the distance between them, brushing his nose against hers before capturing her lips in a quick, chaste kiss.

When he pulled back away from her face, he arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re gonna have to tell me what she said while we’re on the way to my family’s house. Are you ready to go?”

Lumine couldn’t hide the smile that spread across her face, the warmth she felt in her heart, from how sweet and affectionate he was, the polar opposite of the man she’d expected him to be like originally because of all of Aether’s ranting and raving about him. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

They both walked to Childe’s car, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he opened the car door for her. He showed off then, sliding across the hood of his car to reach the driver’s seat. It made her roll her eyes, though that smile never did leave her face. Once Childe had pulled out of the parking lot, he drove them out of the city limits, through a large suburb area, and then into a much more rural area. At first, they just enjoyed each other’s company in silence, but soon enough, Childe wasn’t able to hold in his curiosity any longer.

“So… what did your neighbor say that made you more red than my hair, hm?” He glanced at her without turning his head away from the road, wanting to catch her reaction to his question.

And just like he thought it would, the blush crept back up onto Lumine’s face. She feigned ignorance. “Oh, you know… the usual. Nothing, really.”

“The usual, huh?” He didn’t sound convinced, but he didn’t press the matter.

After a few more moments of silence, Lumine gave in, sighing. “She was teasing me about the uh… gift that she so graciously gave us, saying that we’re too young for children.” She sounded slightly embarrassed, playing with the hem of her skirt.

Childe, though, apparently found it hilarious, judging from how hard he laughed. “Believe it or not, my mother had already had my two older brothers and was pregnant with my older sister by the time she was our age.”

That little bit of insight into Childe’s life intrigued Lumine, and she perked up, turning to watch him as he drove. “Oh, yeah? Aether did say something about you having a big family. How many siblings do you have?”

“Six,” he said simply, letting that information sink in, looking over at Lumine when they slowed to a stop at a traffic light.

Lumine’s voice shot up an octave when she responded, her tone incredulous. “ Six ?! And that’s not including you?”

“Right. I have two older brothers, Fedir and Mykola. My older sister is Alise.” He paused to make sure that she absorbed that information before he continued the family tree. “Then there’s me, in the middle, followed by my little sister Tonia and my little brothers Anthon and Teucer.” His chest was filled with pride at the thought of his family.

She just sat back in her seat, her eyes raised to stare at the ceiling of the car. “Wow, that’s…”

“Crazy? Too many?” Childe guessed at what she was going to say next, already used to the normal reactions people had when he told them he had that large of a family.

“…Amazing.”

Her choice of words surprised him, and he glanced at her again from the corner of his eye as the traffic light turned green. Lumine explained her response before he could say anything.

“It’s always just been Aether and I, since we were very small, too young to remember our parents. We occasionally had foster siblings or knew other kids in the orphanages, of course, but they weren’t really people we could trust.” Lumine was looking out of the window as she spoke, watching the scenery go by. She must have realized that the sadness was leaking into her tone because she suddenly looked back at Childe. “Not that that was really a bad thing. Just the truth. I can definitely tell you’re a middle child, though,” she said, changing the subject.

Childe knew what she was doing, but he didn’t push her, instead snorting softly at her comment before he took one of his hands off the steering wheel to pinch her lightly on the arm. “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?!”

“You don’t like to share, and you like having the attention on you,” Lumine said bluntly, her tone light as she teased him.

She had expected him to rebuke her words, but instead, he just chuckled, the sound from deep within his chest as his hand slipped down from her arm to her leg before he squeezed right above her knee, his fingers dangerously high on her thigh. “Well, you’re right about that.” His voice dipped lower as their eyes met when he glanced at her for a split second. “You’re mine . I’ll never share, and I’ll never give you up. I want all of your attention.”

His comments, and the heat of his hand on her leg, made Lumine squirm, her legs pressed together as she tried to avoid his gaze. She had a feeling, an inkling, that she needed to change the subject before he just pulled the car over and continued this little talk, and she knew just what to say to do it. “That wasn’t all the neighbor said.”

Like she had hoped, that caught his attention, and it brought him out of the possessive mood he had just flipped to. “Oh? What else did she say?” Childe knew she was trying to distract him, but he didn’t mind, knowing that she was his and that there was no rush to fluster her. Still, he kept his free hand on her leg, his thumb lightly tracing circles on the inside of her thigh.

“She said we’d have cute kids.” Lumine had said it with a laugh, her tone light and joking, but she was immediately surprised by the look Childe sent her way, as if he was really considering that for the first time.

What Lumine didn’t know was that those words had set off a flurry of different thoughts in Childe’s mind, most of them involving her in bed with him during the act of making those kids, along with the mental image of her with cute newborns that looked just like them. He was quiet during these thoughts, and Lumine began to worry that she had said something wrong.

Finally though, he spoke while the car slowed down, approaching a gravel driveway peeking out of the nearby forest that surrounded the road. “Well, that’s certainly a thought.” He didn’t elaborate as he turned on the blinker, turning into the driveway.

“I do think she’s right, though. Our babies would be breathtaking.” The sincerity of his words surprised Lumine, the comment making her blush deeply as he squeezed her leg once more. 

She would have remained flustered as her own thoughts turned to having his children, but all of her nervousness about meeting his family came back as the car moved along the long driveway, and it pushed the thoughts of mini Lumines and Childes out of her head.

A large brick house came into view as the car rounded a curve in the driveway, and Lumine counted at least three stories, maybe more if there was a basement. Large windows were spaced evenly on the lowest level, and they were matched by smaller ones on the above levels. The dark, deeply slanted roof curved over the highest walls, and a wrap-around porch whose wood matched the roof’s colors surrounded the house, even complete with a couple of rocking chairs.

Toys were strewn across the yard haphazardly, and a large swing set with a slide to one side of the house completed the look. On the opposite side of the yard, there was a large garden filled with colorful vegetables that looked like they were ready to be harvested. A large metal fence surrounded the yard, and various types of shrubs, trees, and flowers decorated the expanse of the whole property, the grass slightly longer than the normal “manicured lawn” look. 

The whole place looked like the perfect picture of an upper class family, also somehow appearing cozy despite its large size. It was just the type of house that Lumine had always dreamed of growing up in. She smiled softly.

She didn’t notice that Childe was watching her until she turned towards him to say something, and his expression made her stop short. Lumine hadn’t ever seen a look like it, at least not turned in her direction. It had been feeling with such compassion, such love , that it made her heart flutter against her ribs. As if he had suddenly realized what his face showed, Childe coughed into his hand and looked away but not before she had seen the blush that spread across his cheeks when he was discovered.

“So… what do you think?” He tried to be smooth with an attempt to distract her, and she knew it, but she didn’t mind.

Lumine just smiled softly at him before she looked back at the house. A flash of color caught her eye, and she watched with wonder while a beautiful blue bird landed in a birdbath and started splashing around. “It looks like something out of a fairy tale.”

Childe was looking at her with an arched eyebrow. “Why do you say that?”

Lumine let out a soft hum as she tried to think of a way to explain her feelings to him. “It just looks so… cozy, warm. Ae and I got moved around from foster home to foster home along with going back to the orphanage… for years. It’s just amazing seeing a home where so much time has passed with the same family, a place where so much love happens, you know?”

“Well… now you’re going to be a part of this family, so you and your brother won’t ever have to be alone anymore.” Once again, the sincerity in his voice made Lumine’s heart flutter.

The implication of his words wasn’t lost on her, and the fact that he included her brother, his rival… Lumine smiled at him. “Thank you, Ajax.”

Childe evidently hadn’t expected her to use his birth name, and he cleared his throat awkwardly before he opened his car door and got out, coming around to the passenger side to open her door. “Come on, lunch should be done soon.” 

There was so much more he wanted to say about the subject of their conversation, but it was going to have to wait. It was time to meet his family.

Lumine placed her hand on Childe’s arm when he held it out for her to take and walked up to the front porch with him. When they reached the door, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and Childe knocked loudly, using a rhythm that must have been familiar to his family, before he pushed the door open. 

With that, Lumine took her first step forward towards meeting her boyfriend’s family, her own future family in time.

Chapter Text

The first thing Lumine noticed when she stepped through the doorway was the delicious smell of something cooking, her mouth instantly beginning to water. She took in a deep breath, trying to discern what type of food the heavenly scent came from. 

Childe must have noticed that because he let out a loud laugh, grinning. “I do the same thing. Can’t wait until you try the food. It’s going to blow your mind.”

Suddenly a flash of ginger caught Lumine’s eye, but before she could even turn her head to see what it was, its owner hit Childe with such force that he stumbled backwards a step. Lumine had still had her arm in Childe’s, so she was also pulled backwards, losing her balance. Before she fell, Childe was able to wrap his arm around her waist to steady her, tucking her in close against his side.

“Whoa, why hello, Teucer! Take it easy, you almost knocked me over,” Childe said warmly, looking down at the child that was clinging to him.

A miniature version of her boyfriend peered back up at him, a wide grin on his youthful face. “Brother, you’re home!”

Lumine stood there politely, a look of surprise etched on her face at just how identical the child looked compared to… well, Childe. They had the same hair color, same messy cowlick on their heads, same eye color, same freckles; it was really like he’d just been copied and pasted. What her neighbor had said about them having cute children flashed through her mind once more, though now all that she could picture were more identical copies of him. 

His family must have really strong genes…

The childe-like child looked up at her, his eyes wide. “Wow, you’re really pretty! Are you miss Lumine?”

Kneeling down to the child’s level, she smiled at him. “I am! Your name is Teucer?” Lumine asked, remembering that that was what Childe had just called him.

Just then, there was a call from the kitchen, answering her question. “Teucer? Where did you go? I thought you were going to help me with lunch.” The voice was feminine, and with her tone, Lumine could only guess that it belonged to their mother.

Sure enough, Teucer confirmed that, speaking a second before Childe had a chance to. “Mama, big brother is back with Miss Lumine!”

The next thing Lumine knew, two more children came dashing out of the kitchen: a boy who looked a couple of years older than Teucer and a girl a few years older still, both of them younger than Childe by a few years. Childe’s first action was to kneel and open his arms, and he was immediately tackled back onto the floor by all three of the children. They landed in a pile of gingers, all laughing and smiling, and Lumine couldn’t help but smile as well. It was a kind of contagious joy, seeing how happy Childe’s younger siblings were to see him.

A loud gasp came from the direction of the kitchen, and Lumine turned to look in that direction, seeing someone standing in the doorway. 

The woman also had ginger hair pulled up into a loose bun, though streaks of gray were mixed in with the bright red. She wore an apron that had a small amount of what looked like flour along with possibly soup? One hand was covering her mouth, and Lumine immediately became self-conscious, shifting from one foot to the other shyly. Childe jumped up and grabbed her, wrapping an arm around her waist before steering her forward gently.

“Mama, this is Lumine,” he said softly when they stopped a couple of feet in front of her. Lumine couldn’t see it, but he wore the same expression he had when they were in the car, filled with love and affection for her.

The woman, Childe’s mother, beamed at Lumine and pulled her away from him, enveloping her in a tight hug, making her squeak. “Oh, of course she is, Ajax! I think I’ve heard about what she looks like from you enough to pick her out of a huge crowd with how often you’ve talked about her!”

“Mama!” Lumine couldn’t see his face because hers was pressed into his mother’s shoulder, still in a tight hug, but she could imagine the look of embarrassment on his face just from the tone of his voice alone.

His reaction made both Lumine and his mother giggle, and they shared a look between them when she let go of her, a camaraderie developing between them instantly over teasing Childe. His mother then gave him a hug, having to lean up on her tiptoes to affectionately pat him on the head. Lumine could only assume that he got his height from his father since his mother was only a couple of centimeters taller than she was. She couldn’t hold back the giggle that came out of her when Childe whined at how his mother was teasing him.

“Oh, hush, Ajax,” she said as she lightly pulled on his ear, earning yet another whine from him. Turning back to Lumine, the smile was still on her face as she took her hands into her own. “You’re even more beautiful than he’d described. You glow, almost like a star.”

The compliment made Lumine blush, and she looked at the floor shyly. “Thank you, ma’am.” She glanced sideways at Ajax. “I didn’t realize he’d spoken to his family about me so much.”

He had a panic stricken expression, but he wasn’t able to stop anyone from saying anything, so Teucer happily blurted out, “he talks about you all the time!”

The girl that had tackled Childe looked at Lumine with curiosity before asking an innocent question. “Did you really beat him up?”

That made Childe scoff. “Tonia, she didn’t beat me up! She helped her brother’s team win against mine in a paintball match.”

The last of the three younger siblings looked up at her as well, and she was able to put a name with his face since there was only one it could be: Anthon, the middle of the younger children. “I bet she could still kick your butt,” he said loudly, reaching up to squeeze Lumine’s arm as if testing how muscular she was.

She decided to play along, flexing her arm, making the three children gasp. Lumine was proud of how much muscle she had, often going to the gym to stay in shape, having gotten used to doing so when she still did gymnastics.

“Oh, I could definitely kick his butt, don’t you worry!” She said it confidently, but if she would have known how he was going to react, she might not have said it.

Childe suddenly rushed forward and grabbed her around the waist from behind, wrapping his arms around her before he lifted her into the air at least a foot off of the ground. The unexpected move made her squeal, almost clawing at his arms to stabilize herself, flailing, which just made him tighten his hold on her, laughing. “Oh really now? That’s something I’d like to see.” His voice was low in her ear when he spoke, the teasing tone he’d gained not going unnoticed by his mother.

“Not here in front of the children, you menace!” She lightly smacked him on the arm, and he sullenly put Lumine back down, though he did keep his arms wrapped tightly around her, his chin resting on the top of her head.

Lumine didn’t know it, but Childe was beginning to get jealous of the attention she was showing his family instead of on himself.

The commotion they’d all caused had apparently alerted the rest of the household that they’d arrived because a door in the back of the house opened, followed by the sound of several footsteps approaching. Two men entered the room, and she instantly knew they were Childe’s older brothers. They looked almost identical to him as well, with ginger hair and blue eyes, also equally as tall. 

Lumine wasn’t able to stop the runaway thought that it seemed to be pretty much guaranteed that, if they had children, they would also be identical to him, like she’d just gotten copies of him printed. Shaking her head to clear away that mental image, she smiled politely at the two of them.

They immediately walked over to Childe, leaning on his shoulder, looking down at Lumine. “Well, well, will you look at that! Jaxie wasn’t lying when he said he had a gorgeous girlfriend!”

While one of them kept their arm slung over his shoulder, the other bent down closer to Lumine and grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips to plant a kiss on her knuckles. That got Childe’s attention, and he pushed the other brother off and grabbed Lumine even tighter, tugging her closer against him. 

She felt vaguely like the rope in a tug-of-war contest.

“Hands off, Mykola. She’s mine .” Childe’s tone was light, most likely to keep his younger siblings from recognizing the clear warning, the gaze he shot at his older brothers frigid.

Lumine reached up behind her and lightly pinched Childe’s cheek before brushing her fingertips across his jaw line in an attempt to ease his jealousy. He calmed down instantly, and instead of glaring at his older brothers, he just buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. That caused a reaction in all of the older siblings and Childe’s mother that made Lumine confused: all of them looked surprised, even their mother. She was going to have to ask Childe about that later when they were alone.

She cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention away from their clingy family member. “If you’re Mykola… then that makes you Fedir, correct?”

The man that had kissed her knuckles nodded, smiling. Before he could say something else that would inevitably provoke Childe, someone else did. “That’s right, and I’m Alisa.” The voice came from a young woman who had also just stepped out of the kitchen. She was wearing an apron that matched her mother’s, though hers had far more stains on it.

Lumine felt her breath taken away at just how beautiful she was, not that the whole family wasn’t insanely attractive in the first place. Alisa just seemed to move with such poise and grace that was far more elevated than her rambunctious brothers. Once she’d reached Lumine, she attempted to knock Childe’s arms away from Lumine so that she could give her a hug. He finally let go, though reluctantly, grabbing her again as soon as Alisa’s hug was over.

“You really are beautiful,” Alisa said, smiling at Lumine. “Seems like Jaxie finally found someone who could put up with his insufferable personality,” she said with a playful grin at her younger brother.

Their mother made her way around her children and back towards the kitchen, pausing in the doorway. “Anthon, go fetch your father from the garden, will you? Lunch is almost ready. And Ajax, you go show Lumine to the table.” She gave them one last look over her shoulder, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I have a few fun things planned for us all after we finish eating.”

That comment instilled a sense of dread in Ajax, but he dutifully did as his mother wanted, taking Lumine by the hand and leading her into the dining room. Once there, she was immediately distracted by all of the family photos displayed along the wall. She slipped her hand out of Childe’s and walked up to look at them, him following close behind her.

“I bet you can’t tell which ones are of me,” Childe challenged in an amused tone, looking down at his girlfriend.

“You’re on, Jaxie ,” Lumine countered, not missing the way his eyes flashed as she used his family’s nickname for him.

She approached the wall of photos and began studying all of them closely. They made her smile, all of the children looking so happy in every picture: playing with toys, smiling up at their parents, wrestling with each other. It took her less than a minute before she settled on one that she just knew was of Childe. The picture was of a little boy, smiling as he held up a fish he must have just caught.

Lumine said it with confidence: “This one is of you.”

Childe’s eyes were wide when she turned to look at him, like he couldn’t believe she’d guessed correctly. “Actually… yeah, it is. How’d you know?”

“You all may look similar, but the way you smile is unique.” She turned towards him and cupped his face, lightly tracing the scattered freckles under his eyes with her thumb. “I’d always be able to tell which one is you.”

Childe just stood there, staring at her, stunned by her words. He leaned into her touch, raising his hands to put them over hers when she tried to move back, not wanting her to stop touching him. With his heart thudding painfully in his chest, his desire for her to be his, always his, almost overpowered him. As he leaned in to kiss her, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them, and Lumine hurriedly stepped back, slipping her hands out of his, a deep blush on her face for being caught by his family like that.

Alise stood in the doorway, holding a stack of plates and eating utensils. She had a soft smile on her face as she walked into the dining room and began setting the table. “You might want to wait until after dinner to get all lovey-dove with each other. Or at least wait until you’re not around the little ones.” Her smile had turned smug, and her tone was clearly teasing.

A moment later, like they’d been summoned, the three youngest gingers came tumbling into the dining room, followed by Fedir and Mykola. At the rear came Childe’s mother and an older man that Lumine hadn’t met, though the gray that speckled his beard and hair gave her a good idea as to who it was. Childe stiffened slightly at her side, and Lumine instinctively slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers and squeezing his hand. His shoulders relaxed, and he let out a sigh-like exhale before he spoke.

“Hello father.” His tone was even stiffer than his posture, and the tension in the air was heavily thick.

When his father spoke, his voice was deep and gruff, though not unkind, just stiff, like Childe’s was. “Ajax,” he said simply, nodding at his son before he turned to look at Lumine. His eyes landed on her hand in Childe’s, and his eyes softened slightly. “You must be Lumine.”

She nodded, a smile on her face. “I am,” she said politely, cheerfully. “Thank you for having me.”

Childe’s mother shooed them all towards the table that had finally been set with all of the plates and utensils. Lumine hesitated, unsure if there was a certain seating order she should obey, and Childe seemed to notice because he put a hand on her lower back and guided her to a spot, intending on sitting beside her. Almost immediately, both Teucer and Anthon tried to rush ahead of him to sit in the chair on the other side of hers. 

Their mother clicked her tongue. “Boys, enough. Let Alisa sit beside Lumine today. I’m sure she would rather have that than having you both bugging her.”

Finally, after about a minute of the most chaotic session of musical chairs that Lumine had seen, everyone was seated. She had Childe to her right and Alisa to her left near the middle section of the table. His older brothers were opposite them, while their father sat at the head of the table with their mother at his side, the smaller children clustered together at the opposite end. 

Once everyone had settled down, Childe’s mother and Alisa got up to fetch the dishes of food, and Lumine was suddenly hit with the most wondrous sight and smell: the several dishes of food being brought in. Everything looked incredibly delicious, and she was given generous servings of every single one, so much so that she wasn’t sure she could even finish it all.

“Alright, Lumine, tell us a little about yourself,” Childe’s mother said warmly as she put yet another plate of food down in front of her to try. “Though I think you’ll be hard pressed to find something Ajax hasn’t already told us.”

That comment made Lumine smile shyly while she heard Childe huff beside her. Putting down her fork, somewhat reluctant to stop eating, she pondered what to tell them. “Well, it’s just my twin brother and I, really. He was one of Ajax’s paintball team’s rivals, but the way we actually met was kind of funny.”

Childe’s older brothers leaned forward towards her, both interested in what she was going to say. “Do tell,” Mykola encouraged, his voice colored with curiosity.

“Now, now, I don’t think it’s that interesting,” Childe mumbled, a frown on his face.

That response only spurred his family to beg Lumine to tell them, definitely wanting to know since Childe was suddenly on the defensive. Lumine couldn’t help the smirk that spread across her face, glancing at him with a mischievous look in her eyes. That only made his frown deepen, a blush of embarrassment already blooming on his face.

“Well, Aether, my twin, and I… we pulled a good ‘ole switcheroo. I acted timid, pitiful, and oh so frail before the game started, and we switched clothing with each other before entering the arena. He correctly predicted that Ajax would go after ‘me’ - actually Aether - while I subdued his teammates with some moves I learned when I did gymnastics growing up.” She kept her descriptions short as she recounted how she’d successfully showed Childe up, making his team lose.

When she finished her story, everyone was laughing and seemed thoroughly amused. Even Childe was begrudgingly smiling at her, enjoying how his family was reacting to her.

Little did either of them know that the teasing had only just begun. Alisa suddenly leaned closer to Lumine, mischief sparkling in her eyes, strongly reminding her of Childe. “So, you’re a former gymnast?” She continued after Lumine nodded. “You must be… quite flexible then.”

Childe had been taking a sip of his drink when his sister said that, and he almost choked on it. The double meaning behind her words was only lost on the youngest children while all of the adults, Lumine included, chuckled at his expense. 

“Why, yes. Yes, I am,” Lumine confirmed as she smiled at Childe, winking at him.

All he was able to do was make a soft, strangled noise in the back of his throat. Luckily for him, the conversation quickly moved to the rest of his siblings’ upcoming activities and how the youngest ones were doing in school. Suddenly, Lumine felt a hand ghost lightly over her leg, and she stiffened in her seat, glancing down. Sure enough, Childe’s left hand was resting lightly right above her knee on the inside of her leg, and he squeezed it gently when she shot a glare in his direction.

He just continued with the conversation as if he wasn’t feeling her up at the dinner table with his family around them. “How have your headaches been, father? Has the new medicine been working well?”

His hand ghosted higher, to Lumine’s thigh, as his father looked surprised that he’d asked him. “Yes, I haven’t had as many recently. Thank you for asking,” he said, confusion coloring his expression and voice.

“Good. That’s good,” Childe said with a smile, casually sliding his hand further to the inside of Lumine’s leg to play with the hem of her skirt.

Lumine was powerless to do anything other than to shift her weight in her seat, pressing her legs together to trap his hand from going any higher than it had already. She was thankful she’d worn a longer dress, even if he had already slipped his fingers underneath the hem; the longer fabric made it harder for him to reach higher. None of that seemed to bother him in the slightest as he smiled and continued talking with his family.

After several tortuously slow minutes had passed, dinner was finished, and his family began to get up, making Childe let go of Lumine’s leg while the children ran around the table to begin bombarding Lumine with questions.

Childe shooed them away, promising to let them have their questions later, after he’d shown Lumine around the property first. Once they were alone, she turned and glared at him, narrowing her eyes. “What do you think you were doing?” She hissed, glare so cold it even made his Snezhnayan blood chill.

But instead of showing any sign of feeling guilty, he just shot her an infuriating smirk, leaning over the table to rest his chin in his hand. “I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean, Printsessa.”

Before Lumine could strangle him, Childe’s mother took her by the hand and led her to the couch, sitting down beside her before handing her an old photo album. Childe had followed them, and upon seeing what was in Lumine’s hands, he groaned, shaking his head as he sat down on her other side.

“Mama, no… Not the photo album!” He whined, giving as much of a pouty look as he could in hopes of not having all of his secrets revealed.

That just got a laugh out of his mother. “Oh, come now, Ajax. Let us have some fun. This is the first time you’ve brought a girl home, and we’re gonna make the most of it!”

Lumine smirked at him, confident now that the tables had been turned. “Yeah, Jaxie, let us have some fun!” Her grin widened as his eyes narrowed and darkened at her tone, knowing he couldn’t do anything under the watchful eye of his mother.

The photo album just had “Ajax” written across it and what she must have guessed was his birth year. She’d already known he was probably older than her, and now she’d confirmed it. They were only born a few years apart, but for some reason, it still made her heart flutter.

Opening the photo album, Lumine was immediately met with the cutest sight she’d ever seen: Childe as a newborn. He was wide-eyed and smiling, even as such a tiny, little thing. She cooed, smiling down at the photos as she began to flip through the pages with his mother. It seemed to be organized chronologically, the little boy in the photos growing up right before her eyes. Childe was silent beside her as she looked at them all, but she could feel his eyes watching her face.

Suddenly, Lumine noticed something. Up until a certain point, there had been tons of photos, but after he grew up a bit, when he seemed to have entered his teenage years, there were far less. The smiling, bashful little boy had gained a darkness to his eyes, like no light could enter them, a look that he still seemed to have. His mother also seemed a lot less chatty the further they got in the photo album, and there were almost no pictures of Childe in his late teens, like he’d been erased.

She could tell that it wouldn’t be wise to ask why then, filing her question away for when she and Childe were alone again.

Finally, when they reached the end of the album not long after that, Childe’s mother stretched, standing up with a smile. “Now Ajax, why don’t you show Lumine your old room? Give her a tour,” she said with that same mischievous look that Childe sometimes got, and it made Lumine shift nervously from where she sat on the sofa.

“Sure,” Childe said with a bit too much enthusiasm, either eager to put up the photo album or to get his lover alone. He pulled her up by the hand, leading her up the stairs.

They stopped on the third floor, and Childe walked her past a few doors before he paused at one that had a small name plate with his name scribbled in child-like handwriting. He opened the door and stepped in, tugging Lumine in after him. The room looked like it was a perfectly preserved time capsule, and it was obvious that Childe hadn’t slept in the room in some time because it still looked like it belonged to a child. There were posters of paintball teams and rock bands, and there were odd belongings scattered throughout the room.

Lumine was in the process of picking up a conch shell from his nightstand when Childe suddenly grabbed her from behind and pulled her tight against him, his hands lingering on her hips. Facing away from him, her back pressed up against his chest, all Lumine could do was look over her shoulder only to find him extremely close to her. “W-what are you…?”

He just buried his nose in her hair, swaying gently back and forth with her. “I thought we’d never be alone,” Childe mumbled lowly, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her head. “What do you think of them? My family, I mean.”

It took her a minute, but she managed to wiggle out of his grasp and sat down on his bed, looking up at him. “They’re sweet, especially the kids,” Lumine said fondly. “You, though, you’re a menace.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean~”

She just scoffed and laid back on his bed, ignoring the way his eyes darkened as they wandered down her figure. “Mmhmm. I think you do, touching my leg under the table like that. What if they had seen?”

Childe sat down on the edge of the bed before he climbed on top of her, his hands trailing up her legs, the heat making Lumine shudder. “Relax, they didn’t,” Childe husked, leaning down to capture Lumine’s lips with his own in a passionate kiss.

She let him do as he pleased, reaching up to tangle her fingers in his wild hair. “I do have a question though.”

“Mm?” That was all he said, nuzzling his nose against the crook of her neck, pressing kisses against her pulse point before he lightly bit down on the flesh, sucking harshly.

Lumine’s mind went blank, and it took her several seconds to remember what she was trying to ask him. She hesitated, and Childe seemed to sense it because he looked up at her, his brows furrowed. “What is it, lyubimaya?”

“I was just wondering… about the stuff your old teammates said and the way your family seems to act around you.”

“…Ah, that.” He moved lower until he hovered over her chest, lying down on her with his head on her breasts, resting his full weight on top of her.

Lumine stroked his hair, patiently waiting for him to organize his thoughts and to continue. “I’m not going to think less of you, you know. Your past is in the past, and everyone has skeletons in their closet,” she reassured him, scratching lightly at his scalp with her fingernails.

Childe froze, stiffening on top of her. It took him a while, but he finally relaxed, nuzzling closer against her chest. “I guess I can’t run from it forever,” he sighed.

She didn’t push him to speak, waiting for him to continue when he felt comfortable enough. It didn’t take too long.

“I got in with a rough crowd when I was younger. A uh… I guess you could call it a gang.” It wasn’t the strict truth, but Childe wasn’t sure about telling her about the Fatui. Not yet.

“I’m guessing it was more than your typical teenage rebellion, then. Is that how you got all of these scars?” Lumine tugged at the back of his shirt, and he sat up and pulled it off over his head, tossing it onto the floor before he used her chest as a pillow once more, trapping her under him.

She lightly traced the numerous scars she could see on his back, just as many - if not more - than the ones on his chest.

“Yeah. Well, I just… did a lot of things I’m not proud of,” Childe whispered, as if he was ashamed to say it out loud. “I understand if you don’t want to continue.” He didn’t say what he meant, but he didn’t have to, either.

Lumine gripped his hair and lifted his head up so he had no choice but to look her in the eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw the anxiety he must have been feeling written clearly on his face. “You aren’t getting rid of me that easily, Jaxie ,” she teased, giving him a secretive smile.

The next thing she knew, he had pulled himself up and was pressing her down into the bed, kissing her. His hands roamed up over her sides, like they were trying to delve into her clothing, and he sighed against her lips. “I hate the dress you’re wearing,” Childe mumbled lowly, grasping her wrists and pulling them above her head to restrict her movement.

His mouth pressed searing kisses over her jaw, down her neck, and finally, against her collarbone. There were going to be clear hickeys on her skin from how harshly he was sucking on her skin, like he wanted to mark her since she’d doubled down on their relationship.

A sudden knock at the door had Lumine shoving Childe off of her and onto the floor, only able to do so because his attention had moved to whoever was trying to interrupt them. He grunted as his ass hit the floor with a loud thud, huffing as he watched Lumine try to readjust the clothing he’d worked hard to dishevel. The door opened before she could finish, however, and Alisa stood there in the doorway with an unimpressed expression on her face at seeing the situation.

“Mama just wanted me to let you two know that it’s apparently going to storm soon, so you should probably take her home, Jax.” With that, and without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and closed the door again, leaving the flustered couple alone once more.

The whole situation made Lumine laugh, a fond look in her eyes as she looked at her lover. “Well, I guess that’s our cue. Should I call an uber?”

Childe gave her an incredulous look, as if she had suddenly grown another head. “Are you crazy? I’m driving you home, girlie.” His tone was a bit grumpy at being interrupted.

“I didn’t know if you’d rather visit with your family a bit more,” Lumine said as she attempted to justify her question.

It didn’t take them very long to finish their visit, the children clinging to Lumine and whining that they didn’t want her to leave. It warmed Childe’s heart to see them already so attached to her. After many hugs and promises to visit again, they finally went back out to Childe’s car to leave. 

Right before Childe got into the car, his mother slipped him a small note, whispering for him to look at it once he was alone. Confused, he just nodded, shoving it into his pocket before he got into the car and began the ride back to Lumine’s house, one last stop before he would go home to his own apartment.

Chapter Text

Childe had barely pulled out of his family’s driveway before the rain started, just like his mother had foretold. And when that rain started, it wasn’t just a light sprinkle or even a moderate shower. It was like Celestia had broken apart and was pouring a monsoon’s worth of water down upon them. He had the windshield wipers cranked up as high as they would go, and he still had to drive extremely slowly, his bright lights turned down to reduce the glare bouncing back off of the raindrops and the wet road.

It was going to make their normally short journey take a lot longer.

“Maybe we should have stayed at your family’s home for the night,” Lumine said softly as she peered out of the window at the downpour. She had to repeat herself, her voice drowned out the first time by the violent nature of the rain drops hitting the windshield.

In any other scenario, the thought of Lumine wanting to spend the night with him would have delighted Childe and had him jumping at the chance, but he was still stuck on the small piece of paper in his pocket, the curiosity eating away at him to learn just what his parents couldn’t say in front of Lumine.

Realizing that Lumine had spoken and was waiting for a response, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, keeping most of his attention on the road ahead. “Hm? Oh, maybe,” he said dismissively, almost having already forgotten what she’d said.

Lumine seemed to be able to sense how distracted Childe was, and she reached over to lightly tap her knee, giving him a hesitant smile. “You okay?” She couldn’t help but worry that she’d done something wrong in front of his family to cause this shift in mood.

Realizing that he must have seemed a bit melancholy, he flashed her a warm smile. “Yeah, I’m alright.” He hesitated, trying to decide whether or not he should tell Lumine about the note.

All he could do was trust that whatever his family needed to tell him wasn’t anything bad regarding Lumine.

“I’m probably just tired. It’s been a long day, and when it rains like this, it always makes me sleepy,” Childe lied, and as soon as the words left his mouth, a horrible feeling filled his gut about being dishonest with her.

If Lumine suspected anything was wrong, she didn’t show it, instead silently intertwining her fingers with his when he held his hand out, using his other to steer the car. She tapped her thumb lightly against his hand before rubbing small circles into it to soothe whatever mood gripped him, and she smiled when he visibly relaxed.

“I really had fun tonight, though. Your family is really sweet, and it made me realize just how amazing it must be to have a family like that.”

Childe had to bite his tongue to stop himself from impulsively blurting out that she could have that family too… with him.

Instead, he decided to lighten the mood in their otherwise dark car. “Thank you for coming tonight, love, even if I did have to endure you seeing my baby pictures.”

It hadn’t been his intention, but that comment made Lumine remember what her neighbor had said earlier about them having cute children and was also reminded of the insanely strong genetics that his family apparently possessed. She couldn’t help but picture herself holding a smaller version of Childe, matching freckles and wide blue eyes paired with a wild head of ginger hair.

Her face quickly heated up, turning a nice rosy hue, and Lumine was thankful that Childe couldn’t pay close attention to her because he had to stay focused on the road ahead of them.

The rest of the trip went without anything of note happening, the couple spending most of the ride in comfortable silence, their hands clasped together on the center console. And soon enough, Childe pulled into the apartment complex’s parking lot, stopping as close to the front entrance as he could so Lumine wouldn’t have to walk as far in the torrential rain that seemed to be falling even harder than before.

"Well, here we are,” he said, flashing Lumine a smile as he turned to look at her. “Thank you, again, for agreeing to meet my family. It means a lot to me.”

Lumine smiled as well, leaning closer to press a chaste kiss to his lips. “Of course. I loved them.” Before she could pull away, however, Childe brought his hand up to the back of her head, tilting it so he could deepen their kiss. He bit down on her lip, making her gasp, and when she did, he took the chance to press his tongue into her mouth and against hers, unable to stop himself from grinning at her reactions.

Finally though, he had to break the kiss when they were both out of breath, panting quietly in the dim light of his car, the street lights their only illumination.

“Jerk,” Lumine said affectionately, lightly smacking her hand against the middle of his chest. “Let me know when you make it home safely, alright? I love you.”

“I love you too, Starlight.” A warm smile was on his face, his dark eyes almost shining with the intense amount of love he felt for her.

Once he’d agreed to at least text her when he got home, Lumine stepped out of the car and walked to the outer staircase, turning to look back at Childe one final time, blowing him a kiss. After she had disappeared into the building, he pulled out of the parking lot and drove back onto the highway towards his family’s home, not his own.

Childe was locked in an internal battle with himself the entire trip back to his family’s house. He wanted to know what his family wanted to tell him, but he hated keeping anything from Lumine, even if it was about her. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep until he knew what they wanted to tell him, so he’d already decided to head straight back instead of going home.

He hadn’t even read the note before he’d already made it several kilometers away from Lumine’s apartment, pulling over at a small gas station at the edge of town, in between the commute to his house and his family’s from Lumine’s apartment.

His heart was hammering in his chest as he fished the small piece of paper out of his pocket, his mind racing with thoughts of his family disapproving of his lover.

Do they not approve of her? Is that what they wanted to tell me?

All of the worst possible scenarios went through Childe’s head, and he almost ripped the paper in his haste to open it. Instead of any message demanding him to immediately dump Lumine like he’d feared there would be, all there was was a simple phrase written in his mother’s neat handwriting.

“Your father and I have something to discuss with you.”

Those few words did nothing to soothe the multitude of worries that were still coursing through him. Childe stared at the words silently as the seconds ticked slowly by, his mind racing to try and decipher what they meant. He came up with absolutely nothing other than the fact that they must have not approved of Lumine and wanted him to break up with her. Determined to find out what exactly was going on, he pulled back out onto the highway towards his family’s home, driving a bit too fast and reckless now that Lumine wasn’t in the car with him.

He was very lucky, somehow managing to not get into any sort of accident, only hydroplaning once - and only slightly at that. Or at least that was how he chose to view it.

Logically, Childe knew he was acting erratically, that he should slow down and not panic, but he couldn’t, not with him spiraling into despair at envisioning his family not liking Lumine.

Finally, and not too long after he’d read the note, Childe pulled into the driveway of his family’s home once more, switching off his car before bounding up the steps two at a time. At the door he hammered loudly on it with his fists, looking in through the nearby window. The lights had been off, like everyone had already gone to sleep, but they were switched back on within a few seconds of knocking.

Childe’s father, still wearing a sleep shirt and lounge pants, only opened the door a crack to peer out, staring at his middle son with a confused expression. “Ajax?” His voice was rough, like he’s just woken up even though it had only been a short while since Lumine and Childe had left.

“Hey. I got Mama’s note. What do you two want?” Childe, realizing that he looked- and sounded- crazy, followed up with another question. “Is it about Lumine?”

The rain drummed down heavily on the roof in the awkward silence that followed those questions. Childe’s father just stared at his son before sighing. Before he could speak, however, Childe’s mother leaned into the small crack of the door to be visible to her son, opening it further.

“It is, but… I had intended that you come back later, possibly tomorrow…” She sounded tired as well, frowning, her eyes flitting over Childe’s face with lines of worry reflecting back on hers.

Childe’s shoulders slumped when he heard that, and once again he felt dread filling his heart. “I couldn’t wait.” Without letting them answer, he continued. “I love her.”

His tone was serious, his dark eyes staring into his parents’ with such intensity that they both couldn’t meet his gaze for more than a couple of seconds before looking away.

His mother gently moved her husband aside and opened the door fully, beckoning Childe inside. “Come on, then. I should have anticipated that you’d be right back tonight after handing that to you.” Her voice was warm, though tired.

A few minutes later, coffee had been brewed and small snacks prepared. Childe sat on one of the large armchairs in the room, his leg bouncing restlessly as he waited for the dreaded conversation to begin, arms crossed, leaning back against the back of the chair. He was filled with nervous energy and anxiety, wanting this to both never begin and already be over at the same time. His mother and father sat across from him on the sofa, both calmly sipping their drinks as if he wasn’t even there.

“Ajax, honey, be still. It’s nothing bad, we promise,” his mother said, trying to soothe her jittery son. The way he was acting had begun to remind her of when he was a wild teenager, before he’d calmed down with age.

Childe wasn’t convinced. “Then why couldn’t you say whatever it was when I was here with Lumine earlier?”

That made his parents look at each other, both sharing secretive smiles. His mother was the one to speak again, letting her husband relax with his head leaning back on the couch, like he was trying to get rid of one of his many headaches.

“Well, it’s because he’d actually had a discussion with each other before you brought her here, that if we approved of her, and we do, dear, that we would give you something.” Without explaining further, she got up and disappeared up the stairs, coming back down a few moments later holding a small box, one that Childe had never seen before.

When she handed it to him, he opened it, staring down at a ring that he had seen before: in the wedding photos of his mother and father that hung on the wall.

“This is…” He frowned, looking back up at his parents with confusion in his eyes, unsure why they were choosing for him to have it.

“The ring from our wedding, passed down on my side of the family for generations,” his father explained, a rare warmness towards Childe in his voice.

His mother finished explaining, “and we want you to have it, Ajax.” Her words made Childe’s eyes widen in shock.

“Why me and not Mykola, Fedir, or Alisa? They’re older than me, so they have more of a right to it than I do…” Despite trying to hide it, there was the slightest hint of bitterness in his voice, but once he’d realized how he sounded, Childe just shook his head. “You should give it to one of them, not me.”

Both parents shook their head in unison, and his mother reached forward to close his fingers around the ring box and push it towards his chest. “They’ve already gotten their heirlooms, and we saw the way you look at Lumine, like she’s your whole world. You seem… at peace, after so long.”

She didn’t have to explain for him to know what that meant. …Like he wasn’t actually a monster anymore, how he’d acted before he’d learned to hide that side of himself deep down.

Childe looked at the small box in his hands, and after a moment’s hesitation, held it close, like it was the most treasured possession he’d ever been given - and thinking about it, it probably was.

“Thank you, but… does this mean that you approve of Lumine?” He couldn’t help but ask that, needing to be verbally reassured that his family really did like her.

“When she makes you light up like she does, of course!” His mother gave him a stern look after that compliment. “You had better not hurt her, Ajax.”

Her words took Childe aback, surprised at the icy tone she’d gained. Still, he doubled down in explaining his feelings for Lumine. “I would rather die than ever see her shed a single tear. I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

The conviction of his words was plain and didn’t contain even a drop of dishonesty.

Childe’s father smiled, looking at the clock before sighing softly. “I would love to continue this conversation, but it is getting late, and you should probably be heading home soon.”

“Oh, nonsense.” Childe’s mother lightly smacked her husband on the arm. “There’s no way I’m letting him drive home in this weather. Ajax, you can sleep in your old room tonight and leave in the morning when the rain passes, alright?” She stood up and began pushing her son towards the stairs after pulling him up out of the chair by his hand.

He let her shepherd him up the stairs until he was left standing alone in front of his childhood room. After taking a deep breath, he opened the door and walked in, making his way to the bed in the complete darkness by pure muscle memory alone, still familiar with its layout even having only been in there for the first time in several years, that night.

The bed creaked loudly when Childe sat down on it. He pulled out his phone to text Lumine like he’d promised he would when he got “home.” It would be a small fib to her, but there was no way that he was going to admit his parents gave him a wedding ring after having only met her once, no matter how impressive that was.

    >>Ajax: Hey Girlie, just letting you know I just got home!

He only had to wait a couple of seconds before she responded, almost like she’d been waiting with her phone in hand for his message.

    >>Lumi~: Oh, good! I’m glad! <3 The drive wasn’t too bad, was it?

    >>Ajax: Nope! Are you going to bed now?

    >>Lumi~: Yeah, I’ve got some work to do tomorrow with a couple of the supplementary paintings for the gallery opening! Goodnight, I love you!

Her message made him smile like an idiot, quickly typing one more message.

    >>Ajax: Goodnight, I love you too! <3

After making sure his phone was on silent so it wouldn’t wake him up, Childe kicked off his shoes, stripped out of his shirt and pants to remain only in his boxers, before he laid down on the slightly-too-small bed. He stared up at the ceiling with one arm behind his head, tossing the ring box up repeatedly and catching it over and over.

“A ring, huh…”

Chapter Text

It hadn’t even been a week since Lumine had gone to meet Childe’s family, and yet, all of the good feelings she’d felt there had been washed away by overwhelming anxiety regarding the upcoming gallery opening. It was still a few weeks away, but she was already feeling so stressed that she had to call out of work that morning after having gotten up only to break down and cry in the shower, suddenly feeling inadequate over her painting ability.

Yes, she had been chosen out of many students to have her work displayed there, but did she really deserve it?

Her fears were unfounded, of course, but there was no calming the irrational fear that consumed her. No one had even questioned the professor’s decision to put Lumine’s work in the gallery, no one actually telling her that she wasn’t good enough. It was all just in her head, one of the consequences of such a late switch in interest: from gymnastics to the studio arts.

Aether seemed none the wiser to Lumine’s turmoil, mostly due to Lumine’s dedication to make everything seem alright, only crying when he was out of the house, asleep, or when she was in the shower, but she eventually slipped up. That day, he’d caught her walking out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, her eyes red and puffy, as she let out a broken sob that she couldn’t hold in.

They stared at one another silently for a long moment, both of their faces mirror images of pure surprise. The only difference was the tears that streamed down Lumine’s face.

“What’s wrong?!” Aether spoke first, his voice full of alarm, but instead of getting a coherent answer, it just made Lumine let out a choked whimper and dash around him before she ran to her room and slammed the door shut behind her.

He ran after her, scrambling at the doorknob to try and open the door, but she’d already locked it. “Hey, let me in, Lu!” What’s wrong? Did that bastard hurt you?!”

Of course he thinks of Childe, first… She couldn’t stop the bitter thought from surfacing.

Lumine leaned against the back of the door, staring at the ceiling with even more tears streaming down her face, mostly from being caught crying rather than what she’d been upset at in the shower. She was just overly emotional in general, that morning.

She sighed, wiping her eyes before she turned her head to shout at her twin through the door. “No, he didn’t do anything! I’m just… stressed.”

“About the gallery?” Aether was desperate to keep Lumine talking, to calm her down.

After she took in a shaky breath, accidentally sobbing when she did so, Lumine only succeeded in sounding even more upset than she had before despite wanting to alleviate Aether’s worries, “Y-yes. I’m just… I want to be alone,” she lied.

What she really wanted was a big hug… and maybe some chocolates. Or any form of sweet dessert.

“Are you sure?” Aether still stood at the door, speaking through it. When he heard only a very soft “mhm” response from Lumine, he left her alone like she wanted and walked back to the living room.

Once he got there, he grabbed his phone off of the coffee table where he’d set it down before and plopped down on the soda. After warring with himself for a few long seconds, he unlocked the device and went to his contacts, pulling up Childe’s number.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Aether muttered under his breath with a sigh before he sent a message to his arch-nemesis, his rival, and the object of his twin sister’s love.

>>Aether: Hey, call Lumine.

He didn’t bother sending any sort of expression and instead shoved his phone into his pocket before he walked back to Lumine’s bedroom before pausing outside of her door. “Hey, Lu? I’ve gotta get going. You… take it easy, alright? You’re amazing, and all of the gallery entries don’t hold a candle to your paintings, I just know it!”

Aether didn’t waste any time after that, swiftly putting on his shoes before he left the apartment with one last glance sent back over his shoulder. He met Xiao in the lobby of the apartment complex, and they both left to meet their other friends for breakfast before going to paintball practice.

After Lumine heard him leave the apartment, she had a soft, sad smile on her face right before she crouched down on the floor right where she’d leaned against the door previously, her arms encircling her knees with her head leaning down against them.

Not only did she have to worry about feeling inadequate about her work, but she’d also made Aether worry, and that made her feel awful.

Before she could wally in self-pity any further, her phone rang, the ringtone serenading her with a cheesy love song that she’d assigned to only one person: Childe. Lumine almost didn’t answer because she knew he’d instantly be able to tell something was wrong just by the tone of her voice. But then again, she also knew that he’d guess the same if she didn’t answer him at all, so after she inhaled a shaky breath, she answered.

“Hello?” Despite her best efforts, her voice wavered, and she mentally cursed that she couldn’t keep herself together.

And just like she’d known he would, Childe instantly knew something was wrong. “Talk to me, Girlie.”

The fact that Childe had just happened to choose right then to call her made Lumine suspicious that Aether was behind it, and instead of answering Childe’s question, she had one of her own.

“Did Aether say something to you?” She was skeptical that her twin would contact him because of how much he disliked him, but it was possible…

“Answer my question, first. What’s wrong? I know you’ve been crying. I can tell by your voice.”

…And the fact that Aether had tipped me off that something was wrong.

Lumine huffed softly, finally moving to a sitting position with her back resting against the door, her knees still pulled up to her chest. “I’m just a bit stressed about the gallery opening. I’ll be fine,” she lied again.

“Lumine,” Childe said sternly. She could just tell that he was frowning. “I’m coming over, and you’re going to take the day off and just relax.”

There was no room for debate in his serious tone.

Before she could protest, he’d already hung up on her after a quick “I love you, be over after I shower,” and she was left alone once more.

I’m going to kill Aether for telling him something was wrong. If there was anyone she didn’t want to see her cry, it was Childe.

Lumine barely had the time to get dressed, hurriedly dry her hair, and to put a kettle of water on to boil for tea before she heard the telltale three knocks on her door. She didn’t even have to look through the peephole to know that it was Childe. No one knocked quite like he did, but she did so anyways, and sure enough, he was smiling widely at the door, his head cocked slightly, like he knew she was watching him.

Opening the door, she stepped aside to let him in, but Childe immediately, carefully wrapped his fingers around her arm and tugged her close against his chest, pulling a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back with a flourish.

“Got these for you,” he said warmly before he planted a kiss on her cheek.

She stared at them, eyes wide. “When did you even have the time to…”

“I have a standing order at the florist to have some ready at all times just in case the situation calls for it,” Childe explained, and she wasn’t sure if he was just saying that or not. Knowing him, he meant every word.

Lumine smiled down at the flowers, leaning close to inhale their sweet scent. She wasn’t sure how he knew what her favorite flowers were, but the cluster of inteyvats surrounded by a ring of windwheel asters didn’t lie. There was no way he could single those two types of flowers out of the hundreds of different species without some insider information.

As if to answer her question, he chuckled and nuzzled his nose against her neck, his hot breath tickling the skin there. “A little birdie told me~.” What he’d actually done was bribe one of her friends with quite a bit of Mora, but she didn’t need to know that.

She just nodded with a playful roll of her eyes, and she pulled herself out of his arms to walk over into the kitchen and get a slender vase down from the cabinet, leaning forward on her tiptoes to try and reach, but she was just a bit too short. Suddenly, Childe was right behind her, his chest pressing into her back, her hips flat against the counter.

“Need some help?” He murmured into his ear, his voice low, suggestive as he put his hands to either side of her, caging her in his arms.

Her brain completely shut down, and all she managed to do was gasp, her hand frozen in mid-air as she’d reached for the vase.

It was obvious he was trying to distract her.

“Now tell me, girlie, what’s bothering you?” Childe playfully nipped at her earlobe, smirking against her skin when she shivered and let out another, tinier gasp.

It was hard for her to think, her body responding to his actions without her permission as she squirmed against his own warm body. Finally, she was able to respond after he pressed a kiss to her neck. “I-I’m just stressed, like I said on the phone, t-that’s all.” Her voice betrayed the rising desire she felt.

Childe shook his head, his ginger locks tickling her as he moved his lips down to the nape of her neck to kiss her again before he gently pressed his teeth into her skin there, nipping at her like he was reprimanding her.

“It’s not right to lie to your lover. Don’t make me punish you.”

He was willing to do anything to distract her, to get her to tell him what was really on her mind, and if it meant that he had to rely on… underhanded tactics, well, Childe didn’t really mind.

Lumine pointed at the vase just visible to her at the edge of the cabinet shelf. Once he’d gotten it for her, she turned in his arms until she was facing him, her hands resting on his chest, though she wouldn’t raise her head to look him in the eyes. In response, he gently cupped her face in his hands and pulled her closer to press a long kiss to her lips, moving slowly.

She sighed softly and nuzzled into his touch, burying her face against his chest. “I need to put the flowers in some water…”

Childe let her move away from him then, though he took the flowers from her and filled the vase with water before he set it down on the dining room table before he beckoned to Lumine with a single finger for her to come to him, which she did without delay. Once she was close enough, he pulled her into his arms again, resting his chin on the top of her head, fully enveloping her.

“Come on, Lumine. Tell me what’s wrong.” The fact that he’d used her birth name and not a nickname let her know that he was serious.

Her shoulders slumping, she muttered something under her breath, too soft for him to make out what was said.

“Seems like I’ll have to coax the answer out of you.”

Before she could even guess at what that meant, Childe nuzzled in close to her neck, lips trailing up until they found her pulse point, where he bit down hard enough to elicit a yelp from her, making Lumine squirm in his arms.

She wasn’t so sure she even wanted to tell him, half tempted to let him do as he threatened, to “punish” her until she behaved. It would be an excellent way to take her mind off of the matter. The thought of him doing so, what with the way he was speaking and teasing, excited her. Lumine could feel herself becoming aroused and pressed her thighs together to try and relieve some of the ache between her legs that was beginning to set in.

Childe seemed to know exactly what he was doing to her, because he slipped one hand in between the two of them, slowly running it down her stomach before stopping right at the hem of her pants, toying with the tie-strings he found there. Lumine had whimpered, instinctively leaned into his touch, huffing softly when he refused to move his fingers lower.

“Come on, if you want me to continue…” He trailed off, making her work for his touch even if he was desperate to coax more of those adorable sounds from her.

“You’re so mean,” she pouted, but before she could say anything else, the tea kettle started whistling, disturbing both of them.

Lumine pulled herself out of his arms again and went to switch it off, though she wasn’t in the mood for a cup of tea anymore, but instead, something more… carnal . She was taking her time preparing the cups, and she spoke then, her voice still a bit shaky.

“Do you… want to go to my room?” She knew what that implied, and it was exactly what she wanted.

Childe seemed to hesitate, like he was weighing his options. “Sure,” he finally answered, following her like a lost puppy when she started walking down the hall with the two mugs of tea.

She opened her bedroom door and beckoned for him to follow her in before she sat down on the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside her for him to sit on. Childe did as she wanted and sat down beside her, taking the mug of tea she offered him without saying anything at first.

It didn’t take him very long to break the silence, however.

“So,” he began, placing the mug on her nightstand before he flopped back on the bed to lie down, his hands behind his head, resting against her many pillows. “What’s wrong, moya zvezda? I know there’s more than just ‘a little stress’ bothering you.”

The affectionate nickname he called her, “ my star ” in Snezhnayan, brought a smile to Lumine’s face, and she quickly set her mug down beside his own before lying down beside him. Childe gently rolled over to face her before he pulled her as close as he could into his arms, cradling her like something precious - which, to him, she was.

“I just…” Lumine sighed. She could already fill the tears threatening to resurface and blinked them away. Feeling this way, so weak that she couldn’t handle her own emotions… She was ashamed of herself.

“What if I’m not good enough?” Her words had been whispered, almost inaudible.

It was then that Childe finally knew what was bothering his lover. He gently brushed the tears from her eyes and then skimmed his thumb down her cheek to swipe it across her lower lip before he leaned closer to press a chaste kiss to her lips.

“Now, now. How many people were in your class?” He began to ease her through his questions, his goal to make her understand just how amazing she was.

“Twenty,” Lumine mumbled with a sniffle, burying her head in close against his chest so he couldn’t see her cry anymore, even if it did mean that she stained his shirt with tears.

Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, Childe gently rubbed her back. “And how many of those people were invited to display their work in this gallery?”

She hesitated then, like she’d just realized where he was going with all of this. “...Just me.”

“Right. Just you. How many of your paintings did they end up wanting to display?”

Her breathing had slowed down, and her voice no longer wavered. “Three.”

Childe smiled then, knowing he had her there. “Exactly. My lovely girlfriend is amazing and talented, and you’d better be nice to her or I’ll have to resort to drastic measures.”

“Drastic measures?” She looked up at him then, no longer burying her face close to his chest, only to see how dark his gaze were, how he was devouring her with his eyes.

His eyes roamed over her body, and his hands followed suit, slowly slipping between them as he snaked his fingers underneath the hem of her shirt, digits pressing into her skin.

“Very drastic,” he murmured softly before he let his hand trail up her torso until it reached her breasts, when he cupped one of them firmly, eliciting a soft gasp from her. His other hand was on her hip, thumb just inside her shorts, waiting to make sure she was okay with what he was doing before he continued.

When she didn’t push him away, Childe maneuvered them until he was on top of her, careful to not crush her under his much larger body. He pulled his shirt off, tossing it behind him onto the floor somewhere, smirking when he saw her eyes lock onto his muscular torso.

“Like what you see?”

He hadn’t expected Lumine to openly answer him, but that’s just what she did. “Yes, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more .”

Her response made him grin, and he leaned down to press his lips to hers in a kiss that quickly became heated as she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Childe groaned when one of her hands brushed over his skin to lightly run her nails over his back, the heat of her body against his driving him crazy. He deepened the kiss, cocking his head before he suddenly bit down on Lumine’s lower lip, making her gasp, the perfect opportunity for him to press his tongue into her mouth.

He swallowed her whimpers and moans eagerly, until he had to pull away so they could both catch their breath. She looked completely love-drunk, her lips swollen and her face flushed.

“I’m going to make you forget all about that gallery opening until all you can think of is me,” he promised as he moved his hands down her torso until they reached the hem of her shirt, tugging on it to pull it over her head and leave her upper body only covered in her bra.

Lumine instinctively tried to shield her chest with her arms, but Childe didn’t let her, clicking his tongue at her as he pinned her arms down. “Ah-ah, I want to see all of you, pretty girl.”

Childe leaned down and pressed kisses to her jaw, down her neck, over her collarbone, until he hovered over her breasts. One of his hands expertly unhooked Lumine’s bra and then tossed the garment onto the floor with both of their shirts. Finally, her chest was completely exposed for him to see, and he licked his lips at the sight, transfixed with just how perfect her breasts were.

He brushed his thumb over one of her perky, pink nipples, watching in awe as it instantly stiffened under his touch. Lumine gasped, biting her lip as he took the nub into his mouth, laving over it with his tongue while he kneaded her other breast in his hand.

“Mmmmf, Childe ,” Lumine whined, her back arching suddenly when he sucked harshly, nipping at her breast.

“What is it?” He flicked his fingers over the breast that wasn’t in his mouth, and it made her moan loudly, unable to answer him. “Use your words, kochana. What do you want?”

Lumine threaded her fingers into his hair, pulling him ever closer to her chest, looking down at him with hooded eyes. The sight made his pants tighten almost painfully as his length twitched eagerly, and Childe was filled with the desire to see her come undone thanks to his ministrations. She was flushed, her chest rising and falling as she tried (and failed) to control her lust for her lover.

“M-more, Ajax , please,” she begged softly.

The use of his birth name made him feral, and he smirked around her nipple, moving his hand from her breast down over her torso until it reached her shorts. Childe slipped his fingers under the fabric but still over her underwear, until he cupped her sex in his hand, his fingers teasing her folds over the cloth. She was soaked , and that discovery made him groan again, already painfully hard.

He teased her, barely dipping in with his fingers, as she squirmed underneath him, instinctively spreading her legs wider as she tried to grind against his hand for more stimulation. Childe clicked his tongue again, using his free hand to press her hips down so she couldn’t move as easily.

“Patience, love,” he murmured before removing his fingers from what little clothing remained on her. Childe’s eyes swept over her body, drinking in the sight of her so undone by the smallest of touches from him. He couldn’t wait to see more, to completely make her his.

“You’re perfect.” Those two little words were filled with such passion, such affection, and such love , that Lumine couldn’t help but melt, overwhelmed with how much she loved him.

His hands trailed over her torso as he slotted himself between her legs, and he pressed kisses over her breasts and collarbone, nipping at the soft flesh there, leaving his mark all across her torso. No one would see them there, below her shirt line, mostly to make sure that Aether didn’t freak out and try to kill him, both to his annoyance as well as relief.

If anyone ever saw Lumine as intimately as he was now, he’d have to do something about it. She was his , and he was hers .

The cute little gasp Lumine let out when he finally dragged his fingers underneath her underwear, over her folds to slip one finger inside of her, spurred Childe on to continue what he was doing to hear more of those sweet sounds. Her hips jumped suddenly at the sudden intrusion, and he had to press his hand down on her hips to keep them from rolling with her unconscious desire for more contact. There wasn’t much resistance thanks to her arousal, though it was still tight, so much so that Childe cursed in Snezhnayan under his breath at the thought of how her walls would hug his cock once she was ready for him.

Lumine’s fingers twisted in his messy ginger hair to make him look at her, which he did with a smirk. “Yes?”

It took her a few seconds to formulate a response because right after he’d spoken, he pressed his thumb against her clit, making her arch her back instinctively, her walls clenching around the finger that he then curled inside of her.

“A-ah, Ajax!” She whined, rolling her hips when he slipped a second finger inside of her. Another tug of his hair, and Lumine was finally able to voice what she’d wanted to. “I want to kiss you.”

That made him smile, and without stopping the strum of his thumb on her clit and the curl of his finger inside of her, quickly adding a second one, Childe did as she wanted, immediately locking lips with her in a heated kiss. All the while, he never stopped thrusting his fingers inside her, making sure to hit her sweet spot with every curl of his fingers, his thumb keeping its rhythm on her clit.

It didn’t take long for Lumine to reach the precipice of her pleasure, her moans and whimpers coming much more often as the coin in her stomach tightened and threatened to bring her over the edge. Childe seemed to be able to sense this, and he increased his efforts, adding a third finger to fully stretch her walls in preparation for his cock.

Her head was thrown back, and she struggled to pull him back down for another kiss. Her eyes were still slightly puffy from crying, and there were tears at the corner of her eyes, not from sadness - but from pleasure . Her kiss was full of the passion she felt for him, overwhelmingly sweet and sincere… until she swiped her tongue over his lower lip, making him growl softly.

His reaction was instant, his grip on Lumine’s waist tightening as he leaned into her kiss, nipping at her lip to make Lumine gasp, giving him the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth once again.

“Do you know what you’re getting yourself into, Girlie?” Childe whispered against her lips when they finally broke their kiss, watching with dark eyes as she panted to catch her breath. “I don’t want to do this if you aren’t ready. Maybe… we should wait until you’re feeling better?”

That was the last thing he wanted to do, so enthralled with her flushed appearance and soft moans that he never wanted this moment to end. Still, if she wanted to wait, then he would gladly do so until the end of days.

Lumine pulled him back in for another kiss. “I want this,” she whispered softly, her eyes bright as she looked up at him. “I’ve wanted this for a long time.”

Childe studied her expression closely, looking for any sign of hesitation or sadness there, and upon finding none, he leaned closer and kissed her again, tilting her head to give him better access. Her hands trailed up Childe’s chest again to wrap arm around his neck while the other slid over the corded muscle of his pecs and abs, pausing when it reached the waistband of his pants.

When she brushed her fingertips over the prominent bulge of his pants, Childe sucked in a breath, his hips bucking instinctively, and he growled as he toyed with the fabric of her shorts, starting to pull them off of her along with her soaked panties.

“You ready, love?”

Blinking to try and clear some of the delicious fog of pleasure her brain was clouding in, she looked back up at him, her face bright red with her blush, a soft sheen of sweat starting to develop over her body. “Yes, Ajax, please ...”

Childe shuddered at the breathless way Lumine had moaned his name, and he rewarded her for her good behavior by curling his fingers inside of her again even as she was still so sensitive from her first orgasm, making her whine from over stimulation.

“That’s it, Girlie, just like that,” he murmured into her ear, skimming his nose down her neck to then rake his teeth over her skin before he bit down sharply once more.

He wanted to mark her with more blemishes, a physical way of staking his claim over his lover. Even though he’d already done so several times where they wouldn’t be seen, Childe couldn’t help but add a few more on the side of her neck, making sure that those would be seen. Aether be damned, no one was going to try and take her from him.

Lumine gasped when he bit down again, her hands scrabbling at his back, surely leaving lines, as he began to suck hickeys over the soft flesh of her neck and collar bone, making sure to soothe the marks with his tongue. He could feel the small scratches on his skin, and it only made him groan against the crook of her neck, the thought of her marking him up as well making him go crazy.

“You’re so wet, love. Shall we see just how much I can break you?” He teased, grinning against her ear, enjoying the way she gave a shuddered moan at his words, squirming underneath him.

Instead of verbally answering her lover, Lumine just rolled her hips against Childe’s hand, desperately wanting more, more of everything he had to offer her. Her pleasure was about to crest once more, her walls beginning to flutter as she wrapped her arms around his neck, panting, out of breath.

She whined softly. “I-I’m cl-”

“Close again?” His tone was tilled with amusement as he suddenly pinched her clit, not too hard, but with just enough force to push her over the edge. “Come for me,” he commanded, his voice oozing authority.

Lumine threw her head back, and a sinful moan was ripped from her lungs as she saw stars. Her muscles felt heavy, like she’d just finished running a marathon. She didn’t know if she wanted him to continue or stop, so oversensitive, her earlier stress completely forgotten.

“Hope you’re not getting too tired. We’re just getting started ~” he purred before he leaned back on his knees, finally ready to begin the main event.

Childe trailed his hands down over his naked torso, his smirk widening when he watched Lumine swallow hard, her eyes never leaving the show he put on. Once he reached his pants, he easily undid his belt, but instead of tossing it onto the floor with the rest of their clothes, he was suddenly hit with an idea. He gently took Lumine’s wrists and pulled them above her head, looping the belt around them, careful to not pull it too tight as he buckled it around one of the bars of her headboard.

“Is this alright?” He watched as she tugged on her restraints that firmly held still. “Not too tight?”

When Lumine shook her head, a soft blush of shyness coloring her features, Childe smiled. “Good, then we can continue.”

It only took him a second to unfasten his pants, pushing them down and off to free himself of their confines, his considerable length springing free, its tip red, with a bead of precum already leaking from it. He gave himself a few pumps of his hand just to relieve the aching want he felt.

Lumine’s eyes were locked onto Childe’s member, stunned by the sheer size of him. She’d suspected that he’d be… well endowed, no way he’d be overcompensating no matter how cocky he acted, and she was completely right. It was intimidating to her, and it must have shown on her face because Childe leaned closer over her, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

“Don’t worry. I promise I’ll be gentle,” he murmured, nuzzling against her while his lips skimmed over her cheek, pressing soft kisses down her jaw to her collarbone as he carefully lined himself up.

She relaxed then, but as soon as she felt him drag his cockhead down through her folds to gather her wetness on it, her hips jumped in surprise, and Childe chuckled deeply, moving his free hand to hold her hips down to make it easier for both of them. Once he was certain that she was ready, he began to slowly push himself inside her, pausing to make sure that she was alright.

Lumine, upon realizing that she’d stopped, leveled the most loving expression at him, and the depths of the affection shown there made Childe’s heart flutter. He leaned over her, pressing his lips to hers as he slowly, gently pushed forward until their hips were pressed flush together.

“Archons, you take me so well, lyubimaya,” Childe sighed, pressing kisses everywhere his mouth could reach before he finally settled on the crook of her neck, sucking on the flesh there.

Lumine pulled against the binds on her wrists unconsciously, but once she remembered she couldn’t free herself - and that she didn’t want to, she hooked one of her legs around Childe’s waist. The heel of her foot pressing against his rear signaled her desire for him to keep moving.

“Please,” she begged, rolling her hips. She wanted more, wanted to absolutely drown in pleasure with him.

The wave of pleasure that crashed over Childe when she did that made him inhale in a hiss, his hips automatically bucking towards her in a small thrust. When she responded by letting out a sinful moan, he grinned against her neck and pulled out very slowly until just the head was inside of her before he stopped altogether, making her open her eyes with a dazed, confused expression on her face.

“Please what ?”

That just made her huff and a pout appear on her face, her brow furrowed. “You’re really going to make me say it?”

Childe just leaned back, still not moving any more than that, a smirk on his face. “Say what, love?”

Lumine pulled half-heartedly at her restrained, the blush on her face deepening. She mumbled something, too low to be deciphered, and averted her gaze to stare at one of the numerous stuffed animals on the bed. Childe, not liking that, grasped her chin in his fingers and turned her head back to look at him before pressing a sweet kiss to her lips.

“What was that? You’re going to have to speak louder,” he teased, still just barely inside her still even as his muscles trembled with barely contained restrained. All he wanted to do was to buck into her, to take her for his own, but if he had anything, it was patience, knowing the satisfaction of her submitting to him would bring greater pleasure than if he’d just taken her right away.

“Ugh, fine ,” Lumine huffed. When she opened her mouth to finally say what she wanted him to do, Childe suddenly snapped his hips forward and buried himself deep inside her once more, his cockhead pressing against her cervix. It pulled a startled gasp and loud moan from her, as the sensation of being filled again almost made her cum right then.

Her expression, eyes glazed over with pleasure, was one that he would commit to memory forever, the pure adoration with which she looked at him warmed his heart.

“A-ah! You’re a menace!” It took Lumine several tries to even voice that sentence, thanks to the way Childe had begun to slowly thrust in and out of her, making sure to slow himself in completely every time before he pulled almost all of the way out only to repeat the movement.

The bed creaked with every movement, the headboard knocking against the wall. Childe was going to have to apologize to Lumine’s neighbor later.

He just grinned down at her while still moving, grasping her hips firmly to help pull her back towards him while he thrust forward, going as deeply as he could. Every time their hips met, a bulge appeared on Lumine’s lower abdomen.

“Yeah, but I’m your menace~”

It didn’t take too long for Childe to feel that Lumine was close to orgasming again from the way her body bucked against hers, how she looked at him, her moans becoming more and more open, less embarrassed, fully at his whim and mercy. Childe could feel himself getting close as well, his cock twitching inside her, and he ground their hips together as his thrust became more urgent, less rhythmic. He smiled when Lumine wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him closer.

Suddenly though, there was a loud bang that came from somewhere else in the apartment, like someone had just gotten home, and sure enough, a second later, the familiar tone of Aether’s voice came through as he announced his presence.

“Hey Lu, are you still here or did you go out with that loser? Practice ended early, so I brought lunch home!”

Those words sent a shockwave of fear through Lumine in the form of cold chills up her spine. She instantly tried to bring her hands down to cover her mouth and muffle her moans, but since they were tied at the wrist to the headboard still, all she succeeded in doing was making angry red marks appear on them, her eyes wide as she stared up at Childe. He’d frozen too, leaning over her with both hands on her hips, still buried to the hilt inside of her after a particularly sharp thrust.

He softly shushed Lumine, covering her mouth with one hand, his other still holding her hip tightly. He’d been so close, his body betraying him with a twitch of his cock, and Childe, deciding that they had enough him, brushed his fingers over to the apex of her thighs and pressed his thumb to her clit. He continued thrusting, careful to not hit the headboard against the wall while still managing to completely scramble his lover’s brain.

“Shhh, love, we’re almost there,” he said soothingly.

The extra thrill at the chance of getting caught caused a wave of hot pleasure to course through him, and feeling gracious, he unbuckled Lumine’s wrists, grinning as she immediately clawed her hands over his back, the pain of her nails scratching into his skin making him groan against the crook of her neck.

“ Fuck , Girlie, I’m close. Where?” He didn’t intend on stopping, only going to pull out at the last second if he had to. She was getting close, the whimpers and soft gasps she let out music to his ears.

Lumine tried to be as quiet as she could, biting her lip to stifle the sinful sounds she was letting out. It took her a few seconds to absorb what Childe had said, and her eyes widened when she realized what he meant.

He means to finish - while my brother is at home and listening for me?!

Another deep thrust inside of her wiped her mind clear. “A-ah… inside?” She asked. It wasn’t exactly anything they’d discussed before, but in the heat of the moment, nothing she thought of had the same thrill that coursed through her.

Judging from the way he twitched inside her, he liked that idea very much. Not that Childe had told her, but he’d definitely fantasized about filling her up with his seed, and that’s exactly what he did. He increased the speed at which he circled her clit with his thumb, and when she came undone a few seconds later, her walls clenching around him, he followed after her, thrusting in as deep as he could as he filled her with warmth.

They panted quietly, both of them staring into each other’s eyes as he gave a few, final sluggish thrusts. Both were covered in a soft sheen of sweat, and Lumine tried to push Childe off of her, but since he didn’t want to move yeet, all he did was pull her closer to him, nuzzling against her neck as he peppered her with sweet kisses.

“Childe, Aether might come in any second! Get off!” She whispered sharply, her brow furrowed as she looked at him as she caught her breath, the rosy glow still covering her body.

He just chuckled before he finally listened to her demands but not without first kissing her deeply, taking one last chance to fondle her breasts, laughing softly when she successfully shoved him off of her with an indignant squeak.

“You’re impossible!” She hissed under her breath, sitting up slowly. “Still… if this is how you distract me, maybe I should get upset more often,” Lumine teased, giving her lover a flirtatious wink.

Childe grinned at her, clearly wanting to join in on the fun. “You don’t need to be upset for this to happen, Girlie. Just say the time and place, and I’ll be there.”

Evidence of their coupling was easily visible in Lumine’s messy bed hair as well as the noticeable fluid that threatened to dribble down her leg when she got out of bed. Looking back at Childe before she went into the restroom that was connected to her bedroom to clean up, she noticed that he was smirking as he looked there, like he was proud of what he’d done.

She supposed she would be too, if she was him.

“You hush and stay hidden!” That was all she said before she stepped into the bathroom to clean herself up, but when she saw herself in the mirror, Lumine let out a string of curses.

She hadn’t noticed it in the heat of the moment, but Childe had really marked her up. Her neck was covered in a mixture of bruises and bitemarks, and her wrists had an angry red line across them from when she’d instinctively tried to jerk her hands out of the makeshift restraints. There was no way she was going to be able to hide any of this from Aether, not unless she robbed a makeup store.

Lumine didn’t even try, knowing her sharp-eyed twin would just see through it anyway. Instead, she settled with cleaning herself up, brushing and tying her hair up, and actually putting on clothes. Stepping back into her room, she found Childe already dressed again, though he had neglected to put anything on above the waist. Before she could tell him to do so, she knew she needed to go out and greet her twin.

And she’d mistakenly assumed that Childe would hide in her room, like she’d told him to do. Instead, he stepped out of her room right behind her, moving too quietly for her to notice him.

“Oh, hey Aether,” Lumine chimed cheerfully with what she hoped was a casual hum, trying to hide the face that she’d definitely heard him when he came in. “Did you just get home?”

His back was turned as he fished a mug out of the cabinets, the coffee pot beside the stove already on. “Hi Lu, what have you been up t-”

The sound of Aether dropping his cup echoed loudly when he’d turned around to greet his sister, his eyes sweeping first from Lumine’s battered and bruised neck and then to something right behind her: Childe.

With one look behind her, Lumine knew exactly why Aether had done that: Childe was smirking, still shirtless, and upon catching her eye, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his chest before nuzzling his face against the crook of her neck affectionately.

“Hey,” Childe said simply, half-assedly waving to Aether before he wrapped that arm back around Lumine.

It was (((VERY))) evident what had happened, and Aether looked pissed .

“Hey? Hey ?! What the fuck did you do to my sister? You were supposed to cheer her up, not fuck her!” Aether shouted, taking a step towards Childe with a murderous glint in his eyes.

Before he could reach them, Lumine held her hand out to stop him in his tracks, shaking her head. “Stop, Ae. He… I mean, he did distract me,” she said with a shake of her head, turning to give Childe a side eye.

He just smiled at her, kissing her cheek. “Besides, Ae , you’re assuming that she didn’t have anything to do with what we did. ‘S kinda assuming for your twin, isn’t it?” Without pausing, Childe picked Lumine up in a sort of bear hug and spinned them around so that Aether could see the prominent scratches on his back. “Clearly she liked what I was doing.”

That made Lumine squeal, and she began hammering her fists against Childe’s chest half-heartedly, not intending to actually hurt him too badly. “Both of you, stop harassing each other unless neither of you want to have me!”

And just like that, both men settled down, one smirking and the other scowling.

Lumine pulled herself out of Childe’s arms, swatting him once for being such a pain in the ass. She walked over to the sofa and sat down with a sigh, only to be immediately joined by him as he took up the rest of the sofa with his head on her lap, leaving no space for Aether to sit down there. With yet another sigh, Lumine just began threading her fingers through her lover’s messy hair, smiling down at him softly when he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

Aether had to settle with sitting in one of the armchairs, and he did so, leaning his head back against the back of the cushion. “You are feeling better, aren’t you? Still have any worries?”

She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t feeling a bit too tired to really worry about anything at that moment, but she did soothe her twin’s worries. “Yes, I am. Childe reminded me that I’m worth something,” she laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately.

All Childe did was press a kiss to the inside of her thigh, smiling with his eyes still closed.

“Well… that’s good at least. What’re the next steps?”

Lumine hummed softly. “I just need to do a few finishing touches of the last painting. Then it’ll just be playing the waiting game.”

Childe sat up then, turning to kiss Lumine softly, bumping his forehead against hers. “You’re gonna do great, lyubimaya.”

He pulled her against him, tucking her in close against his side. Neither of them noticed Aether shake his head, the ghost of a smile on his face at the man Lumine had fallen in love with, finally accepting that there was nothing he could - or would - do to change her mind, not when she clearly cared so much for him.

Chapter Text

Aether was in the middle of his work shift when his phone went off, the cheerful tune attracting the attention of his nearest coworkers, and he quickly set down the box of supplies he’d been carrying by the cubicles. He gave a sheepish half-wave in apology to everyone before pulling the phone out of his pocket, glancing down at it to see who’d contacted him. What he saw made him pause, surprise surging through him, a frown on his face. It was a one sentence text from Childe.

>>Lu’s Idiot Boyfriend: We need to talk.

Those four simple words filled him with dread, and he could only begin to worry about what his rival (and unfortunate love of his sister) wanted to talk to him about.

Only barely able to hold back the panic that threatened to overwhelm him, Aether clocked out for an early break before sitting down outside on the bench while he tried to think of a reply. Obviously it must have been important for Childe to even have thought of texting him, though they were on slightly better terms since the last time they’d seen each other. They both put up with each other for their shared interests: Lumine and her happiness.

Finally, after sitting there and staring at his phone until it was almost time for him to clock back in, Aether sent his reply.

>>Aether: What about? You’d better not be dumping Lumine. I’ll kill you slowly with a rusty spoon.

Aether knew that it was hypocritical of him to have started out by not wanting Childe to be around his twin at all and then now threaten him if he (((DIDN’T))) stay with her, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. He valued Lumine’s happiness over his own small personal grudge against his rival.

The reply came almost immediately, like he’d been waiting for him to answer.

>>Lu’s Idiot Boyfriend: As if. I’m never going to give her up, but I DO need to talk to you about something important. When and where can I meet you? Alone, and don’t tell Lumine about this.

He wanted to scream and bang his head on the stone bench because of how vague that answer had been. Aether sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, typing another reply.

>>Aether: How specific. If you’re looking to meet without Lumine knowing, she has a meeting with the gallery organizers this Friday at 6 PM, and she isn’t supposed to be back until after 10. Is that enough time? If so, meet me at mine and Lumine’s apartment then.

Without waiting for another reply, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and clocked back into work, not wanting to be late because of Childe’s bad timing.

Childe also wanted to beat his head against something after he’d sent Aether that text because of how nervous he was. He’d been scared that he’d refuse to meet him, afraid that he’d tell Lumine, and afraid to even have the meeting at all. The feeling of fear towards his future was an unfamiliar one, especially since he was usually so confident of his every move and action, that it petrified him.

What he was planning would change his life forever, no matter whether it went how he wanted it to or not. He was at the precipice of the most important thing to ever happen, and he wanted to succeed no matter what.

When Aether didn’t respond after Childe had confirmed that that meeting time would work for him, he groaned and put his arm over his face, eyes closed as he laid on his bed. The ring box was in his hand, clutched tight enough that his knuckles had turned white with the force of his grip.

Everything needed to be perfect for what he was planning, and the first thing he needed was Aether’s approval.

Childe knew that the twins didn’t have any blood relatives like parents or even anything like a distant aunt or uncle, so Aether was the only one he could talk to. It may have been an older tradition that didn’t really need to be done, but he still wanted to. If he couldn’t reach a truce with the twin brother of his love, then it was all for naught. He would give up his own happiness to make sure that Lumine was taken care of.

He sat up, stretching before he held the ring box up to his face, opening it carefully to look at the ring inside. It was a fairly unassuming band of golden metal with a small collection of diamonds fitted into smaller woven golden vines, almost making a small branch with leaves. There was a matching ring that he had as well with a branch woven into the metal, just missing the diamonds.

It was beautiful, and he could just imagine how it would look on their interlocked fingers. He’d probably need to have it resized to fit her slender finger.

There was nothing more he could do about the situation until the time came to meet up with Aether. Instead of just spending all of his time fretting, he dialed Lumine’s number. As far as he knew, her schedule for the day was open, and it was the perfect chance to spend more time with her.

She answered after only two rings. “Hello? Childe?” Her voice sounded rough, like she’d just woken up.

“Hey, love. Did I wake you?” It was still fairly early in the day, and he’d forgotten that she’d worked over the night before. She and Aether did work different shifts sometimes.

He could hear her yawn softly, confirming his suspicions. “Mmhm, but that’s okay. I needed to get up anyway. What’s up?”

Childe smiled, his mood already brightening just from hearing those simple words from his lover. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go out to lunch with me later today. You don’t have to if you’re busy, though. I just miss you~,” he admitted honestly, the slightest whine in his voice during the last sentence.

“You saw me yesterday!” She teased, amusement coloring her tone, and she laughed warmly. “But yes, we can have lunch together.”

“Good. I’ll be there in a couple of hours. Love you, and see you then.” Childe made a loud, obnoxious kissing sound.

Lumine repeated it, followed with a cheerful “I love you more!”

After they finished their goodbyes, he ended the call, a smile on his face.

Lumine had only pulled out of the parking lot a few minutes prior when Childe arrived. He’d waited until he saw her drive by, ignoring how creepy that was, watching as her… very recognizable car with its beaten up exterior disappeared down the road. Once he was certain that she wasn’t coming right back, he pulled into the apartment’s parking lot, parking right up front in one of the visitor spots. Before he could get inside the apartment building, he was met by the twins’ neighbor lady that had met him before as she opened her door.

“Oh, well if it isn’t Lumine’s handsome boyfriend!” She grinned at Childe, looking down at her toddler that was holding her finger. “Say hi! You remember him, don’t you?”

The child didn’t seem to remember Childe.

In a hurry but not wanting to be rude, Childe gave a little wave to the young boy and his mother. “Hello, you two!”

She scooped up her child into her arms, glancing out over the parking lot. “I think you just missed Lumine, dear. I saw her leaving just a few minutes ago.”

“Oh, no worries. I actually need to talk to her brother today.” He didn’t want to give too much away, not when she could tell Lumine that he’d been there. Deciding to be cautious, Childe gave her a request. “Actually, could you not tell Lumine that I was here?”

That made the woman cock her head, but after a moment’s silent contemplation, a smile spread across her face, and she gained a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh, I think I know what’s going on. In that case, your secret’s safe with me.”

She lightly patted Childe’s arm before she began to walk down the staircase. “I wish you well, young man! Go get ‘em!”

Childe could only rub the back of his head sheepishly, glancing up at the sky before he responded. “Thank you! Have a good day!”

When she was gone, he jogged down the hallway until he reached Lumine and Aether’s apartment, knocking on the door rhythmically and loudly. It didn’t take long for the sound of the door unlocking to let him know that Aether was there, and sure enough, he opened the door slightly, eying Childe with a guarded look.

“Well, you didn’t waste any time.” Opening the door wider, Aether let him inside, walking to the kitchen to fetch two mugs from the cabinet. “Do you want coffee or tea or anything?”

Aether’s hospitality surprised him, but after thinking about it, Childe’s sudden message and serious tone must have spooked him or at least let him know how important this meeting was for both of them.

“Coffee, please and thank you.”

After pouring him a cup of plain black coffee, Aether offered him sugar and cream which Childe gladly added, just enough to take away some of its natural bitterness, stirring it until all of it was mixed in.

Aether snorted softly. “And here I thought you were a psychopath that only drank black coffee.”

That made Childe laugh. “Not quite.”

An awkward silence fell over both men, with Childe staring into his mug of coffee while Aether busied himself by adding even more sugar and cream to his own. It seemed that neither of them wanted to address the real reason why they were meeting. Finally, frustrated, Aether slammed down the sugar container a bit too abruptly and loudly, accidentally startling both of them. He turned back around to face Childe, jabbing a finger at him.

“Okay, what’s so important that you had to text me in secret and come over when Lumine specifically isn’t here?”

They stared at each other, and Childe sighed softly, leaning back against the wall in the kitchen since that was evidently where they were going to have their little “talk.” He took a large swallow of his coffee, like he was hoping the beverage would steel his nerves.

“I want to marry Lumine,” he said bluntly and honestly before continuing, “and I want your blessing to do so.”

Aether had the unfortunate luck of having just taken a sip of his drink, and he immediately choked on it. He ended up leaning over the dining room table coughing as he tried to expel the burning-hot liquid trying to kill him. Once he’d regained the ability to breathe normally, he looked back up at Childe, his face carefully composed into a blank mask.

Childe, usually able to easily read peoples’ emotions, was at a loss. He’d never seen Aether this… silent and scary before. The silence stretched between them once more, and he had no choice but to ask again, to even beg him for his blessing.

“Please,” he began, setting down his coffee to clasp his hands in front of him before he knelt down and bowed his head. “I love her more than anything else in the world, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to do this the right way, with your blessing, so please …”

“Ugh, stop!” Aether shook his head, not in opposition to the idea itself but instead at the sorry sight of Childe begging him, but he’d accidentally conveyed that shake of his head as rejecting Childe’s request.

His shoulders drooped, and he slightly straightened up again, running his hands through his hair. “Ah… then you refuse?”

This was going in the exact opposite direction he’d wanted, and he was desperate. “I’ll do anything. Just… give me this.”

“I said stop ! Stop begging, it doesn’t suit you, and it’s gross!” Aether was glaring at him, hands on his hips. “I wasn’t saying no to your… ugh. To your request.”

He aggressively stirred his coffee and took a large sip. “You know, I’ve always imagined what it’d be like to gain the upper hand against you at least once, at anything, and to have you grovel, but this… is not how I wanted it to happen.”

“Then you’ll consider it?!” Childe couldn’t help the 180 degree flip in his attitude, jumping up to clasp Aether’s hands in his, shaking his hands with a large grin on his face. “I’ll do whatever you want!”

Aether sighed and pulled his hands out of Childe’s before he sighed heavily. “You’re impossible. Come on, sit down.”

He tapped the back of one of the dining room chairs before he sat down in the opposite one. “Before we get to that, I’ve got some… terms. I had a feeling that this is what you’d be asking me about, if I’m honest, and I’ve thought of a few things I need to say to you first before giving you my answer.”

Childe obediently did as Aether asked, sitting down heavily in the chair. Still full of adrenaline, he bounced his leg restlessly, continuously adjusting in his seat to get more comfortable. “Okay. I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”

“First, I need to know that you’re really committed to her. You may not know it because she usually acts so strong, but Lumine needs reassurance and compassion just like anyone else, maybe more-so, no matter how tough she says she is. When she cries, you need to be there for her, and I don’t just mean to have sex with her to distract her from her problems.” Aether shuddered at the memory of seeing her neck, shoulders, and collarbone covered in bruises and bite marks.

He didn’t let Childe speak and instead continued with the terms and conditions of gaining his approval. “If you ever cheat on her, I’ll literally chop off your dick and shove it down your throat, if Lumine doesn’t get to you first.” The threat was clear in his throat, and the coldness reflected in his gaze made Childe shiver. It was obvious that he meant what he said.

“I would nev-“ Childe began to confirm that he’d abide by all of that, moving to put his hand over his heart, but before he could finish his sentence, Aether shook his head, instantly shushing him.

“I’m not done.” He took a sip of his drink, drawing the silence out between the two men until it was uncomfortable.

“You’ll have to take care of her, and I don’t mean occasionally picking up after yourself and sometimes doing chores. Lumine has dreams for the future of being an artist, and to do that, she’ll need to be able to focus on her work. I’m not saying that she won’t take care of you, too. You know that she will, but…”

Aether sighed and shook his head. He was losing his train of thought, so sure that Childe would have interrupted him by then. But instead he was sitting at the table, leaning forward as he regarded Aether with a completely serious expression. When he didn’t continue, Childe finally spoke up.

“Like I was trying to say, I’ll never cheat on her because she’s literally the most perfect person in my eyes. I’d die for her without a second thought, but it won’t ever come to that because she’s not going to be able to get rid of me until we’re BOTH dead. She’ll never want for anything and will always have the freedom to do whatever she wants. All she needs to do is love me, which I know she does. I love her, Aether. I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love her.”

The way Childe was able to say all of that with a straight face impressed Aether, and it seemed like the both of them had reached a common consensus.

“Well…” Aether cleared his throat, glancing down at his mug to gather his thoughts. “I’m going to come up with more, just so you know. There will be a quiz when I get to the end,” he joked to try and lighten the heavy mood.

Childe grinned and stood up. “Whatever you come up with, I’ll do it.” He made his way over to Aether and stuck out his hand. “What do you say, then?”

“I guess… I can give you my blessing.” Aether clasped Childe’s hand in his and gave it a good shake. He opened his mouth to say something more, but before he could, there was the sound of a key turning in the lock on the apartment’s front door.

Both men froze mid-shake, eyes wide as they stared at each other. There was only one person who had a key to the apartment besides Aether, and she was supposed to be gone for at least three more hours.

And sure enough, it was Lumine that stepped through the door, her back turned as she closed the door. “Hey, the demo was canceled because the weather’s apparently supposed to get pretty bad, so I-“

The words died in her throat as she turned around and noticed both men staring back at her. She looked between them before focusing on their still-clasped hands, a frown appearing on her face.

“Ajax, what are you doing here… with Aether? And the fact that you two aren’t at each other’s throats… Do I even want to know?” Her tone was full of suspicion as she set down the large portfolio case she’d been carrying.

Aether recovered first and smacked Childe’s hand away before he approached his twin. “He forgot that you were going to be busy tonight and came over with the intention of making you dinner. We decided to call a truce since food was involved. You know how I like to eat,” he lied, a smile on his face.

Lumine didn’t seem to be convinced judging by the way she eyed them suspiciously. Before she could question them further, Childe rushed forward and smothered her in a bear hug, pulling her close against his chest.

“I just missed you so much, moya zvezda. I couldn’t wait to see you again.” To his credit, Childe rolled with Aether’s quickly made lie, smiling down at her. “What do you want for dinner?”

She frowned, pulling back to look at him. “You came over to make dinner but didn’t know what you were going to make?” Narrowing her eyes, Lumine tilted her head to study him more closely, watching as a bead of sweat slid down his cheek, a sign of his nervousness.

He gave her a smooth smile and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I wanted to work on the fly, with whatever you wanted me to make, but instead, how about I take you both out to dinner? My treat.”

“Well, I won’t say no to a free meal, I suppose.”

Aether and Childe let out sighs of relief at the same time, making Lumine glance at both of them again.

Suspicious…

Still, she went along with it, wanting to enjoy an evening with the both of them without having them argue with each other the whole time.

“You two are bad liars, by the way.” That’s all she said as she pulled herself from Childe’s embrace and walked back out of the apartment without a second glance backwards. “Hurry up! I’m starving.”

Childe hissed at Aether. “A surprise dinner, really? Do you think I’d actually forget that she was going somewhere?”

“Shut up, I couldn’t think of anything! And besides, it’s not like you were going to come up with anything she’d believe either.”

They glared at each other, Childe giving Aether a stern look. “If you tell her what we talked about…” His voice was low, the threat clear before his face smoothed over as he jogged to catch up to Lumine and pull her against his side.

“Yeah, yeah. I wouldn’t ruin that for her, you jerk,” Aether mumbled under his breath before he also sped up to catch up to them.

Chapter Text

Finally, after countless sleepless nights and numerous panic attacks, the night of the gallery opening had arrived.

Lumine had spent the night before going over her opening remarks multiple times to make sure she had it memorized, tearing her closet apart to pick the perfect outfit, and finally, crying from the fear of failing so hard in front of a large crowd of people. After several hours of this, she’d finally fallen asleep after calling Childe in the early hours of the morning with her phone still in her hand.

The next morning - only a couple of hours after she’d fallen asleep - she was woken up bright and early by her phone’s loud alarm, the blaring song ringing out, and Lumine groaned as she swiped her thumb across the screen to turn it off. She held the device up to her face to check the time, sighing heavily before she rolled over and out of her bed, rubbing her eyes.

6:00am is way too early to wake up…

Glancing at her call log, she realized that Childe must have only hung up just a little bit before the alarm had gone off judging by the length of the call, like he’d been making sure she was asleep. The thought that he might have heard her snoring made her shake her head. Still, she smiled to herself and sent him a text message, not expecting him to respond since he wouldn’t have gotten much sleep either thanks to her.

>>Lumi: Good morning! <3 Thank you for consoling me last night. It means a lot. Love you!

She’d barely had the time to set her phone down before it buzzed, signaling that she’d gotten a message, and sure enough, it was a response from Childe.

>>Ajax: Morning, love. Did you get a good nap? Love you too, I’ll see you tonight. Remember - breathe deep, You’ve got this! ;)

The fact that he’d ended his message with that emoji made Lumine laugh, her nerves already soothed by her lover’s encouragement. Feeling much more energetic, she started her final few hours of preparation before the event began.

Lumine arrived at the venue later that evening, two hours before the opening was supposed to start, and there were already cars in the parking lot. She knew that they were there for the event because theirs was the only gallery opening or showing at that location that night. The bile rose in her throat, and she barely kept it down, as the anxiety flooded her body at the realization that this was happening - that her work was going to be featured in front of so many people.

“Okay, You can do this, Lumine! Just take it one step at a time,” she whispered to herself, trying to psych herself up.

She was dressed in a beautiful evening gown made of light blue silken fabric matched with modest heels and silver jewelry that sparkled in the light of the street lamps that had recently come on. Her hair was tied up as much as the length could, at least, and a couple of flowers were threaded through the braid, matching the colors perfectly. Somehow, she still felt under dressed, like the other people that were presenting would be better dressed than she was.

Shaking her head, Lumine took the last few steps leading up to the gallery entrance, pausing with her hand held out towards the double doors, hesitating. Before she could steel her resolve to walk in, she suddenly felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind with an exhale of hot breath against her neck. She instinctively opened her mouth to scream, but a gloved hand pressed against it stopped her.

“Shh, girlie, it’s me!”

Lumine luckily recognized both the voice as well as the affectionate nickname, and she instantly relaxed in her lover’s arms before she turned around to face him, her face scrunched into a deep frown.

“Ajax,” she hissed, “Don’t do that! You scared me.” She lightly smacked him on the arm, her face heating up as she watched the way his eyes darkened as they swept over her body in that tight dress.

Childe pressed a kiss to her cheek, very careful to not smear her makeup. “I’m sorry. You look amazing, though.” His gaze swept over her form once more, taking more time to observe how the fabric clung to her curves. He leaned in close, murmuring softly in her ear. “I can’t wait to take this off of you later.”

That comment earned him another light smack on the arm.

“Let me go so I can finish getting ready. Also, the show doesn’t start for another two hours! I can understand the gallery artists coming this early, but what are you going to do until it’s open to the public?”

“I can think of a few things~” Yet another comment to earn him a smack to his arm, this time with a bit more force.

He hummed. “Okay, okay. I was hoping I could help you, if you’d let me. I can tell how nervous you are.” Childe gently clasped Lumine’s hands in his, warming up her cold fingers with his much hotter ones, feeling the way she slightly trembled.

Lumine leaned against him, soaking in his warmth as she breathed in the scent of his cologne. He had also dressed to impress as well, wearing a dark best over his crimson-colored button-up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, giving her quite a nice view of his muscular forearms. Childe seemed to notice her staring, and he flexed obnoxiously, grinning at her.

“What do you say, hm? Can your boyfriend be let in to help you out and keep you calm before the gallery opens?”

She sighed but nodded, a small smile on her face. “I think that can be arranged. There’s a few things you can help me with, so come on. Let’s go in.”

The pair spent the next two hours making sure that Lumine’s portion of the gallery showcase was perfect, and before they knew it, the rest of the artists that had submissions being displayed had arrived. There were several of them, and each of them had brought with them their own helpers and extra display pieces to compliment their section of the gallery.

Lumine hadn’t been able to spend much time in the previous weeks looking at her unofficial “competition,” her rivals in the gallery, and when they’d all arrived, she took the time to walk around and take a look at the other pieces. Childe went with her, his hand holding hers tightly.

She knew that they weren’t actually her competition, that they were technically all equals, but it was hard to not compare herself to them. Each of them had come from a different university, so they were all still students.

Some of the pieces near hers were of landscapes: windswept flower meadows of windwheel asters and dense forest glades. They were impressive, their use of color advanced and complementary of each other, the composition balanced in such a way that it drew the viewer’s eyes exactly where intended.

The other side of Lumine’s paintings featured a collection of abstract pieces with vibrant colors and shapes, both clashing and also somehow harmonious at the same time.

In comparison, Lumine felt like her pieces were too simple, too on the nose compared to her lofty neighbors’ works. Her main piece was the one modeled after Childe wearing the Snezhnayan Fatui Harbingers’ coat, and while it did still make her proud, her other pieces did not. They were companion pieces for the main one, featuring the Snezhnayan countryside, cities, and national landmarks. All of her references were ones that Childe had taken while in his home country. Her collection was meant to show the country in the eyes of a foreigner, and while they matched in subject, the combination of portrait and landscapes offered a less cohesive look.

Once she’d made her way back to her section of the gallery, she leaned against the wall, her eyes shut tight as she tried to hold back the tears of anxiety and frustration that prickled behind her eyes.

Childe immediately noticed and pulled her away from the wall and into his arms. “Hey, hey. Lumine, love, look at me.” He cupped her face in his hands and lifted them so that she was forced to look him in the eyes. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not true.”

He pressed gentle kisses to her eyelids, on her nose, and finally, on her lips, not caring if he got her makeup on him. Once she’d started complaining about him smothering her and had stopped crying, he pulled back, though he didn’t let go completely.

Lumine took a deep, steadying breath. “T-thank you, Ajax. I just…” She paused with another slow inhale and exhale to calm her heart. “I’m okay. I’ll be okay.”

A loud clap startled the both of them, and they looked over to see a man in a three-piece suit walking towards them, a smile on his face. He looked slightly familiar to Childe, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen him from - at least until Lumine greeted him.

“Hello, Professor. Good evening!” Ah, the man whose class I modeled for.

The man smiled and glanced sideways at Childe before he focused on Lumine. “Good evening, Miss Viatrix. And your companion here… if I’m not mistaken, he’s the young man in your painting as well as the one who modeled for my class, yes?”

He stuck out his hand for Childe to shake, which he did immediately before speaking. “It’s nice to re-meet you again, sir. Thank you for recognizing my lovely girlfriend’s talent.” Childe pressed a kiss to the side of Lumine’s head, flustering her.

The professor didn’t seem to mind the very obvious display of affection as he smiled. “Of course. Lumine is very talented and a very welcome addition to the gallery here tonight. Speaking of…” He turned to Lumine. “I hope you’re ready for the charity auction at the end. If you’re not careful, I think someone might try to steal away your boyfriend along with the portrait of him.”

Lumine had frozen at his words, her eyes wide, like she’d just realized she’d forgotten something - which she had: the fact that all of the gallery pieces would be put up for a charity auction at the end of the opening, with people able to pick up their purchases after the last day.

The professor seemed to notice her reaction, and he chuckled softly. “You were probably too busy worrying about the opening itself, I imagine.”

He patted her gently on the arm, not missing the way Childe pulled her closer possessively. “Don’t worry, I’m sure all of your pieces will sell, and at a high amount as well. You do still need to pick your choice of the charity you want your pieces’ profits sent to. When you decide, please come fill out the necessary paperwork, alright?”

With that, he left the pair alone to go around to speak to the other artists.

Childe looked down at the woman in his arms and smiled when he noticed that she had become more relaxed, only trembling slightly, nowhere near what she had been before. “See? He thinks you did well, and he’s one of the organizers, right? So clearly he knows what he’s talking about.”

“I guess you’re right,” she sighed, a soft blush spreading across her face at the compliments.

A loud chime came from the building’s intercom system, alerting the artists to the fact that it was time to come together and prepare the last steps to open the gallery. The professor and a couple of the other organizers made their way to the front of the building and waited for everyone to assemble.

“Well everyone, the time has finally come for the opening of our lovely little gallery along with the charity auction afterwards. Each of you have been chosen to display your expertise with several paintings, each one a brilliant show of your interests and skills. The auction will take place at the end of the night, and key cards will be placed at the corner of each frame, displaying who buys what, to be picked up after the gallery closes in a few weeks. I hope you all haven’t gotten TOO attached to your works. Are you all ready for the night to really begin?!”

After a loud cheer from the artists, the professor and his peers opened the front doors to let the first visitors inside to the small staging area where each artist would talk about their works.

Once Lumine had finished with her introduction, she went to stand next to her section of the gallery and waited for people to come view her pieces. There were several of the students that had classes with her who came to visit, all of them complimenting her work. It didn’t take too long for Aether and his paintball team to show up, immediately making a beeline for her. Upon seeing her paintings, they all started complimenting her as well, enough to make her blush again, her face as bright red as her lover’s crimson shirt.

“I can’t believe the painting of this jerk looks this good,” Aether said for the third or fourth time since he’d first seen it. “You really made him glow up into someone actually decent-looking.”

Childe narrowed his eyes and gave Aether a thin smile. “Well, she knew that if she painted you , then she’d never have gotten a spot at the gallery at all. In fact, I bet all of the paint would peel off your ugly mug.”

They both glared at each other. Neither of them meant any hostility with their squabbling since it was more for keeping up appearances. They’d come to an understanding.

“Boys!” Lumine snapped at them, hands on her hips. “What happened to your so-called truce from before?!”

They huffed, looking away from each other, which made the people clustered around them laugh.

More people came trickling into her area to view all of her paintings, several of them that Lumine didn’t know at all, giving her compliments. At one point, an older gentleman approached her, coming up very closely to study her paintings in detail.

After he read the signature on the little info card beside the largest painting, he turned to her. “Artist name… Lumine Viatrix. Is that you?” He smiled at her and held out his hand for her to shake, not introducing himself.

She blinked, cocking her head as she shook his hand before responding to his question. “I am, yes. Who are-“ She froze mid-sentence when he put his other hand on top of hers to trap it there.

Childe was instantly on guard, moving his hand to place it lightly on Lumine’s back to let her know that he was there for her. He drew himself up to his full height and glared at the man.

“My name is Azar, and I am very interested in commissioning you for a painting much like this one, only…” His eyes swept over Childe before looking back at her. “Something that more represents Sumeru culture rather than Snezhnayan. How would you feel about doing a personal piece ?”

The way he said those last two words made the hairs on the back of Lumine’s neck stand up. Childe seemed to have the same idea as to what the man meant because he suddenly wrapped his arms around Lumine and tugged her backwards until she hit his chest.

“Sorry, but she’s already got a client for the foreseeable future. I’d say forever, in fact, so you’ll have to find someone else for your… patronage .”

The man’s expression contorted into one of annoyance before it smoothed over into a carefully constructed blank mask. “…I see. How unfortunate, then.” He walked off without another word, no doubt to go try and find another victim, one that wasn’t being guarded by an overprotective, possessive boyfriend that wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty for his love.

As soon as he was gone, Childe nuzzled his nose down against Lumine’s neck, still clinging to her from behind. “I want to kill him,” he mumbled angrily, low enough so that only she could hear him. “How dare he be so openly disgusting, right in front of me, no less.”

Lumine shivered as his hot breath caressed her neck, a jolt of heat running through her when Childe suddenly bit down at the junction between her neck and shoulder, leaving a very impressionable mark there before sucking on it to make sure it stayed prominently displayed.

“Ajax, not in public!” She hissed, knocking him off of her as she pulled a small mirror out of her purse to check the damage, sighing when she noticed the visible blemish on her skin already forming. “You’re impossible. I’m going to the washroom to cover this up. You stay here and… just don’t do anything.”

After making sure that he wasn’t following her, Lumine made a beeline towards the restrooms that were located in a small building just around the corner from the gallery. The cool night air refreshed her, and she sighed softly as a breeze ruffled her hair as well as the petals of the flowers woven into it. There were a few people milling around outside of the gallery, clustered together in small groups while they talked about the show.

Her trip to the washroom was uneventful, her makeup successfully cleaned up and applied to cover up the love mark that Childe had given her, but on her way back to the gallery, she was stopped by a woman in an expensive, elegant dress, her white hair pulled up into a formal style. She looked like the image of “perfection.”

“Excuse me, are you Lumine Viatrix?”

The question made Lumine pause, her hand halfway raised to grasp the door handle at the entrance of the gallery. “I am, yes,” Lumine said with a questioning lilt of her voice. “Can I help you?”

Childe must have had his eyes glued to the door to watch for when she’d return because he came out only a moment later. “Lumine, is everything okay?” When he noticed the woman standing there, he gently rested a hand on the small of Lumine’s back for support.

The woman smiled, pulling a business card out of a folder she’d been holding to her chest. “My name is Ningguang, and I work for the Liyuen government. One of the organizers for the gallery showing was telling me about your work, and upon seeing it for myself, I must say that I’m very interested in having you make a few pieces commemorating the rebuilding of our Jade Chamber. Would you be interested?”

Lumine stared at her, halfway convinced that she’d somehow died during her trip to the restroom and was experiencing her version of heaven. After all, her lover was beside her, and she was just offered the chance of a lifetime - or deathtime, as it might have been.

After an awkward moment of silence, Childe leaned down towards her ear to murmur softly and bring her back to the present. “Breath, love. She’s waiting for an answer.”

Realizing that this was indeed reality, Lumine immediately inhaled a deep, shaky breath, clearing her throat. “Ah - oh, sorry! I just- this is literally my dream opportunity. Is it alright if I ask for a few more details? I just want to make sure that I’m taking everything into consideration before I make my decision.” Instantly she’d entered business mode, ready to learn what the job would entail.

Ningguang smiled. “Of course. This would be a large project, one spanning several months with multiple pieces of art. We’d be paying for your relocation expenses as well as setting you up with an apartment in Liyue Harbor to stay while you worked.”

Lumine froze, her eyes wise. It was like she hadn’t fully realized that this opportunity would entail her packing up and moving away from her twin and from Childe. “Can I have a few days to think it over?”

“Yes, of course. May I have your contact information so that I may send all of the details to you for your consideration? If you have any questions or counter arguments for the contact that you would like to make, I would love to come to an agreement that both of us were happy with.” Ningguang began to walk away before she turned around with a sly smile on her face. “We’d also be very willing to offer… accommodation for anyone in your immediate life that would come along as well.”

With a wink, she went back inside and left Lumine and Childe alone together.

Childe was the first to speak. “Well, that was… unexpected? How are you feeling?” When Lumine didn’t respond immediately, he gently nudged her and wrapped an arm around her to tug her close to him. “What’re you thinking about, girlie?”

She mumbled something under her breath and then repeated it a bit louder. “…I don’t wanna leave you and Aether,” she finally sighed. “This is everything I’d ever wanted, but Liyue is just so far away…”

It was then that Childe knew he had to make his move, for both of their futures. It wasn’t exactly the grand time and location he’d had in mind, but it was going to have to work.

“Well,” he began, turning her towards him. “I don’t want to overtake the night that’s truly yours, but… I have an idea, if you’ll oblige me.”

Childe suddenly knelt down on one knee and pulled out the small ring box that he’d slipped into his pocket just in case something like this happened. “Lumine, it feels like we haven’t known each other for very long, and yet I would rather die than spend a second apart from you. I love you more than the world itself, and I would lay it on the ground at your feet if you asked for it. You’re the first thing I think of in the morning when I wake up and the last thing I think of before I go to sleep.”

“You’re like the stars in the night sky, shining so brightly. You never cease to amaze me, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Lumine had begun to tear up as soon as he knelt down, and by the time he popped the question, she was thankful that she’d decided on waterproof makeup because there was a trail of tears running down her face. She immediately knocked him backwards onto his rear when she almost literally tackled him, not caring at all about what they must have looked like to anyone watching. She was blubbering, a how mess, but she managed to give him a shaky “I will!” and captured his lips in a kiss.

He smiled into it, pulling away just barely so that he could slip the engagement ring onto her finger before he pulled her close again. They stayed like that for a long moment, until Childe couldn’t feel his tailbone anymore from sitting on the cold concrete. He scooped Lumine up into his arms and carried her bridal style back into the gallery despite her protests and squeals.

“I want you to take the job,” he softly said as he finally set her down near her section of the gallery building. “I can take a job offer there no problem since the Northland Bank has a location there. It’ll be perfect, but the decision is all up to you. I’ll be happy to follow you to the ends of Teyvat.” He pressed another kiss to her lips before brushing his nose against hers affectionately.

Aether had walked over, and he glanced down at Lumine’s finger and then back up at her face. “So you accepted, huh?”

Her twin’s lack of surprise made Lumine confused, until the pieces all fell into place. She turned to look at Childe. “That’s why you were at the apartment then! Why you two called a truce!”

Lumine immediately grabbed both of them and trapped them in her arms, awkwardly hugging both of them at the same time. They both grumbled at the close proximity to each other, but they had the faintest smiles on their face at how happy their loved one was.

“Aether, you’re never going to guess what happened!” Instead of showing him the ring like he thought she would, she showed him the business card from Ningguang. “I was offered a long term job in Liyue Harbor, making pieces to commemorate the reconstruction of the Jade Chamber! Can you believe that?”

“Wow, Lu, that’s… amazing! It’s what you’ve always wanted. Are you going to take it?”

Lumine hesitated, releasing both men only to be pulled back into Childe’s arms, squirming as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. “I said I’d give it some thought. She offered relocation expenses for me, and well…” She gestured towards the man currently clinging to her. “That’s when he proposed.”

“Damn, dude.  Way to steal that business woman’s thunder,” Aether joked, a smile still on his face. “Well, whatever you decide to do, my dear sister, I shall support you. especially if it means that I can come crash at your place in Liyue for a vacation.”

His words nearly made Lumine cry all over again. “I have the most supportive men in the world in my life, and I don’t deserve it.”

“Hey, you deserve the whole world,” Childe said fiercely, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. “And I hope you’re ready to be joined at the hip with me from now on. You can’t escape me, girlie, my lovely future bride.”

The rest of the night was spent with Childe smothering Lumine with affection and praise, along with several people that Lumine didn’t know coming up to compliment her on her paintings. All in all, it was a huge ego boost for her, and by the time it was time to go, Lumine had gotten so tired from all of the emotional whiplash that she didn’t feel awake enough to drive home. Instead, Aether and his friends shuffled their rides around so that he could take Lumine’s car back and she could ride with Childe.

When they got back to the apartment, he carried her inside, setting her down on the edge of her bed before gently waking her up. “Love, we’re back in your room. You need to change into something to sleep in, alright? I’ll go wait ou-“

“Don’t leave.” Her softly spoken words interrupted him, and a smile crossed his face.

 “I’ve already seen you naked, so I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, huh.”

Lumine did wake up enough to change into some comfortable pajamas, her face flushed bright red when she noticed Childe’s gaze roaming over her naked body hungrily. He didn’t act on his impulses, instead also stripping down to just his boxers, neatly folding his slacks, vest, and button up shirt before placing them on Lumine’s computer chair before he crawled into bed with her, pulling her close against his chest. She immediately cuddled close, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

“I love you, Ajax.”

“I love you too, lyubimaya, my bride-to-be, my eternity, my comrade, my-“ She glared up at him and yawned, making him chuckle. “Alright, alright. Get some sleep.”

“You won’t leave?” - “Never.”