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Chapter Text

Lumine takes a deep breath, her eyes shifting between the toddler seated in front of her and her brother's figure as he keeps pacing back and forth. She wants to yell at him to stop, as he's only making her more anxious, but decides to hold her tongue for now.

"How much longer will it take?" Aether's irritated voice addresses the (possibly) half-crazed scientist sitting in the other corner of the lab.

Dottore looks up from the screen of his laptop with a bored expression, "patience, it takes time if you want to obtain accurate results," He pauses for a second, his eyes gaining a dangerous glint, "although if you let me take a look at the communicator I can-"

"Absolutely not. We have a deal, the picture first then you get to look at the device." Dottore purses his lips at the flat-out rejection but says nothing more. He turns back to his screen, deciding to ignore them once again.

Her brother's eyes meet her own and he sends her an encouraging smile, one she struggles to return before focusing back on the child.

The child, Ayla, her daughter, is playing with the fairy-like hologram, completely unbothered by the electrodes sticking to her scalp and ignorant of her mother and uncle's distress.

Uncle, mother, daughter.  

Lumine still has trouble wrapping her head around this bizarre sci-fi-like situation that she found herself in.

Just two months ago, Lumine had been an ordinary sixteen years old, enjoying a movie night with her brother and cousin when she was suddenly blinded by a light appearing from Celestia knows where, next thing she knew she was taking care of a barely-one-year old toddler.

And just when she and Aether were finally getting the hang of caring for their "distant baby cousin" and balancing their daily school lives- thank the archons for their amazing friends- while simultaneously trying to convince Dainsleif not to hand Ayla to social services, this had to happen.

Because of course taking care of a possible alien baby that appeared out of thin air wasn't strange enough, no, they had to be informed -by an older version of herself to boost- that said baby was her daughter, Lumine's future daughter, and that future Lumine and her husband were trying their best to get her back.

Lumine had been so shocked at the revelation and frankly feeling a bit stupid -Ayla was a carbon copy of her and Aether for crying out loud- that she hadn't really paid attention to one little detail her future self had let slip.

Luckily for her, Aether had. And as a consequence, he decided to play the overprotective brother/detective trying to figure out who her future husband may be. His paranoid behavior toward every other male in her life -besides Dain- had to, of course, rub on her, resulting in endless overthinking and anxiety about the identity of her child's father.

But communications with future Lumine had been cut short, and Ayla hadn't shown any special favoritism to any of the twin's male entourage. Guessing based on outward features was also kind of impossible since the little girl was just a mini Lumine, from the darker shade of blond hair to the slightly sharper golden eyes and down to her mother's facial expressions, figuring it out on their own was out of the question. 

Doing DNA tests on all of her potential suitors -aka the whole school and possibly the entire town according to Aether- was a no-go either, no matter how much her twin insists.

The only silver lining Lumine could find was that Dain had backed off from trying to give Ayla away to the authorities after finding out her true identity. That and the blessing of her parents being away on their usual business trips, she can't imagine having to explain that they have a time-traveling granddaughter now.

Ah, and the reason why she is currently in Dottore's lab/basement? Well, that's Ajax's fault.

The ginger had barged in, just when Lumine was finally starting to accept the fact that she wouldn't be finding her future husband anytime soon, claiming that "you know that college drop-out that lives down the street? Yeah Dottore, he's an inventor and he has this machine that is 70% guaranteed to figure out who Ayla's father is!"

Nevermind that he was somehow "good friends" with the most sketchy person in their neighborhood -Lumine has long since decided not to question Childe and his connections, it's a rich kid thing- she was not going to let that creep anywhere near her daughter. 

Or at least that had been the plan until gentle, trustworthy, and reliable Albedo had assured her that Dottore was very capable, having worked with him before, and that his device was -after he had personally verified it- indeed completely safe.

Albedo's sudden interest in Ayla's father aside, Lumine trusted him, and with his verdict, along with Childe's nagging and Aether's ever-growing hit list, she had caved in and approached the suspicious inventor.

"I'll aid you in finding the kid's father, in exchange you'll let me take a look at your so-called baby care devices." That had been Dottore's only condition. No questions asked about who Ayla was or why they were so desperate to find her parents without going to the police, which was honestly very convenient for them, except his interest in Ayla's futuristic devices was already a red flag and a testament to what Ajax had exactly told him.

Negotiations were made, explanations were exchanged and it was decided that if Dottore's device did work then he would be allowed to have a look at P.A.I.M.O.N.

The Parental Assistant...yeah, Lumine for the life of her couldn't remember all that, but the acronym was there for a reason. The little pixie-like hologram that had come with Ayla had been a lifesaver so far, determining what the baby needed -most of the time at least- and giving directions to the twins to properly care for Ayla.

Problem was, Paimon herself could be a hassle sometimes, making Lumine wonder if the artificial intelligence was programmed with a child's mentality herself. And, much to Lumine and Aether's annoyance, Paimon had claimed that she did not know who Ayla's parents -specifically father- were once asked. 

"Sorry, Paimon doesn't understand your question. Unfortunately, Paimon has no such information programmed into Paimon." The little devious thing would answer and Lumine was pretty convinced that she was purposefully taunting them, maybe that's why she wasn't feeling any guilt over letting Dottore mess with the device- A little voice in her head kept telling her that maybe Paimon was withholding information to not mess up the timeline any further, and that Lumine should strive to do the same, alas she was running on stress, coffee and an unhealthy amount of mint jelly so her current judgment should be considered cloudy at best.

Lumine is brought from her musing by a sudden ringing that has her looking at Dottore questioningly.

"Hm? That's weird, I wasn't expecting anyone…" The scientist looks just as confused as he exits the room, leaving the twins behind. Aether walks closer to her and they both exchange worried glances, both wary of Dottore's uninvited guests. 

Lumine then shifts her attention to the machine hooked to her daughter. According to the older inventor, it's supposed to read Ayla's brainwaves and present an accurately drawn portrait of her father, how exactly was it supposed to distinguish the memory of the dad from the rest of her thoughts is a mystery to Lumine, but as long as it's safe, she has nothing else to lose.

Dottore walks back in, the expression on his face not betraying anything as he makes his way to his computer. Seconds later, a figure both Lumine and Aether are very familiar with, makes his entrance.

"Albedo? What are you doing here?" Aether asks with a subtle hostility lacing his tone.

"I'm here to observe the experiment and provide my assistance if needed," Albedo answers calmly, completely unbothered by his friend's newfound mistrust that he had recently adapted when addressing certain boys from their friend group. 

He looks at Lumine, silently asking for her permission to stay and she gives him a half-hearted smile. On one hand having him with them would be very reassuring. On the other hand, Lumine doesn't want anyone else finding out who her future husband is, at least not yet, after all she has noticed the slight changes in her friends' behavior after the revelation. Hell, she doesn't even want Aether to know either but being left alone with Dottore creeps her out.

Albedo gives a small nod then walks to where Dottore is stationed, the two immediately engaging in a conversation that Lumine is sure would make her head hurt.

Aether gives her a betrayed pout and she's about to calm him down when Paimon brings their attention to her.

"Uh, Lumine? Paimon thinks we should stop now, Ayla seems uncomfortable…" 

True to the pixie's words, Ayla is shifting in her seat, groaning as she attempts to take off the electrodes. Lumine wastes no time in scooting closer to her and gently holding her hands.

"No sweetie, we can't take those off just yet, ok?" She softly whisper trying to calm her down, but Ayla only gives her a pitiful look, her eyes glossy as she holds her hands up and makes a grabbing gesture.

"Lumi…" She whimpers the name that she has grown used to calling her future mom by and her lower lip starts wobbling dangerously.

"Ayla, honey what's wrong?" Very confused by her daughter's sudden change of behavior, Lumine brings her hand up to caress the younger blond's cheeks, it's enough to break the dam as Ayla starts crying and calling Lumine's name.

"Dottore you said it won't hurt her!" Aether angrily accuses, very much ready to punch the inventor for making Ayla cry. He may deny it but the blond male has a soft spot for his niece, his protectiveness towards his sister automatically being extended to Ayla as well.  

"Yes and I stand by it, the procedure is completely harmless!"

"Then why is she crying!"

"Aether calm down, Dottore's right the machine works similarly to an electroencephalogram test, it isn't supposed to hurt or cause any discomfort," Albedo explains as he rushes to Ayla's other side in hope of helping Lumine calm her down.

"Turn off the machine." Lumine orders while hugging her daughter, the poor thing is starting to sob and shake and it breaks her heart to see her like this. The truth be damned, her daughter's well-being was far more important.

"B-but we're not even halfway done yet! If we stop now all the progress would be lost!" Dottore sputters, offended that he was told to halt his experiment so abruptly.

"I don't care. Turn it off. Now." Her voice takes on a dark edge as she glares at the inventor, her brother's matching look and Albedo's slightly less hostile yet just as dangerous stare make him sigh and oblige.

Lumine wastes no time in yanking the cords away, and once her daughter is free, she lifts her up and keeps her in a close embrace, whispering soft words in hopes of calming her down.

"Paimon." Aether doesn't look away from his sister and niece as he holds the amulet-like device up. The pixie immediately starts emitting a blue light directed towards Ayla.

"Checking vitals, basic needs, diaper condition...nope! Nothing's wrong, Ayla is completely fine." Lumine and Aether exchange a worried look upon Paimon's diagnosis, both sharing a silent question.

"I assume the change of environment made Ayla uncomfortable," Albedo explains as he moves closer to the toddler and gently starts stroking her hair, the action is received well as Ayla leans into his hands, her sobs reduced to silent whimpers and sniffs.

Meanwhile, Dottore snatches the paper that was previously attached to the machine and angrily presents it to Aether, "here's the picture, now fulfill your end of the deal." His eyes travel down to Paimon who makes one audible squeak before turning herself off and disappearing from view.

"Are you being serious right now? This-" He motions to the half-drawn portrait in the picture, only showing broad shoulders clad in a white shirt, "can hardly qualify as the father's picture. I'm not giving you anything since you hardly kept your end of the deal."

"Well it's not my fault seeing as it was you who stopped the experiment! You're the one who should take responsibility for that!" 

Ayla's cries return full force as the exchange between Dottore and Aether gets more heated up. Lumine is about to shout at the two to stop when Albedo stops her.

"Take Ayla outside, I'll handle it. I believe it's best if we get her out of here for now," He softly whispers in her ears so he could be heard over all the commotion and Lumine can only nod her head while giving him a grateful smile.

She quickly snatches the device that contains Paimon from Aether's grasp then makes her way out of the lab, trusting Albedo to keep Aether from throwing any punches. Her brother may have always been the more social and level-headed between the pair but he could get just as unreasonable as Lumine when irritated enough, and needless to say, his levels of irritation have skyrocketed ever since Ayla's origin was revealed.

"Maybe coming here was a mistake…" 

"That's what Paimon's been trying to say!" Lumine ignores the pixie that decided to show up again and focuses on calming her daughter instead. 

Sevens, having Ayla be a random alien baby would have probably made things much more easier.

Chapter Text

Lumine allows a tired sigh to escape her as she flops down on her chair. Their little trip to Dottore has left her more drained than expected, or maybe she has been pushing herself too much for the last week and her exhaustion has finally caught up to her.

Ayla is seated in her special baby chair with Paimon hovering close to her, and Lumine can't help but find it ironic that the two are so engrossed in whatever new masterpiece Ayla is attempting to make using her crayons. 

Despite being a loyal fan of her daughter's art, she still wishes the younger girl would tone it down a bit, they're running out of both magnets and space on the fridge.

From her position in the kitchen, Lumine can still hear Aether's voice rising occasionally from the living room as he gets Dain up to date on their search for her mystery husband, and it does nothing but aggravate her headache.

They had left Dottore's place without resorting to any kind of violence, sure, but it goes without saying that they have lost their last chance in finding out who Ayla's father might be. 

And as frustrating as it may be, she'll just have to accept it, there's no way Dottore would let them use his inventions again -not without begging and a good price in exchange at least- and she honestly wasn't so fond of the idea of forcing Ayla to go through that again anyways, not when the little girl was clearly uncomfortable with it.

A steaming cup is placed in front of her causing her to turn back and lock eyes with Albedo.

"It's herbal tea, to calm your nerves," He explains courtly before taking a seat next to her.

Lumine takes a few seconds to blink away her momentary surprise. She has completely forgotten that her classmate had returned home with them earlier.

"Thank you." She offers him a rather sheepish smile then takes a sip from her tea, letting the warm beverage wash over her and enjoying the earthy sweet fragrance of lavender.

"Lumine…" Albedo's voice is quiet and solemn as he calls her name, it instantly makes her turn to him giving him her full attention.

She's even more concerned once she notices the downcast look on his face and she puts her cup away, "Albedo, is something wrong?"

It takes him a moment to respond, possibly trying to gather his thoughts, and she patiently waits. "I...I believe that I owe you an apology."

"An apology? What-what do you mean?"

Albedo looks up at her then, finally allowing himself to meet her gaze, full of sincerity, guilt, and something else that she can't quite pinpoint. 

"If I hadn't suggested it, if I hadn't assured you that Dottore could be trusted, then-"

"Seriously Albedo what are you talking about?" Lumine huffs and reaches for his hand across the table, giving it a light squeeze of reassurance, "it wasn't your fault, I'm the one who wanted to go through with it."

"Still, we both know that my involvement pushed you to accept." He frowns, daring her to contradict him and she has to avert her eyes away, internally cursing his ability to always get a good read on her.

"Well, even if that was the case, I still don't want you blaming yourself. I mean Ayla's completely fine and nothing bad happened so don't beat yourself over it." She's touched that Albedo is willing to take a part of the responsibility for the entire thing and she appreciates his apology, but it was getting slightly out of proportion, as long as no harm had come over any of them then it was fine.

"Plus, I know that you did it to help me and I'm actually thankful that we've gone through it, at least now I won't be plagued by any what ifs"

There's a short pause that has her thinking that he's still blaming himself before Albedo finally speaks up, "I did want to help you but...I hope you realize that I have my own selfish reasons for getting involved as well."

He gives her hand a squeeze but Lumine's so lost in the intensity of his gaze that she doesn't really notice. 

"I trust that you know what I'm trying to say, Lumine."

Right now he's not her genius classmate, the polite yet aloof and distant perfect student. rather it's Albedo. The boy that had gone from being just a temporary lab partner to someone she considered a precious friend, someone who she cherished and trusted unconditionally.

But he's also Albedo the school's silent prince and Klee's personal knight in shining armor, and Lumine is reminded of the subtle way he hovers over the line between being friendly and flirtatious, of the unexpected comments that had her turning red and questioning the meaning behind his words, of the small smirks that recently started to make her stomach flutter. 

Lumine gulps, her eyes searching for the hidden meaning of his words, asking a silent question about a possible truth she's too unprepared to acknowledge. Her mind meanwhile is in shambles trying to formulate a proper reply while simultaneously trying to squash down whatever over-the-top conclusions that hopeless romantic -and frankly less logical- part of her is trying to push through.

"Lumi! Lumi!" The moment is broken as Ayla calls for her caretaker's attention, and the blonde is only too eager to give it to her, if only to escape her current predicament. 

Once Lumine is looking at her, Ayla holds up her newest creation, cheeks puffing in pride as her mother moves up to take a closer look at the drawing.

"Oh my! How beautiful! You're very talented Ayla!" Truthfully it's only a bunch of yellow scribbles with the occasional blue and red squiggly lines, but for Lumine -and as Aether would insist- it could very well belong in an art museum in Sumeru.

Ayla beams at the compliment while Paimon is throwing suspicious glances at Lumine and Albedo -she knows she'll snitch to Aether later, she always does- but she doesn't give the pixie a chance to embarrass her any further as she focuses the conversation on Ayla's drawing instead. "Should we hang it on the fridge?"

The toddler nods enthusiastically while pointing to said fridge, Lumine surpasses a chuckle and moves to properly secure the newest decoration to their kitchen, all while making sure not to look Albedo in the eye, or in his general vicinity to be exact, lest he notices her surely reddening cheeks. 

She moves some older drawings closer then uses their last magnet to pin it right in the center, where she knows Aether and Dain would notice it later and give their respective compliments to the artist.

Ayla cheers loudly then starts bringing another blank paper closer to her, seemingly feeling even more inspired as Lumine absently considers if they should start discarding the oldest drawings or just find a new storing place for them. The little girl suddenly stops and looks back up at Albedo, she gives him a big smile -the one that always has Xiao's and Dain's resolves crumbling. Not Aether though, he doesn't need any smiles to be already wrapped around his niece's finger- and offers him one of her precious crayons.

"Do you want us to draw together, Ayla?" He asks, already knowing the answer, her daughter after all had a strange fascination with Albedo's drawings, ever since she caught him making a portrait for Paimon.

Ayla nods and even pushes the paper closer to him for good measures, but he scoots his chair closer to hers instead, positioning the paper between the two of them. Lumine is able to catch the small smile he sends her way before he focuses back on Ayla, his fond and indulging expression not unlike the ones she saw directed at Klee.

Paimon is still staring holes into Lumine's back but the blonde ignores it, busying herself with random kitchen utensils instead. 

"Abyss, was he implying that-" Lumine shakes the thought away before it's even properly formulated and takes a deep calming breath. She can't be thinking like that, not now, even if Albedo did just subtly flirt with her, this was not the time to be falling for anyone, no.

She leans back on the counter, her gaze wandering to the domestic scene in front of her and another treacherous thought flashes through her mind.

Ayla loves to draw, always has according to Paimon. It was something that Lumine fully encouraged, but according to her research kids would start scribbling around the age of two, Ayla was barely one yet she already had a big affinity towards art. Nothing crazy of course, she wasn't a baby Picasso or anything, but in Lumine's eyes she should be considered a bit more advanced than her peers, right? 

And she's smart, the blonde had noticed since day one that Ayla had a good understanding of things around her and...Albedo's a genius. Lumine had seen trophies and awards he won before even enrolling in middle school. Albeenhad repeatedly gushed about how exceptional and brilliant he had been, long before she even officially adopted him, same with his talent for drawing. Surely he was a very smart and aware toddler too.

And-and blond hair. Having two blond parents would probably increase the chances of the child having blond hair too, that would explain why Ayla just looked like her, right? 

"Wait, are smarts hereditary? What about her ability to draw? Maybe he taught her ho-" 

Lumine pinches herself then, what on earth was she thinking? Ok, sure Ayla and Albedo look awfully cozy there, like full-on father-daughter kind of cozy, so you can't blame her for thinking that in some far distant future this would be an everyday type of evening for the two.

And honestly, she wouldn't mind being married to Albedo, he's handsome, smart, caring, understanding, and has a surprisingly playful side that has her heart racing more often than she'd like to admit. He could get a bit too invested in his research sometimes, to the point that he would neglect his own health, but Lumine -along with a select few- is always able to get him away from his work for a couple of hours.

Archons, Aether's rubbing on her. She can't be thinking like this or else she'll just dig herself in an even deeper hole than the one she's already in.

"Why are you still here?" Aether, as if summoned by her thoughts, announces as he enters the kitchen.

 "Aether." She warns almost automatically, sounding more tired than actually annoyed, while Dain sighs exasperatedly from behind her brother.

 "I'll be taking my leave after we finish this, right Ayla?" Albedo responds smugly, not bothering to look up from the drawing and Ayla cheers along happily as if to only spite Aether more.

And it works because he starts pouting and accusing Albedo of being a bad influence and hogging up his niece's attention.

 "How are you feeling?" Lumine is still distracted by her recent...findings (?) That she doesn't notice her cousin walking up to her. Still, she plasters on her best smile and gives a small nod.

 "Just...overthinking again, I guess." She adds in a hushed voice when he throws her an unconvinced glance.

 "I imagine you have a lot to consider right now, but-" He hesitates slightly, something quite uncharacteristic when it comes to him, then continues "do you wish to try once more? With Dottore's machine." 

 Lumine blinks, taking her time to process his question and formulate a response, but the sudden silence has her looking back at the table where all conversations have halted and now they were staring at her as well, even Ayla with her innocent gaze, whether she understands the situation or is just copying everyone around her.

 The stares honestly make her feel like a deer caught in the headlights. She knows that the final decision is ultimately hers but she can't help but feel slightly pressured. She unconsciously moves to bite her fingernail, a habit she's been trying to break off recently, then stops herself.

 "I...I don't think Dottore would help us again anyway." Dain throws Aether a look at that, one which he skilfully pretends not to notice.

"You don't have to worry about that, I'm confident that I can change his mind and get him on our side, that is if you want to try again of course," Albedo reassures, and she's very tempted to ask how he would do it, partly out of curiosity and partly to buy herself more time to think.

"Either way, I think we should sleep on it for the meantime, take your time to think about it," Dain, ever the more considerate and properly functioning brain cell in their household, suggests much to her relief, and she sends him a thankful nod.

"However, I was thinking about benefiting from Dottore's services in another way," That got everyone's attention once more as they urged Dainsleif to keep going, "establishing communication with the future version of yourself, it would make the process of sending back Ayla run much more smoothly if we could contribute from our end as well. And you can always ask yourself about any… future concerns you have."

"Oh, that...would actually make sense but-" 

"But should we really trust Dottore with that?" Aether finishes her line of thoughts, "we were already taking a risk by letting him look at Paimon, I don't think it would be wise letting him possibly have full-blown access to the future."

"His fixation on Ayla's gadgets is suspicious enough, I don't want to encourage him more by giving the full truth," Lumine adds in and everyone silently agrees with the twins.

A somber mood falls on as each of them is preoccupied with their own thoughts, it's only broken when Ayla grabs their attention back to another finished art piece then asks for food.

Dinner is a much lighter affair once they manage to ignore the death stares Aether is sending Albedo.

   ----------------------⋇⋆✦⋆⋇-----------------------　

After a restless night filled with too much thinking, weird dreams, and putting back a crying Ayla to sleep, it's no surprise that Lumine wakes up feeling like shit.

 She's pretty determined to sleep in until lunch, thankful that Ayla has inherited her hate for waking up early, only for a text from Xiao to foil her plans.

She would've completely forgotten about their playdate/ study session if he hadn't reminded her, so, with the same nasty headache from yesterday that still refuses to leave her, she forces herself out of bed and hurries up to get herself and Ayla ready. 

She's also quite ready to chew Aether's ears off for not waking her up, but her normally early bird of a brother is still completely passed out and feeling just as shitty as her when she forces him up. He claims that he couldn't sleep but Lumine notices the mess of crumpled papers and pens with that suspicious notebook on his desk and instantly knows that he stayed up working on his supposed hit list, trying to play detective again.

Soon enough, Xiao shows up at their doorsteps with his sister in tow, and before they know it, they're already elbow deep into their physics homework.

The familiarity of doing her school work seated between her brother and childhood friend almost makes Lumine forget about the craziness that is now her life, transporting her to simpler times where she only had to worry about choosing an outfit or passing a test. Yet it isn't as simple or easy now, and the fact that they have to check up on Ayla and Qiqi every few minutes is proof enough of the change, luckily though Paimon is doing great in distracting them.

Their study session is paused around noon for a lunch break. The teens themselves may be able to get by with some snacks here and there, but the kids are hungry and require proper food.

"Something's bothering you, I can tell." Lumine takes the chance to remark while feeding Ayla, making use of Aether's momentary absence.

Even if he has been maintaining his usual poker face, Lumine's grown used to figuring out Xiao's emotions without him having to speak up or make it obvious, and he's been preoccupied since the moment he stepped into their house.

If she has to guess, it probably had something to do with what happened yesterday, she's sure Aether had already filled him in but it seems there's more that still bothered him.

"...Are you sure you're fine?" He asks in a hushed voice that seems awfully close even if they were sitting next to each other in the first place.

She gives Ayla another spoonful of mashed potatoes as she turns around, ready to reassure him she's fine, but is frozen in her place instead.

Xiao's voice seemed so close, because Xiao is very close to her right now, she can lean in just a bit and their noses would be touching.

Lumine sucks a breath in, transfixed by Xiao's eyes. They're beautiful. She always thought so, always told him so, and he always brushed her away saying that they were the same colors as hers, nothing special. She would always disagree, Lumine can and will explain in great details how much different and pretty his eyes were. She has always preferred his, after all.

She can hear heartbeats, she's not sure if it's hers or his but when Xiao titles his head to the right and gives her a confused look -completely oblivious to her state- and the heartbeats grow a little faster, she knows it's hers.

Xiao is saying something to her but she doesn't catch it, too busy trying to figure out what, in Barbatos' name, is wrong with her. 

"Too close…" She ends up whispering and instantly Xiao pulls back, almost toppling back his chair.

"S-sorry, it's-Aether…" She doesn't catch the rest of his sentence as he turns away from her and starts whipping Qiqi's (already clean) mouth.

Of course it's because of Aether, her brother may be too engrossed in his phone conversation with Keqing but they both know that he has exceptionally good hearing, especially when it comes to topics involving her. No wonder Xiao was getting close and whispering, he just didn't want her brother hearing them, yet here she is overthinking it again.

Ayla's getting impatient at this point and she leans into the spoon on her own, winning Lumine's attention once more. She gives her daughter the last spoonful of her lunch and turns to Xiao, his back is facing her now but she can still see his red ears.

While Ajax used confident and loud declarations of affection, and Albedo resorted to subtle flirting and meaningful looks, the thing that changed most about Xiao after discovering Ayla's origin was the way that Lumine herself looked at him.

Part of the blame falls on Venti (and surprisingly Keqing) for filling her head with embarrassing ideas, but it's also her fault for not only letting them get to her but also entertaining the possibilities.

"You don't see him treating Ganyu like that and she's his childhood friend too," Venti would say. "I mean Ayla kinda has his eye shape, don't you think?" And her thoughts would spiral into chaos, mainly because she sees it too.

Acts that grew to be second nature to her became such a big deal, making her aware of every touch, every smile, every act of gentleness and kindness extended to her only, every time his ears reddened at something she did or said. It drove her almost crazy.

Lumine takes a deep breath, bringing herself back to reality, then takes Ayla's empty plate and spoon and stands up. "Are you done Qiqi?"

The little girl nods and offers her utensils while thanking her again for the food, she smiles at her then focuses on Xiao who's avoiding her eyes.

"I'm fine...kinda. Just very exhausted." It's a peace offering, a way to elevate some of the awkwardness.

 She doesn't wait for a response and makes her way to the sink instead. She starts scrubbing the plates clean and isn't surprised when Xiao walks up to her.

"Aether told me about what happened. Is it still bothering you?" 

"Of course it's bothering me." Lumine doesn't allow her feelings to get out of control in front of most people, especially the negative ones, the only exception being her twin, her other half that understands her better than she understands herself, and Xiao who's probably seen her at her worst -perks of growing up together- and so she often lets herself be honest with him.

"I thought- I thought this would solve it all, that we would finally put an end to all of these speculations. Well, paranoia in Ae's case." She keeps her voice hushed, not only for Aether's sake but also for Qiqi, Xiao's sister isn't aware of who Ayla really is and it's better for everyone if it stays like this.

"Does it really matter who Ayla's father is?" Xiao asks so nonchalantly as he takes the plate from her hands to rinse it and Lumine is resisting the urge to gawk at him.

"You're kidding right? Yes, it really really does matter!" She throws a hand in the air causing some soap to splash on both of them and he scowls at her, "figuring out who her father is would make things so much easier."

"Would it though?" He speaks as flatly as ever. "Let's say you do find out who the father is, then what? You automatically start loving him? Even if you don't know him or you do but have never seen him in a romantic light before? That's your plan?" There's a new edge and coldness in his tone that almost has her convinced he's angry but she knows Xiao, and knows that his sharp and brusque manner of speaking isn't always intentional.

Still, she finds herself at a loss of words on how to respond. She hadn't thought that far, only focusing on finding her husband's identity and not considering what would come after that. "I...I don't know…" She says at last as she finishes the last spoon.

Xiao finishes on his side as well and takes a moment to dry his hands before fully turning to her, she finds herself doing the same despite still feeling hesitant.

There's a beat of silence, the two simply staring at each other, trying to read what the other is hiding behind expectant looks. Xiao breaks first, his eyes softening slightly, in that way she's used to and likes so much, as he lets out a tired sigh.

"Lumine, you don't have to be pressured into doing this. It's your choice, but I know you. If you find out who he is you'll just put even more expectations and pressure on yourself to make it work with him and-" He hesitates, eyes looking away for a split second-"I'm not forcing you to stop, like I said it's your choice to make but…"

He steps closer, hands going up to hold her shoulders, firm yet comforting, and it dawns on her that this is one of the rare times that she has managed to get more than two sentences out of him without prompting.

"Whoever this man is, you'll meet him in due time, and it will happen naturally. When it's right, without you stressing so much about it."

 Lumine lets his words sink in, briefly contemplating them, and is about to thank him when she feels a soft touch on her cheek.

Xiao's thumb rubs at a spot under her eye and there's a treacherous flutter in her stomach. "you'll find him, and he'll love you so much, no matter who he is. I know you'll find happiness," He whispers as he tucks a stray golden strand behind her ear.

There's a look in his eye, something that's so scared and sorrowful, but there's a hint of longing in there and it tugs at her heart.

"What if that's you? Why are you always scared, always dismissing the possibility that it can be you?" She almost utters but doesn't allow herself to cross that line, not now, not for Xiao or Albedo or even Ajax, this isn't the time for this, not when her life is so messed up that she doesn't even have time to consider these feelings.

So she does what she does best in awkward situations, she cracks a lame joke. "Oh really? What if it's Childe? Would you still be so accepting?" 

His eyes widened in something akin to disappointment and she internally starts to panic and curse at herself for the accidental suggestion of her possibly preferring to be with Ajax, but Xiao quickly notices her small smirk and understands the meaning behind her words.

"I don't think I'll have to do anything, your brother would probably have it handled," He huffs a silent chuckle, one hand retreating back to his side while the other is still resting on her shoulder, "worst I'll have to do is find a proper place to bury the body."

"Xiao! Don't enable him! Please I'm counting on you to stop his stupidity not partake in it!" She feigns an annoyed frown that is instantly wiped away as she lets out a small laugh, unable to hold it for longer.

Xiao smiles at her, so small it's unnoticeable for anyone unfamiliar with the boy. He opens his mouth to say something but it doesn't come as his hand is pushed away from her and a body hurls itself between them, effectively making them take a few steps back.

"Leave room for Rex Lapis! Please and thank you." Aether forces through gritted teeth. His back is to Lumine but she can tell just from Xiao's expression that he's giving him one of his death glares, and so she slaps him on the head. Nothing too strong of course, she doesn't want him losing any more brain cells.

"Ouch! Lu what was that for!" He turns to her, already giving her the puppy eyes.

"Tone it down, will you?"

"Well excuse me for not expecting a betrayal from my closest friend and in my fu-freaking house!" His raised voice catches the attention of Ayla and Qiqi who give him confused looks. Lumine meanwhile just facepalm while Xiao just stares blankly at Aether. 

Her twin gives their childhood friend one last look, conveying whatever secret message between the two, then moves to the fridge and grabs two containers.

Xiao and Lumine watch as he puts some almond tofu on one plate and pudding on the other. He grabs two spoons and turns to the little girls.

"I think it's time for some dessert," He announces as he hides the two plates behind his back, "who wants almond tofu!" 

Ayla immediately perks up at the name of her favorite dessert, letting out an excited cheer. Qiqi on the other hand is less enthusiastic about the treat but still attempts to smile.

"And we can't forget the Cocogoat milk pudding for Qiqi!" This gets the little girl's eyes and smile to widen, she wastes no time thanking Aether and digging in once he places the pudding in front of her.

Ayla waits patiently for him to do the same for the almond tofu but Aether only gives her a mischievous smile and crouches to her level, all while keeping the dessert out of her reach.

Lumine exchanges a tired look with Xiao, both knowing where this is heading. It seems that Aether never learns from his mistakes.

"Do you want this almond tofu, Ayla?" He says while tauntingly holding a spoonful of the tofu close to her. Her daughter responds by trying to reach in and eat it but he skillfully dodges her attempt, causing her to pout at him. "Ah, ah, ah you can have all this tofu if...you give uncle Ae a kiss!" 

And yep, Lumine definitely saw that coming. Aether has been trying to get Ayla to kiss him ever since she learned the gesture, which is really just her eating your cheek and slabbing her drool all over it, still it was a form of affection that she only graced a few people with. So far, Lumine was the recipient of most of those kisses, Amber a second close seeing how Ayla favorited her so much, Dain and surprisingly Keqing each got kissed once by Ayla.

Aether on the hand? Well, he could be begging his niece for two hours straight yet she still wouldn't even look at him. The more he tried the more she denied him, and it seems that this time won't be any different.

"Come on Ayla! Just one pleeeease!" Ayla gives him a flat look then turns away from him, busying herself with staring at the wall. Aether continues his begging for a while before finally giving up.

"ok, fine. Here's you almond tofu." But Ayla isn't convinced, she gives him a side glance, looks at the dessert, then haughtily turns her nose up at him, much to Aether's dejection.

"Big brother Aether...is really mean," Qiqi chips in, adding fuel to the fire. 

"Wha- no! I'm not mean! I was just teasing! Ayla won't you eat the dessert that your poor uncle has prepared for you?"

As her brother keeps trying to give her the tofu and failing miserably, Xiao sighs and moves to take another serving of the tofu. He takes the seat that was previously occupied by Lumine then swiftly takes the spoon from Aether's hand. He tries feeding Ayla from the new plate he brought and, not to anyone's surprise except maybe Aether, she happily eats it, going as far as to give Xiao a big smile and trying to call his name.

Lumine watches the scene in amusement, Aether has claimed that Ayla has inherited her attitude, which may be true. But looking at her daughter now, while Xiao and her are giving Aether a matching glare for being dramatic, she can't help but compare them.

She tries to banish the idea but to no avail, it has already made root in her brain and Lumine is left counting the resemblances between her future daughter and her childhood friend. 

It's the eyes, she concludes, yes they're gold, Lumine's color of gold, but they're definitely sharper than hers, not full-on cat-eyes like Xiao's but the sharpness is there and it makes her wonder.

Then there's Ayla's obsession with almond tofu, something that shocked them all when she lunged at it the first time they bought some. Lumine had her reservation about letting a baby eat too much of it, even if Xiao technically grew up ravaging the thing, but Paimon had assured them that it was indeed Ayla's favorite dessert, especially when homemade. 

It wouldn't be weird if her love for it came to be because her father loved it so much and shared it with her occasionally. Still, it seems a bit far-fetched considering that Lumine can see her future self introducing the dessert to Ayla and her daughter just developing a liking to it, Xiao's parents and sister aren't really obsessed with almond tofu either, so this doesn't prove anything, right?

 "Cut it out. You can't keep comparing Ayla to every boy she interacts with. You're not Aether."

"Ugh, I can't believe my niece hates me!" Aether has crawled back to her side, pitifully eating the almond tofu that Ayla refused and giving Xiao and her a betrayed look.

"It's your fault for always teasing her." He directs his glare at her and she simply shrugs, ending the conversation.

As the two silently observe the pair, Qiqi walks up to them and offers her empty plate back to Lumine, and in a heartwarming attempt to cheer up Aether, she gives him a small hug with some encouraging words that ends up with her being carried by the male twin while he cries about no one caring for his feelings except for her.

"Ayla likes almond tofu as much as big brother Xiao." Qiqi's innocent remark has Lumine tensing up. She looks back to her brother and sees the exact moment in which it clicks in his mind.

Aether smiles, something too wide and unsettling, then slowly puts Qiqi down, sitting her on the counter, and begins rolling up his sleeves.

"This study session has lasted too long. Way too long."

"Aether, no!"

----------------------⋇⋆✦⋆⋇-----------------------　

With Aether's souring mood and both Ayla and Qiqi getting tired, the study session/ playdate ends up lasting an hour more after lunch.

Aether also ends up going out shortly after for grocery shopping with Dain in lieu of Lumine who, just as much as she loved taking care of replenishing their groceries, was just too tired to even consider leaving the house.

In fact, the moment Ayla starts snoring, the older blonde lays down on her bed and joins in for nap time. It isn't much but it replenishes their energies enough to last them for the rest of the afternoon.

They enjoy some mother-daughter time after that, a.k.a Lumine experimenting with different hairstyles on Ayla -her hair is so soft and she just looks adorable in anything, it's hard to resist, and she has tried to resist- while the toddler is playing with her building blocks. Paimon, on the other hand, is chatting their ears off about all kinds of food she could've tried if only she had a physical body.

There's a knock at the door and the three exchange confused looks. Lumine isn't expecting any of her friends and both Ae and Dain have keys of their own. She doesn't think Xiao hasn't forgotten anything, he would've texted her first if that was the case.

As she goes to open the door, Lumine realizes that; when it rains it pours. That generally bad luck comes in three, and when she says bad luck she's referring to the three boys that have been driving both her heart and mind crazy lately.

Of course Ajax would pay her a visit too, it would be more strange if he didn't.

"Hey girlie, long time no see!" He greets as soon as she opens the door and she has to resist the urge to point out that they saw each other last week and would see each other again next Monday, no need for the dramatics.

"Childe. Why are you here?" He frowns at her response, either from her dry tone or the use of his nickname instead of his real name -she has been calling him Ajax since he so persistently asked, but sometimes she just couldn't resist messing with him.

"So cruel, you're not even inviting me in." She raises an eyebrow as he tries to step in closer and she relents, if only to have a better look at what he's been hiding behind his back, but Ajax simply avoids her gaze by quickly walking in backwards, giving her a shit-eating grin that has her frowning now.

As Lumine closes the door, they both notice Ayla crawling out of the living room and making her way to the two of them. The blonde notices her classmate's smile turn more genuine upon noticing the little girl, yet finds it strange how he doesn't make a move to scoop her up like he usually does.

"I'm actually here to give you this." Lumine doesn't have time to blink as a flower bouquet is suddenly obscuring her view. Glaze Lilies, a local flower of Liyue that's both very hard to find and very expensive. 

She's forced out of her surprise as Ajax pushes the bouquet in her hands then crosses the distance to Ayla, revealing a large plushy of a brown dragon that she recognizes as Rex Lapis. 

"And for the little lady..." Ayla gasps and immediately lungs at the plushy, it's a comical scene considering it's two times her size and causes her to almost topple backward but he quickly catches her and lifts her up along with the new toy, laughing all the while.

"Ajax," he snaps his attention back to her, his satisfied smile making him look like an excited puppy, "why-what are these for?"

"Gifts for my two favorite girls, of course!"

"I don't think your mom, Tonia, or any of your other sisters would be happy with that declaration." She chuckles as realization sinks in but he's quick to recover.

"Alright, two of my favorite girls in the world, but it still stands, right Ayla?" The toddler is too transfixed with the new toy to acknowledge them but he still takes it as a win.

"Listen, I'm grateful but I can't-"

"Don't start now girly. I know what you're gonna say but no, they were not that expensive, and no I will not be taking them back." Lumine opens her mouth to refuse but Childe cuts her off again as he stands closer to her, "please Lumi, you're always declining my gifts so let me have this one. And look! Ayla's already attached, you can't take it away from her."

He gives her the puppy eyes and while not as effective as Aether's or Ayla's, they still tug at her heartstrings and she knows he would keep bugging her if she refuses, so she decides to just relent this time.

"Thank you Ajax, they're really beautiful." She takes a deep breath, enjoying the sweet odor of the Glaze Lilies.

"Beautiful flowers for an even more beautiful girl." And just like that the spell is broken and she's giving him the look of a soul that suffered too much.

"That was horrible, even for you."

"You wound me girlie, but I admit I could do better. I do hope the flowers gave me some brownie points though." He wiggles his eyebrows at her and she tries to roll her eyes and look annoyed but she can't fight the amused smile that stretches her lips.

"So, how did the appointment with Dottore go?" His tone is as calm and casual as ever, but Lumine is sure that he already knows the answer, he wouldn't have waited so long to ask if he didn't. Still, she decides to humor him and starts recounting yesterday's events.

"Want me to talk to him? He owes me one so I'm pretty confident that I can convince him to give it another chance," Ajax replies as soon as she's done with the explanation. He's still holding Ayla, partially busy playing with her, so he doesn't notice the conflicted emotions in Lumine's face.

Her prolonged silence has him look at her though and she resists fidgeting under his questioning stare. 

"I don't know...I don't think I should be trying to find him anymore." Her conversation with Xiao, along with yesterday's events in general, had her reconsidering her recent decisions. 

"Okay… why the sudden change of heart?" The look Ajax is giving her reminds her of the one he had the first time they met, curious and challenging. He's studying her, ready to pick at any hesitation or change of expression and exploit it to his advantage.

She doesn't necessarily like it when he gives her that look but she's learned to treat it as a challenge herself, to see who would back out first, and so she steels herself.

"For one, the whole thing makes Ayla very uncomfortable and I don't want to force it on her again. Two, and don't you dare laugh, I don't want to mess up the future any more than it probably is." 

To his credit, Childe doesn't laugh, instead he just looks confused, "mess up the future?" 

"Yes, think about it. Whenever time travel is involved, every little change can have a bigger impact. What if I accidentally cause some time paradox or whatever by finding Ayla's father?" She's bluffing, he knows, and she knows he does but she still tries to remain confident. After all, it did cross her mind more than once that she could be damaging the future by her actions, but back then she had stupidly swept it under the rug and brushed it away in favor of satisfying her curiosity.

"Time paradox." There's a moment of silence, then a chuckle. "Seriously, did smartypants Albedo plant that in your head? Or was it Mr. Zhongli's emo son?"

"Neither, and don't call them that." Well, maybe she did discuss it with Albedo at one point and her conversation with Xiao may also be influencing her thoughts right now but Ajax doesn't need to know any of that. "Listen, I just don't want to take any unnecessary risks."

"That's stupid. We've had many chances to jeopardize the future but Ayla's still here, see?" He gently shakes the toddler in his arms causing her to giggle at them, "your future self isn't calling us or appearing out of thin air to stop us either, so how bad of a decision could it really be?"

"That sounded really dumb." 

"You're the one who started it with all the crazy future-altering stuff," He shrugs in a know-it-all manner, "I think your mom needs a bit more sleep, kiddo."

Lumine sighs in defeat as Ajax focuses back on Ayla, she knew that arguing with him would lead her nowhere as his stubbornness could be so frustrating sometimes.

"I know it's all just formalities, but having a confirmation would be nice, don't you think?" Ajax adds in after a moment, making Lumine blink in confusion, wondering if she had spaced out and missed something he said.

  "Confirmation? For what?" 

"That I'm the future father of course." He gives a blinding smile that only widnes when he notices the disbelief on her face.

Lumine is slightly baffled but she's not surprised, this is Childe after all, if anything his self-assurance and confidence are actually envy-worthy sometimes. "Confident much?" 

"Just honest. C'mon girly don't give me that look, I know you see the similarities too!" He snuggles his face closer to Ayla making her look up in confusion, "look! She looks just like me!"

"She doesn't. She's literally a carbon copy of me and Aether." Lumine is so done she doesn't even try to mask the flatness in her tone.

"Her hair is darker!"

"It's still blond, not ginger."

"My mom used to be a blonde, my older brother has blond hair too," He balances Ayla in one hand and uses the other one to motion between the two of them, "she also has my face, you were there when my parents noticed it."

"It was just a silly remark so they could tease us!" She feels her cheeks warming up as she remembers that one dinner at their neighbors, Ajax's parents -especially his mom- are very set on getting them together and very bad at concealing their intentions. 

"Ayla really likes mora," He motions to the toddler again who's back to being entranced by the plushy, or more so by the mora shape that the Rex Lapis' toy is hugging, "and all those futuristic devices are probably expensive so she must come from a well off family. Not to brag but-"

"One, that's a stupid and invalid argument. Two, maybe I'm the loaded parent, no need to jump to conclusions."

"W-well, she's mischievous and very active! I was like that growing up too!"

"This is getting ridiculous," Lumine whispers under her breath as she massages her temple. 

The worst thing about this situation, and the one she wouldn't admit, is that all of the things Childe has pointed out were things she has noticed as well, agonized over even, just like with Xiao and Albedo, second-guessing everything about Ayla and her actions, trying to find any possible connection. So really she shouldn't be judging him, not when she's been doing the same thing for a while now.

"You're really mean Lumine, just admit you think I'm the father too." He tries to pout at her and gain her sympathy but she stares right back, causing him to somehow give up and put Ayla down.

"I would if you were actually making sense, but you're just being delusional." She balances the bouquet of Glaze Lilies on the banister and walks closer to them, intending to pick up Ayla and direct the conversation to someplace other than the doorway, when Childe suddenly takes hold of her hands, rooting her in place.

"Do you really hate the possibility of me being the father that much?" There's a raw and unfamiliar expression on his face, genuine sadness wrapped in layers of fear and confusion.

Lumine would've laughed at the way he posed the question, like a line straight out of a hallmark movie, but she realizes that Ajax is serious, and he's rarely truly serious. This gets her to unwillingly consider the thought.

A few months back, back when Childe was simply the new annoying neighbor that she accidentally drop kicked on his first day at school, back when she still thought Ayla was an alien baby, Lumine would've said yes. He would've been one of the last people she would consider dating let alone have a child with.

But between then and now, a lot has changed, and Lumine has grown to care for Childe and all his silly antics, got to learn about Ajax, the boy who loves his family above all else, the one who would go to the extreme just for her and Ayla, the one who's annoying and impulsive and cunning but still caring and kind and so loving with the ones close to him. 

She thinks she wouldn't mind it much, being together, if anything she's sure there won't be a single boring day with him beside her. 

"I don't but...let's face it, you're a playboy." She's as surprised as he is by her answer and she quickly avoids his eyes, staring at their joint hands instead as heat spreads across her cheeks.

Where did this come from? She wasn't planning on saying that, she doesn't know what she was planning to say but it definitely wasn't that, was it too late to play it off as a joke? And why was she so embarrassed to say it? It's the truth so why does it feel like confessing some insecurity or admitting a secret to him?

"Lumine, can you look at me? Please?" She does and is immediately confused by the tender look and soft look he's giving her, "you think I'm a playboy?"

"Yes? I mean you're always flirting around and-"

"Yes, flirting with you, but never with anyone else." She furrows her brows at that. It can't be true, Ajax may appear confident in his answer but he must be messing with her. "you're the only one, Lumine. The only one who makes me feel this way and the only one who makes me go this far. The only one."  

Her heart starts violently thumping against her ribcage and she doesn't even want to acknowledge the state that her face is undeniably in, "l-liar! You-you definitely mess around I-!" 

"Alright, name one time I flirted with someone that wasn't you."

"Um- that one time with the upperclassman from the theater cl-club!" She blurts out, remembering that time she ended up taking Ayla with her to school only to lose her and everyone thinking she got kidnapped.

"That was obviously fake. I was trying to distract her so you could get Ayla out of there without being discovered and you know it."

Lumine opens her mouth then closes it, then opens it again but nothing comes out and she has the horrific realization that he is right. 

Admittedly, Ajax is very handsome and with his charming personality -when he wants to be charming anyways- he naturally attracts people's interest, especially the girls', and with the way he's always throwing flirty comments her way and jokingly confessing his undying love for her, Lumine had assumed that was the case with everyone. The fact that she caught a lot of girls crying due to getting rejected by him had only solidified the image of him being a womanizer and someone who only plays with people's emotions in her mind. But the more she thinks about it the more she's sure that she has never seen him actually hit on anyone.

She feels truly ashamed that she has been judging him all along but those feelings are drowned out by another mortifying realization. Ajax has always been serious, it wasn't him hitting on a pretty girl or just trying to get on her nerves to force her into fighting him, he...he li-

"I guess I'm to blame for this too," He suddenly speaks up, "I should've made my feelings more clear instead of beating around the bush."

He starts taking a deep breath and Lumine instantly knows what's coming, her brain goes into panic mode and before she registers what she's doing, she covers his mouth.

"Don't, not now, I-I can't…" She takes a breath of her own, begging her heart to calm down, "I can't give you an answer right now, hell I don't think I can even figure out what my feelings are right now! There's so much going on, with Ayla and my parents and everything, and-" 

She thinks of Xiao and Albedo, both who, even if they weren't as straightforward as Ajax, have shown her that they cared about her a little bit more than friends do, it wouldn't be fair to them to not even consider their feelings.

"I don't want to lead any of you on but-" It's his turn to shush her now, making sure she's calmed down before pulling away.

"I understand, I had a more glamorous plan in mind anyways," He gives her a reassuring smile, still holding her hands close to him, and she can't help but smile in gratefulness, "I'll wait. Even if we all know you'll choose me in the end."

"Ajax." And here she thought they were having a moment.

"Ahem! If you're both done, then Paimon would like to remind you that it's almost time for Ayla's snack time!" Paimon shouts from the living room and Lumine is filled with dread knowing that the little pixie has probably heard everything. She looks at Ayla and is thankful that her daughter is at least oblivious to everything going around her.

  She's about to properly invite Ajax in this time, feeling a bit sheepish that she has kept him standing in the entrance for so long, when their door is slammed open, making everyone flinch.

"I knew it. I fucking knew it."  

They both slowly turn around to where a panting Aether has just made his presence known, he slowly puts down the grocery bags as Lumine struggles to put distance between her and Ajax.

"He's back earlier than I expected," He murmurs from beside her and it's pretty clear he doesn't mean for her to hear it, still she doesn't have time to question him as her brother steps in.

"I can't turn my head away for five minutes without one of you roaches crawling over."

"Ae, please calm down, and stop swearing in front of Ayla." In trying to remain calm and not lash out at her brother for his usual tendencies of blowing everything out of proportions, she forgets that Ajax's brain cells number decreases dramatically whenever the possibility of a fight is present.

"She's right dear brother-in-law, you should relax more. I can see your black circles all the way from here." Lumine stares at him in disbelief and, seeing his satisfied grin, realizes that this man is hell-bent on dying today, and honestly? She doesn't feel like saving his ass this time.

Her brother smiles at them. Just like earlier, it's too wide and too sharp to be comforting, and slowly walks to the tiny supply closet by the stairs. Then, without breaking eye contact, retrieves an old broom. "You're dead."

Lumine steps out just in time as Aether lunches for Childe, the ginger barely managing to avoid getting hit himself, and watches as they start chasing each other through the house, Aether with his murderous look and Ajax having the time of his life.

She lets out a long tired sigh, forces herself to go retrieve Paimon, picks up Ayla, her new toy and the Glaze Lillies then heads to her room. She's too tired for this.

She hears Dainsleif coming in and yelling at the two to stop it, and she feels slightly relieved, if anyone can stop Aether from potentially destroying their house then it's Dain, she trusts he'll have it handled without the need of her interference. 

Her phone starts ringing just as she puts Ayla on her bed and she's too exhausted she doesn't even question the private number and directly answers it.

"Hello?"

"Ah, miss Lumine you picked up, very well," The voice on the other end is oddly familiar yet she can't properly pinpoint who it is. It leaves a bad taste in her mouth nonetheless.

 "I have a new proposition that I'm sure would benefit us both this time…"

Chapter Text

Clear blue skies, a soft shining sun, and warm refreshing weather. By all definitions it should be a perfect day, ready to be spent relaxing and enjoying it to the fullest.

Yet Lumine is anything but relaxed on this fine afternoon. In fact, it's the complete opposite for her as this day may as well be one of the most stressful of her life so far. 

A few steps away from her, is none other than the cause and the solution to her misery: Dottore. Having the time of his life, as he prepares the new updated version of his memory-reading machine.

When he had called her a week earlier, claiming to have a proposal that would benefit them both, Lumine had immediately declined. However, he wasn't discouraged in the slightest and told her that he would give her some time to think about it more.

After a week of radio silence, Lumine had thought that it was the end, no more messing with shady scientists, time to move on with their lives. Only it seemed Dottore had other plans, deciding to show up unannounced to their home -she's still very creeped out by the fact that he had found their exact address by himself even if they somehow lived in the same neighborhood- with a "travel-friendly" version of his invention in hand, ready to resume where they had left off last time.

And she had to admit, Dottore was pretty damn good at convincing people, she ended up telling him as such after she reluctantly agreed to try again, which seemed to please him, right until she mentioned how he'd make an amazing salesman instead of his current unemployed lifestyle.

Dottore had also suggested that they call some playmates for Ayla to create more familiarity and avoid a repeat of last time's scenario. However, her daughter did not have any friends her age, Lumine and Aether had taken great care in keeping Ayla out of the public's eyes since day one. Can't really blame them when they were convinced that she was an alien baby that could start floating or changing colors at any given moment.

Aside from their own friends who helped them babysit from time to time, the closest thing Ayla had to friends her age were Klee, Qiqi, and later on Ajax's younger siblings, mainly Teucer. And while Lumine used to feel slightly bad in roping those three into entertaining her daughter, it soon became apparent that they really enjoyed it. The three, being the youngest in their respective families, jumped at the opportunity of taking the role of an older sibling for once, even if they had to restrict some of their usual games and practice more caution when playing with Ayla.

Now the actual problem with having those three around, is that they come in a package deal along with their older brothers.

On the bright side, those three boys would do great as guinea pigs, as one of Lumine's conditions was for the invention to be tested on one of them first this time, just to make sure it's safe since Dottore did admit that he may have rushed the updating process a bit and did not do a proper trial run for it.

"Alright, I need a volunteer," He calls out to them while holding a crown-like headpiece that's connected to a box-shaped device. It reminds Lumine of a fancy wireless printer except it has way more buttons and switches around a rectangular screen.

"Does it still rely on the same principle as the previous version?" Albedo, ever the inquisitive, asks as he examines the machine more closely. Despite claiming that his field of interest was chemistry and biology rather than mechanics, he's still very fascinated by Dottore's inventions.

"That's correct. It should give a simplified drawing of a memory that has left a significant impact on the test subject or one that occupies their mind frequently," The older man replies in a bored tone, still waiting for one of them to step up so they can move onto the next stage, "so, who is it gonna be?"

The teens exchange an uneasy look before Childe raises his hand, "I'll go," He casually says as Dottore offers him the headpiece, "maybe this will prove to you how much I think about you girlie." He throws her a flirty wink and Lumine is uncharacteristically at a loss for a comeback, Ajax's near-confession was still fresh in her mind after all.

"Not gonna happen." Aether snatches the headpiece from the ginger's hands and gives him a threatening glare, before forcefully placing the device on Xiao's head. "Xiao, you do it."

"What? Why me? Do it yourself." Xiao attempts to remove it but Aether quickly stops him.

"I don't want to see what messed up shit this creep thinks about my sister, in fact I don't even want to know what weird things are in that damaged brain of his," He violently shivers in disgust promoting Childe to send him a cheeky grin, "I also need my wits about me to keep an eye on all of you, so you gotta take one for the team."

Lumine is 70% sure Aether is afraid that it will show one of his private moments with Keqing or maybe an embarrassing memory that could serve as possible blackmail for Ajax. Xiao has apparently reached the same conclusion if his unconvinced look is anything to go by. Still, she keeps her mouth shut and doesn't call her brother out on it, afraid that it would forever scar her if it's the former.

"Why can't Albedo do it?" They all turn to look at their classmate, but the fact that he's still absorbed into conversation with Dottore about the memory-reading machine is proof enough that he would rather be an observer and wouldn't be volunteering to try it anytime soon.

Xiao still looks hesitant but when Aether leans in and whispers something in his ear, making the dark-haired boy look at her for a fleeting second, he finally lets out a sigh and gives up, "fine. I'll do it."

Aether steps back with a proud smirk as Dottore starts making some adjustments then turns on the machine. Lumine uses that moment to slide up to Aether and elbows his side.

"What did you tell him?" She whispers to her brother as she can't help but feel that whatever he said to Xiao probably involved her.

But Aether's smile only turns more smug as he shrugs his shoulders, "nothing, just gave him a little pep talk." 

Lumine pouts at him but knows that it's a losing battle anyway, she tucks the incident away, promising herself to ask Xiao about it later, knowing that she would have a better chance of getting the information from him, and resolves to watching the experiment unfold with the others.

A few minutes pass and then there's a beeping sound from the box-like device, Dottore flips off some switches then retrieves a paper from the machine and starts fanning it in the air as if drying it.

"Did it hurt? Or feel uncomfortable?" Lumine asks Xiao in a worried tone, just to make sure nothing would go wrong when it's Ayla's turn.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course it didn't. I told you it's completely safe," Dottore cuts in just as Xiao shakes his head no. He proudly displays the paper to everyone who quickly crowds around to get a better look.

"Wow, the quality is really… shitty." They can't help but agree with Ajax's statement as they gaze at the blurry image. It's a weird mix between a drawing done in haste, and a blurry photograph taken while the subject was still moving.

"Ugh, it's still a work in progress, and considering that you cannot recall most of your memories with a perfect clarity, I would say it's doing an amazing job," Dottore defends haughtily while fixing his glasses but everyone except Albedo is giving him skeptical looks.

"That would make sense, the human brain is a complex organ indeed and the machine is digging through countless memories to find the most remarkable ones." He nods along with the fellow genius's remark, glad that someone understands the potential of his invention.

"Well, how can we even decipher that?" Aether takes the paper and starts angling to the side, trying to make sense of its content, "Wait, is that… Childe?"

"Huh, you're right. And I think he's wearing our school's uniform too," Lumine adds as it becomes more clear to her that the drawing is indeed of a running Childe who's looking back at something, the messy mop of ginger hair and blue eyes are unmistakable.

"Damn Alatus, didn't know you think about me this much, I'm getting flustered." Ajax smirks at Xiao who jumps back looking both horrified and disgusted at the implications.

He quickly regains his bearings though and grits his teeth at the ginger in anger, "shut up! Why would I waste my thoughts on someone like you!"

"I don't know, you tell me. It's your impactful memory after all."

"You… I'll kill you …" Xiao starts growling at the taller teen, ready to lunge at him, and Ajax doesn't make it any better as he starts getting into a fighting stance.

"Wait, look here," Albedo brings back everyone's attention to the drawing, pointing at a few more colored shapes in the background, "right here, don't these people look familiar?"

"You're right, that's me and Lumine!"

"And that's Amber, Ganyu and...Venti?" She finishes for her brother as she suddenly starts to recall a particular incident. "I think I got it, this is a memory from back when Ajax just transferred to our school."

"Back when I transferred?" He looks at her in confusion, urging her to elaborate more.

"Yeah, remember? When you challenged Xiao to that race?" Back then, Childe's crush on Lumine was still in the making, yet seeing how close she was to Xiao, who was as protective and glued to her side as her brother was, had promoted Ajax to challenge him in a typical idiotic way to assert dominance.

"Oh yeah! I do remember beating the star of the track team in his own game." Well to be fair they had found out later on that Xiao had an injured leg that day even if it didn't stop him from accepting the challenge at first, and he did outrun the ginger in their rematch a few weeks after that. But Childe being Childe wasn't about to let it die out just like that.

"Xiao doesn't appear in the drawing though…" Aether cuts in, subtly putting a hand on his best friend's shoulder and stopping him from attacking the ginger.

"You don't really see yourself in most of your dreams now, do you? Think about the memory being from the first person's point of view," Dottore explains, although it's clear from his tone that he's getting bored and irritated with the conversation.

"So you keep thinking about your loss huh? That's so sad I think I'm gonna shed actual tears," And just because it's Childe and he can, he decides to get on Xiao's nerves even more.

"I. do. not." Xiao growls back angrily, "this machine must be mistaken, this is not an impactful memory nor do I keep thinking about it."

"Wrong. My invention is working perfectly fine. Whether this memory haunts you or not is irrelevant right now, we should be moving to our original goal and stop wasting time." Dottore fixes his glasses then gives her an expectant look while removing the headpiece from Xiao.

"Maybe we should run it one more time. On Lumine this time," Albedo surprises everyone with his suggestion.

"Me?"

"Yes, I think you'd feel much better about letting Ayla do this if you try it for yourself first. Also, I'm quite curious-" He gives her a small smile that's really just a smirk, and she instantly has an idea where this is going- "which one of us do you think about the most?"

Lumine is at a complete loss of words as she stares at Albedo, who's smiling at her so sweetly and innocently like he didn't just drop a bomb on all of them. Did Albedo really just-

"You little son-" It's Xiao's turn to restrain Aether from lunging at Albedo, but the chemist seems unbothered by the reaction, in fact his smile only widens.

"Please relax, I'm only kidding," Yeah no, no one's buying it and his expression isn't helping his case either.

"I don't know Aeth, I think he might be onto something," Childe whispers in a scandalous sort of way which only gets her brother and Xiao even more irritated.

"Enough! I'm gonna go get Ayla and the kids!" Lumine declares before booking it, trying to hide her undoubtedly red face from view. Seriously these boys are gonna turn her hair gray before she even manages to send Ayla back to the future.

Lumine brings in the kids to the backyard and starts putting paper-made crowns on Klee, Qiqi, and Teucer in hope of keeping Ayla from taking the headpiece off. Luckily it works, and after encouraging the kids to play house -as per Dottore's suggestion- she walks back to her friends and waits for the result.

Except the next paper that comes out -which Lumine instantly hugs to her chest, then moves a few steps away from the boys to comfortably inspect it- turns out to be an image of Lumine herself, still very much young and holding her hands up to cover her face.

"What the- that's just Lumine playing peekaboo!" Aether shouts once his twin dejectedly passes the paper to him.

Dottore takes it next, studies it for half a minute, then crumples it and toss it aside, "naturally, since she recently started spending all of her time with the two of you, most of her memories would revolve around you," He taps on the screen and flips some switches before turning back to them, "fortunately, she's still a child and doesn't have that many memories stored compared to an adult, my invention should be able to do a deep scan and get us the exact memory we're looking for, although it may take some time."

"It gave us the memory we specifically wanted last time though…"

"Well, some sacrifices needed to be made to get this portable version!" He defends while adjusting his dress shirt, "now I'd like to receive my payment. No use in sitting around and doing nothing."

One of Dottore's conditions this time was for them to let him look at Paimon while the experiment was ongoing, something Lumine was uncertain about at first but ultimately agreed to as it meant they could be done much faster.

She takes out Paimon's disque and gives it a regretful look before hesitantly handing it to the scientist.

Dottore gives her what appears to be his first genuine smile -which is borderline creepy if she's being completely honest- then heads to the wooden deck connected to their home, taking a seat at their outdoor table and bringing out his tools and notebook.

He offhandedly mentions that they should move away too in case they accidentally influence the results by their proximity to Ayla and so they're all forced to walk back and make distance between them and the children.

Lumine is left to anxiously stare at her daughter from the sidelines, eyes shifting from her to Dottore's machine and back to Ayla as she waits for the paper that may as well change her life.

A few steps behind her, the boys are supposedly keeping an eye on Dottore, yet when she turns around to check on them they're intensely staring where their siblings are playing instead, precisely where the little box-shaped invention is.

Once they notice her glaring at them though, they simultaneously turn away and back to the scientist, resuming their "guarding duties" as if nothing has happened.

She really should've called Amber or Ganyu instead. 

She lets out a disappointed sigh then catches Aether's eyes next, he's leaning on their home's wall and guarding the boys in his own way. He gives her a small; almost unnoticeable nod, reminding her of his promise and their previous conversation.

 ----------------------⋇⋆✦⋆⋇-----------------------

One week ago

Lumine paces back and forth through her room, her mind running a mile a minute as she guesses and second-guesses her decision, often fumbling with her phone wondering if she should call Dottore back and agree to his offer.

Paimon has given up on trying to calm Lumine and convince her that she did the right thing, she turns her efforts into distracting Ayla from her mother's distressed state instead.

Just then, the door opens, and in walks a slightly annoyed Aether.

"That guy's seriously a cockroach refusing to leave and refusing to die," He mumbles to himself before addressing his sister, "seriously Lumine why did you let him in, especially when I wasn't around?"

Paimon's attempt to shut him up by making a large X sign with her hands fails miserably, so she tries to cover Ayla's ears, completely forgetting she's not exactly tangible.

"I don't know Aether, Why don't you stop being an overbearing prick for a change instead!" 

There's a sudden silence after Lumine's outburst. Aether stands unsure of how to respond, he and Lumine get into squabbles and disagreements all of the time but her anger doesn't seem as simple this time, she's actually upset at him, and the fact that it's over some boy only frustrates him even more.

Before he can say anything and potentially cause a fight between them, Dain steps in from behind him. The older blond doesn't say anything though and simply walks in, picks Ayla and Paimon's device then prepares to head out of the room again.

As someone who has spent a good chunk of their childhood around the twins, he could count the real fights they had on one hand, but something he has picked up from their parents is that forcing them to talk it out before it escalates always seemed to defuse the situation. He sends one final look, imploring them to talk, then exits the room and closes the door, hopefully he won't have to play messaging bird for them this time.

Lumine lets out an angry huff then sits down on her bed, folding her arms and looking away from her brother. Aether meanwhile sighs defeatedly before cautiously sitting next to her, maintaining a good distance to dodge any incoming punches.

"Lu… Are you mad at me?" He asks in a soft voice.

"Yes Aether, I am." He internally winces at the use of his full name but waits patiently as Lumine takes some calming breaths. "Can't you see that you're starting to go overboard?"

"Overboard?"

"Yes! Your protectiveness was kinda endearing at first but it's become too much Aether," She turns to him then, brows still furrowed, "I can't have a normal conversation without you stepping in and threatening everyone!"

"I'm trying to protect you, Lumine! Those three don't have any pure intentions towards you!"

"Then what about the rest of our male friends? Our classmates? It's not just those three, I can't interact peacefully with any boy anymore!" 

"W-well, men are wolves!" Aether hesitantly avoids her pointed look, trying and failing to find any other arguments, "as your older brother-"

"By three minutes!"

"It still counts!" The two exchange heated glares for a few minutes, silently daring each other into a staring contest and waiting for the other one to break first.

Aether retreats first, his eyes softening as he scoots closer to his twin, "I'm just trying to protect you, Lu."

Lumine chews on the inside of her cheek as she tries to push away her guilt and resist the pitiful look he's throwing at her. Truth be told, her blowing up at Aether was kind of uncalled for and she would be the first to admit that she's just feeling overwhelmed and ended up dumping her pent-up anxiety on him.

However, she is aware that this is a conversation that's been overdue. Aether's protectiveness is getting out of hand and she's been planning on talking to him about it for a while now. Though, she hoped it would've gone a bit more smoothly but there was no point in crying over spilled milk now.

"I know Aether, and I'm sorry I just yelled at you." Aether instantly lights up at her words, going as far as spreading his arms ready for a reconciliation hug, but Lumine quickly holds her hand up and stops him. "But what I said still stands. I'm really tired of this, it honestly makes me feel like you don't trust me enough or take my feelings into consideration."

"B-but I do Lumi! It's those cockroaches that I don't trust around you!" She shakes her head at her brother, trying to resist the urge of ending the conversation here and just dismiss him from her room. She needs to stay patient, she reminds herself.

"You know, you're dating Keqing but you don't see me sabotaging your dates or chasing her away with a broom." Aether chokes on his next words and she has to fight the smug smile off of her face.  

"You still didn't like it when we first started going out," He tries to accuse but it falls flat as she just shakes her head.

"Not really, I was just reserved since I didn't know her that well," She realizes that they're getting out of topic and tries to keep them on track, "listen, what I'm trying to say is that I'm old enough to choose who I'm talking to and who I'm dating. I know you're worried and you just want to keep me safe and I appreciate it, but I'd like you to trust my decisions too."

She takes his hands in hers, forcing him to look up at her, "I want to have my own experiences Aether, my own crushes, my own heartbreaks. Please." She holds his gaze, hoping that her words would get through to him, if not she'll have to resort to threatening and throwing her fists and she would very much like to avoid that.

Aether lets out a defeated sigh, his tiredness reflecting in the gold of his eyes, "alright I admit I may have been taking it too far with Ayla's father and everything going on and I'm sorry, I'll do my best to tone it down and trust you more," She gives his hand a squeeze coupled with a thankful smile, "but , if those three, or anyone, makes you shed a single tear then-"

"You'd be the first one I'll complain to, and you can go intimidate them...but just a bit though, and you can't hurt them physically either." Aether gives a small pout, like a kid being denied his favorite treat, still he relents under Lumine's stern gaze and offers a small nod.

Lumine's satisfaction is overshadowed by another issue though, and she guesses that she may as well just let Aether know sooner rather than later. 

"There's something else I need to tell you," She begins, then tells him about the call with Dottore, and how she's not sure of what to do anymore.

"Well, whatever you choose, I'm always on your side," Aether tells her in a serious tone and she can't help but smile at him.

"If I do end up going through with it again though… Aether, I don't- I don't want anyone else to see who the father is, not until I see it first at least." 

"Don't worry, I won't let any of them get close to the damn drawing unless you loudly and clearly allow it!" He proudly pumps his fist up and she doesn't have the heart to tell him that it also includes him, that she would possibly like the knowledge of her future husband's identity to be a secret that only she knows about.

Still, she smiles at his eagerness to help and leans in to give him a hug, "thanks Ae."

"Anytime Lu," He hugs her just as tightly, as if saying that he's there and she shouldn't worry, it works as it makes her feel a bit lighter already. She really doesn't know what she would do if she didn't have her twin around, no matter how annoying and frustrating he may be sometimes. 

Unfortunately though, Lumine can be very petty sometimes, and for all the additional stress he has caused her lately, she decides to throw in a harmless little comment, just enough to give him a tiny little crisis. "Hey Ae, you do know that if I end up not dating anyone because of your overprotectiveness that I won't get married, and if that happens… you won't become an uncle since I won't have Ayla, right ?"

The confused gasp coupled with the expression of utmost dread and horror on Aether's face that day would have her laughing her head off for a long time to come.

----------------------⋇⋆✦⋆⋇-----------------------

Back in the present, Lumine lets out a weary sigh as she continues observing her daughter. There's more paper coming out of the machine but Dottore has made it clear that it will only be truly done once they hear a beeping sound.

A few minutes pass and her legs are starting to itch from staying still, not only that but her left eye is twitching in annoyance as the voices behind her grow louder and more hostile each second.

"Why are you even here? You literally live next door, your brother doesn't need you accompanying him."

"I've never seen him actually babysitting his sister, it's always someone else, so why don't you question him instead?"

"Don't bring me into this."

"Can you all just keep it down? We get it, your presence is unnecessary so either leave or shut up."

As their bickering gets more heated and insults start getting thrown around, Lumine gives in and turns to them, ready to give them a good scolding, only to stop at the sight of Albedo almost getting strangled by Aether while Ajax and Xiao are a hair away from punching each other.

"For Archons' sake Aether, you had one fucking job." Lumine curses under her breath as she abandons her position and runs to the boys before a real fight breaks out.

  ----------------------⋇⋆✦⋆⋇-----------------------

Meanwhile, the kids' situation isn't as different from their brothers'.

"Ugh, I'm bored! Can't we play something else?" Teucer whines as Klee is calling everyone for their imaginary dinner table.

She frowns at the boy's break of character but decides to be nice and answers him, "we can't! Big sister Lumine said that we can't play anything that makes Ayla move a lot," She recites the older blonde's words perfectly in a hushed tone, looking back and smiling when she makes sure Ayla hadn't heard the last part.

"But I don't like playing house." Teucer flips a small pebble away, the paper crown on his head drooping slightly when he sighs dejectedly. "Can I at least be something else? Qiqi can we switch?" He gives the violet-haired girl a pleading look.

"You can't be the doctor! You don't know anything about healing, only Qiqi does! That's why she's the doctor, I'm the mom, Ayla's the daughter and you're the dad!" Klee steps in feeling offended that he would even suggest that, while Qiqi gives a small nod in agreement. 

It was no secret that Xiao's little sister was fascinated by medicine and the healing properties of herbs, going as far as keeping a notebook to write down any new knowledge she may acquire. This hobby -along with her own medical conditions and quiet demeanor- had a role in branding her as an outcast by the other kids. But right here, between Klee's love for explosives and Teucer's obsession with an old torture machine from forgotten times, her hobby becomes the more mild and normal one.

"B-but I hate being the dad! It's so boring and I don't get to do anything! I want another role!" He folds his hands and gives Klee his best angry pout.

"Okay fine. You can be….the pet!" she exclaims happily while trying to hold back her laugh.

"A pet?! Wha-what does the pet even do?" 

"Yeah! You can be the puppy! But you gotta stay quiet until we give you food, and you can go woof woof too!"

Teucer jumps up, face red in anger and crown falling, "I'm not a dog and I'm not playing this stupid game anymore! You're the worst at coming up with games, Klee!"

"What?! No I'm not! Klee's games are all super duper fun! You're the boring one!" Klee exclaims just as heatedly, in the background Qiqi lets out a sigh that's too old for her age and moves to sit closer to Ayla.

Klee's always been her best friend, ever since their big brothers introduced them to each other, and for a while she's also been her only friend - well there's Diona, but she's older and way closer to Klee than to her, she's also always too busy to play with them. And Xiao's friends are all very old, they feel more like babysitters and elder siblings than anything else- That's why Qiqi was very excited when Lumine had introduced them to her new neighbors, they were nice and didn't make fun of her like the other kids. And even if Teucer was the only one that played with them the most, she was still happy to have another friend.

But the problem was that Klee and Teucer are always fighting, about the smallest silliest things too, and if it's not fighting then it's competing about who's the fastest eater, or who has the coolest brother (she personally thinks it's Xiao) and other silly things. 

Big brother Aether had once told her that "it's the ani-mosity between their older brothers rubbing on them." But she doesn't know what that really means either and she's pretty sure she misremembered the exact word he used too. Good thing is that they always forget about their differences after a while and go back to being friends again, but it still gets very tiring watching them yell at each other like that. 

At least Ayla is too busy playing with a big Rex Lapis plushie- similar to the one Xiao keeps hidden in his room- to notice, or else she might start crying like she does sometimes when people fight in front of her.

Qiqi is thinking of something they can do together until her friends come to an agreement when she notices a large furry creature making its way to them. It stops at Teucer's feet, wagging its tail excitedly, but when the boy doesn't notice it, still trying to win his argument against Klee, it starts heading to them instead, causing Qiqi to freeze in her place.

She doesn't particularly fear dogs, but Teucer's family dog has a nasty tendency to jump at her whenever he sees her. She knows that he doesn't mean harm as he would usually just start licking her, but his enormous size compared to her small frame makes her nervous nonetheless.

"Sit. Zeus sit." Miraculously, he listens to her words and sits down in front of her, giving her an expectant look. When it becomes clear that she has no intention of approaching him, he rolls over on his back and waits. Ayla is the one to take the bait, her plushie gets pushed aside as she squeals and reaches over to tap Zeus on his belly, going as far as burying her face in his fur then emerging a giggling mess.

It softens Qiqi a bit, and she hesitantly steps closer to give him quick yet gentle pats on the head as well.

"Let's play vet," She suggests to Ayla, her knowledge is more limited when it comes to animals but she's still confident enough in her abilities to try. "I can be the vet, and you can be my assistant. Zeus is our first patient." She's not sure if Ayla completely understood her but the blonde's gleeful cheers, coupled with Zeus' excited woofs, make her think they agree.

"Wait here." She walks to where their bags have been stored, just under a small table that wouldn't usually be present there. Qiqi pulls out more blank paper, two crayons for Ayla, and her precious notebook for reference. 

She's about to go back, but curiosity gets the best of her and she gets on her tiptoes to peer at the strange machine placed on the table, the action causing the paper crown to fall down on the grass.

Big sister Lumine had explained to them earlier that Ayla needed to take a small test to make sure she's healthy and would like their help in keeping her distracted until the end of the test. Qiqi, being no stranger to hospitals and monthly check-ups, understood the importance of their task, but she couldn't help but find the whole thing a bit strange. Why didn't they take Ayla to a hospital? Was the man in weird glasses a doctor? Why does this machine look like her father's printer and why hasn't Qiqi seen anything like it in the hospital before?

A beeping sound startles Qiqi and causes her to stumble back, but when nothing else happens, she approaches the strange device again. 

It stopped, the little red light went off and there's no more paper coming out of it.

She looks back at her brother and his friends but they seem too busy yelling at each other, the weird man also seems busy with his funny tools, and Klee and Teucer are still fighting. So Qiqi decides to take another small peak, pulling out the last paper that came out of the machine.

She expected big words and complicated charts, or maybe an x-ray -there are other things that she had picked up from Dr. Baizhu whenever she goes to her appointments, but she can't remember any of them now- what she finds instead is a drawing-like image.

Qiqi is disappointed but mostly confused as she squints and tries to make sense of her finding. It's an image of a woman and a man, happily smiling. The woman, she thinks, looks so much like big sister Lumine but with big brother Aether's hair, all long and soft. In fact, if it weren't for the distinctive golden eyes she would've believed the woman to be the twin's mother.

And then the man next to her, there's something very familiar about him that has Qiqi squinting at the paper again, then looking around, looking for something, for someone, she can compare him to.

"No! Moa! Moa!" Ayla starts shouting, catching Qiqi's attention, and she hurries over with the paper still in hand to where Zeus is chewing on the Rex Lapis plushie.

"No, bad Zeus! Let go!" She starts pulling at the plushie with Ayla, wondering if she should call out for Teucer to help or for her brother and the others, but there's luckily no need for that, as the Snezhnayan Ovcharka lets go of the doll.

Qiqi stumbles back from the impact and lands on her butt, the paper slipping from her hand and fluttering down on the grass. She doesn't pay it too much attention as she checks if Ayla's fine, but the toddler is rather preoccupied with that same paper. Her expression suddenly lights up and she makes a grab at it, but the both of them are too slow as the paper is instantly snatched from her by Zeus.

"No Zeus, give it back!" Qiqi doesn't even manage to stand properly when he starts making a run for it, she tries to call out to him and follow but Ayla suddenly bursts into tears.

Her cries are enough to not only stop her friends' banter but to also alert Lumine and the others. In an instant, the older blond is with them, checking on Ayla with Aether and their brothers right behind her.

"What happened?" She asks Qiqi, the only one close enough to Ayla, as she hesitates on whether she should take the device off of Ayla's head or leave it.

"I-I don't…" The violet-haired girl tries to speak, eyes wide and frantic as they travel from one person to another, getting more and more overwhelmed. A calming hand presses down on her shoulder and a comforting presence fills her vision before she can panic anymore.

"It's alright Qiqi, I'm here. Just breathe." Xiao coaches his little sister's breathing while Lumine, having had enough, removes the headpiece and scoops her daughter up in her arms, slowly rocking her and whispering sweet words. Albedo and Ajax move to check on their own siblings, trying to understand the situation, and Aether starts making silly faces at Ayla to cheer her up.

After a few seconds, the toddler's cries die down into soft whimpers and choked giggles at her uncle's antics, and Qiqi regains enough confidence to speak up. "W-we were going to play vet," she starts, eyes fleeting between her brother and Lumine.

"Teucer and Klee were fighting so… I went to get more paper but," She looks down, her bottom lip wobbling dangerously, "I-I just wanted to take a peek and put it back… but-but Zeus was gonna take Ayla's toy but he didn't an-and he took it instead. I'm sorry."

"It's okay sweetie," Lumine crouches down to the little girl's high, giving her a reassuring smile, yet her voice is coated in nervousness as she asks the next question. "But what is "it"? What-what did Zeus take?"

"Ayla's test results. She answers in a meek voice causing everyone -except the kids- to still and look at her with unreadable expressions. She ignores their stares and focuses on Lumine, bringing her hands together, "I'm sorry big sister Lumine, I didn't-didn't mean to, it was an a-accident!"

Lumine smiles at her again but it's slightly strained at the edges, and despite managing to give the young girl some comforting words, all of her attention is instead fixated on Albedo who has walked up to the machine.

The teens watch in bated breaths as he checks it, his lips turn downward just by looking at it. "It's turned off."

A beat of silence. 

He pulls out what should be the most recent memory the machine has dug up and takes a look, his frown deepens as he slowly turns it to the rest of them to check it out. It's a bit hard to decipher at first, but it appears to be a memory of when Lumine and Aether had taken Ayla to the Windblume festival, barely a month ago. 

"It's not it." Albedo seems to vocalize everyone's thoughts, and since this isn't the long-awaited memory then… 

"Shit- the dog has it," Aether whispers in a winded voice, but before he can finish his sentence, Ajax zips past him.

"I'll go get it!" He announces as he effortlessly jumps over their fence.

"No you don't, you overgrown cockroach!" Aether sets after him immediately, ignoring Lumine's calls.

Albedo and Xiao exchange a thoughtful look, a silent agreement passing between them before they launch after the other two as well.

"I'll be back Qiqi."

"Stay here Klee."

As they fade away from view, Lumine can't help but start to panic. This was going off the rails real quick, she knows that Aether won't be able to handle the three of them alone, he'll need her help. 

The kids shuffle closer to her, expression curious yet worried.

  She looks down at Ayla and gently places the girl down. When it's clear that she won't break into tears again, she shifts her attention to the trio. "Stay here and keep an eye on Ayla, please. I'll be right back!"

She hastily ruffles their hair as a gesture of comfort then gets up and speeds after the others, deciding to exit through the gate instead of showing off her acrobatic skills like the boys have.

Left alone, Klee, Teucer, and Qiqi exchange an uneasy look, unsure of what to do next.

"What… just happened?" Klee asks her two friends but they just shrug, feeling as confused as she is.

The kids don't have enough time to lament on it though, as Ayla suddenly starts crawling in the same direction as their brothers and the twins. There's an oddly determined look in her eyes as she advances quickly, like a baby on a mission.

"Hurry! Don't let her pass!" Teucer shouts and the three move to form a half-circle surrounding the toddler, sliding left and right to stop her from going any further. Ayla looks up at them, eyebrows scrunched tight and lips forming a cute pout but she doesn't give up easily and keeps pushing, trying to find a gape to escape.

"Why does she want to follow sister Lumine and the others?" Klee's voice is frantic as she jumps to the left, barely managing to block Ayla's way.

"I don't know! But I don't think we can hold her any longer!" They all know that Ayla is humoring them now, but it's only a matter of time before she starts crying again and none of them is equipped to deal with that, even Paimon isn't here to lend them a hand. "Qiqi what did you see in that paper?"

Qiqi looks up at Teucer's question, before shaking her head helplessly, "I think it's a drawing? There was… a woman, very pretty… and m-maybe a man?" Her expression morphs into a troubled one as she tries but fails to recollect anything, "I-I don't remember...I'm sorry."

Klee jumps in to comfort her best friend while keeping an eye on the toddler. Both her and Teucer knew about Qiqi's memory problems and they made sure to never press her about it to not cause their friend any discomfort.

Ayla suddenly ceases her attempts at escaping and sits back, staring at them with a pitiful look. They gulp once they notice her eyes getting glossy.

"We should go after Zeus too!" Teucer declares alarmingly, causing the two girls to give him questioning looks.

"They told us to stay here…"

"Yeah! Besides, we're not allowed to carry Ayla alone and we can't make her crawl all the way there; it's too dangerous!" Klee tries to cautiously offer her crown to Ayla as a means of distraction but the younger girl takes one look at it then shoves it away, small sniffles start leaving her as she glares at the trio.

"I know that!" Teucer grumbles while looking for something else to give her, "but Zeus is playing fetch and hide, he's too fast even big brother can't catch him! And I'm the only one who knows where he hides the stuff he takes!"

"You taught him to do that? That's a stupid game." Klee crosses her arms while Teucer simply rolls his eyes.

"We need to decide on something now." Qiqi cuts in, partly not wanting the two to get into another argument, and partly because she can see the tears in Ayla's eyes threatening to fall any second now.

"I say we go. Maybe-maybe that drawing has Ayla's parents that's why she wants it so bad! So we gotta help her!" Teucer says determinedly. 

"Why did everyone freak out then? Ayla is big sis Lumine's cousin, they already know her parents!" It was a fact they were all aware of as that was how Ayla was introduced to them the first time. Of course, the three of them have their own speculations that something fishy is going on based on their brother's sudden behavior but it still feels too early to jump to any conclusions.

"The woman… looked a lot like sister Lumine," Qiqi adds offhandedly, solidifying Klee's point. Cousins after all, did look alike.

Teucer shrugs at that, his eyes looking up behind him, "one way to find out I guess."

The two girls exchange a look before reluctantly agreeing to go, they kneel down next to Ayla and start comforting her with promises of going to find her mom, and getting back the paper Zeus took, while Teucer looks around them for something to use.

"But how do we get Ayla there…" He mutters under his breath as an idea starts to form in his head.

"How about you use this?"

The unfamiliar voice of the other forgotten adult that has been with them all along makes the trio freeze and look up at him.

The man with light blue hair and funny glasses is smiling at them, Klee's red wagon held between his arms.

"I reckon this would work with enough pushing. And just be careful-" He puts the wagon down and takes a look around, fetching the Rex Lapis plushie, he puts it in the back then extends his hands in Ayla's direction. The three flinch, eyes going wide in alarm as he lifts the little girl up, even she starts squirming in his grasp, but he simply puts her down in the wagon, with the plushie supporting her back, then makes quick work of fastening the built-in safety belt around her.

"There! All done and ready to go!" He announces as he straightens up, giving them an expectant smile.

Regardless of their plan of following Zeus, there's a new urge to get themselves and Ayla away from this man and fast. Their brothers didn't explicitly say he's dangerous, but the fact that they steered them away from him and told them not to speak with him when they arrived was telling enough, plus he's a stranger, one with a creepy smile at that, and they know they should always be careful around strangers.

They don't need any more persuasion to get out of here as they jump to their feet. Teucer moves upfront, taking the handle of the wagon, while Klee and Qiqi take the rear on each side, ready to push when needed.

"Bye bye!" Dottore waves at the disappearing form of the kids, they turn to him with suspicious and frightened looks then speed up out of the house, causing him to snicker at their reactions.

He moves to his little invention next, internally praising it and himself for creating such a masterpiece while he packs it up to get it out of the way lest those teens come back and his precious device be lost as collateral to their bickering. 

"Hmm, I don't understand why all the fuss-" He hums to himself as he retrieves a small chip from the side of his machine- "when the information they need is safely stored right here."

He had installed an automatic saving feature on this new version of his device, just in case things went south again, and lo and behold they did. Of course that doesn't mean that he'll tell them that, now where's the fun in that? He's better off keeping his cards close to his chest, save it for a better time when there's something more valuable for him to gain. Yes, he'll be sure to make good use of the information stored in this little chip.

With a satisfied grin, he shoves the chip in his pocket and hoists his invention up to bring it back to where he was previously sitting, better get more work done before the brats come back and inevitably kick him out.

  ----------------------⋇⋆✦⋆⋇-----------------------

Lumine doesn't waste any second as she exits her house and takes the road in the opposite direction to Ajax's home. She thought Zeus would've gone straight to his home but he didn't, he's in the mood to lead them in a wild goose chase it seems.

She starts running, head swiveling left and right, trying to spot a hint of brownish-white fur or spot one of the boys. A voice in her head, sounding suspiciously like Dain, keeps telling her to turn back and return, alarms ringing at the fact that she had left three kids who needed supervision in charge of supervising her one year old daughter. Unfortunately that voice is too meek, too drowned up by her panic-induced thoughts and the urgency to find the image before the others do.

It doesn't take her long to find some familiar faces. 

On the street across from her, Aether and Ajax are wrestling on the ground, each one trying to gain the upper hand and break free from the other's hold. They don't see her, and to that she's grateful. She sends some mental encouragement to Aether and continues on her way, slightly faster than before.

She soon finds herself at an intersection. The road in front of her would lead to a dead-end, a cul-de-sac type of situation, while the one to her right would lead to more intersections and shortcuts, leading right out of the neighborhood if one kept going straight ahead, and if Zeus went that way… 

She shakes her head to banish the negative thoughts and decides to continue forward, holding in the hope that she would find the dog at the end of it. 

She hasn't even crossed half the distance when she finds something, but again it's not him.

"It didn't go this way," Xiao informs her, stopping just a hair away from crashing into her.

She feels her heart sink, just how fast is this dog? And she's about to tell him that they should hurry up and try their luck on the other way -maybe they'll have more chances of finding him if they split up- when Xiao's phone starts buzzing in his hand.

"It's Albedo. He found the dog," He tells her once he takes a look at his messages and she can't help but sigh in relief, "he thinks it's going back…to Childe's house, but they're taking a shortcut "

"Let's go then." They exchange a nod then start running back from where they came again. If Albedo and Zeus are taking the shortcut that she's thinking of right now then they probably won't be able to outrun them, and trying to go and use the same shortcut would just hinder them, their best bet would be to go back to her house and head down to Childe's from there.

They stumble upon Aether and Ajax again but they're not fortunate enough to go unnoticed this time.

"Girlie! A hand! You're brother's gonna kill me!"

"Keep going Lu don't listen to him!"

She shouts a quick sorry as they pass them, but doesn't slow down otherwise. Her legs and lungs are burning but she ignores it all as she struggles to keep up with Xiao, she's surprisingly managing well against him, but knows that she would be left in the dust if he was actually giving it his all, he's not the star of the track team for nothing after all.

Ajax's home finally looms out as they turn the corner. The area they live in is an affluent neighborhood, formed of a mix of small mansions and more modest yet still lavish houses. Lumine's house falls into the second category, with her parents always off traveling somewhere and leaving their two children alone -with the occasional visits from Dainsleif- a smaller cozier house was the best choice for them. Ajax's family on the other hand, had purchased the mini-mansion down the street from Lumine's own house, which she can't fault them for considering the sheer number of siblings he has, even if some of them moved out and only visit here and there, she imagines having a large space for all of them would be more comfortable.

  There's a slick car parked in front of the house with a woman standing next to it, the blonde immediately recognizes her as Ajax's mother, who notices them as soon as they stop running.

  "Ah! Lumine dear, did you happen to see Ajax anywhere?" Lumine takes a second to calm her breath, which the woman gives her with a patient yet worried gaze.  

"I… ah h-he's with Aether…I think." Well, it's not technically a lie.

"Dear Tsarista," She says something in Snezhnayan that Lumine doesn't quite catch before shaking her head, "I swear that boy is never around when I need him."

"Uhm excuse me ma'am but… did-did Zeus come here by any chance?" She finally asks once she feels Xiao gently poking her back, silently urging her to ask.

"Oh yes! He just went in. In fact one of your classmates, a handsome blond boy? Said that Zeus took an important project paper and asked if he could go retrieve it," She let a long, suffering sigh as she massaged her forehead, "honestly I told Teucer to make him break that habit, but no one in this house listens to me, it appears." 

"Do you think we can go in and help? It's a very important paper," Lumine says a bit too urgently with Xiao nodding along from beside her.

"Of course, make yourselves at ho-" They don't even let her finish as they run to the front lawn. The entrance door is slightly ajar, saving them the time needed to knock and wait for someone to unlock it for them.

"I'll go upstairs," Lumine announces as she leaves Xiao to search the ground floor.

She sets one foot onto the first floor and immediately notices Albedo, comforting a fidgeting and red-faced Tonia, with dirt and broken porcelain pieces littering the space between them.

"Is everything alright?" She asks as she approaches the two, "what happened?" Tonia immediately looks up at her, eyes slightly glossy.

"Lumine! I- Zeus came running and he surprised me." She sniffs looking down at the broken vase remorsefully, it's enough for Lumine to figure out what exactly occurred, "A-Albedo's helping me thought… Uhm...thanks again! Y-you really don't have to!"  

"It's alright, I don't mind," Tonia's face gets redder at the smile he sends her. "Zeus went upstairs, I'll tidy things here and follow you." He shows Lumine the shards he's been gathering and she gives him a determined nod before bolting to the stairs.

There's dirt on the beige tiled floors, in the form of dog prints, and she internally winces thinking about the reaction of Ajax's mom when she sees this. Still, she's kind of thankful for them as she follows them, hoping that they would lead her to their little furry thief.

Being on the second floor makes her feel a bit strange and uncomfortable, the farthest she's gone in this house has been the first floor, where Ajax's room is. Being here, where a lot of the other bedrooms are located, makes her feel like she's invading their privacy, even if the doors are locked. 

So she keeps her head down, eyes locked on the floor and follows the dog prints until she hears a shout.

She turns a corner just in time to see Zeus charging out of a room with Anthon chasing him, raising a book up high as if to intimidate the dog.

"That's not yours Zeus, come back here!" The boy spots her and starts waving the book at her to get her attention, "Lumine! Don't let him get away!  

Instantly, she plants herself at the end of the hallway, hands outstretched and ready to grab the canine. Unfortunately, he sees right through her and quickly swerves back, heading straight for Anthon. The boy stills for a second before throwing himself to the side ending up on his backside. 

Lumine tries following the dog but he ends up turning around again, using her momentary surprise to maneuver around her, and all she can do is focus on not falling down as well.

"Quick! He's gonna go to the backyard! That's where he hides the stuff he steals!" Anthon shouts at her and she gives him a small thank you before going down the stairs once more.

Only to slam right into Xiao and Albedo who were making their way from the first floor to the ground level, probably following Zeus as well. Lumine is the first to recover, quickly getting up and continuing on her way down and towards the main entrance.

Suddenly Aether and Ajax appear at the door, both looking very disheveled and worse for wear. Childe with his shirt torn and dirt smeared on his cheek, and her brother with his hair sticking out of its braid and decorated with leaves and small sticks.

She pays them no mind and ducks under Ajax's arm before heading to the backyard, ignoring the boys' footsteps behind her.

Zeus is there, beside the pool that Ajax's family insisted on keeping when they moved in, and he's way too close to the pool's edge for comfort. Lumine abruptly stops, and tries not to fall over when the boys collide with her back.

"What-"

"Shh!" She's not sure who was about to speak but she shushes them nonetheless as she points to the Snezhnayan Ovcharka, "not. A. Sudden. Move."

The paper is probably damaged enough with all the saliva coating it, and she doesn't want to risk it getting wet too. Her friends seem to get the memo and back off, starting a hushed conversation on what to do next while she keeps intensely staring at Zeus. If running to him doesn't make him jump into the water, then it would definitely cause him to escape through the fence behind him, enabling another chase. They need to approach the situation very carefully, making sure to keep the dog calm and unthreatened.

Fate is a cruel mistress however, and it all happens too fast for her brain to register.

Ayla suddenly appears from nowhere, Zeus is too preoccupied keeping an eye on the teens to react in time, she goes straight for his fluffy tail and tugs.

Zeus lets out a pained bark, effectively releasing the paper. And, in another weird, sadistic twist, a light breeze decides to blow at the right time and the right angle to cause the paper to fall -drawn side first- straight into the middle of the pool, in a painfully slow motion.

"Ayla!"

"Klee why did you let her go!"

"She was uncomfortable!"

Klee, Qiqi, and Teucer come crawling from under the checkered nap of the outdoor table, their cries are enough to pull Lumine out of her stupor, and she throws caution to the wind as she runs to them, picking Ayla up and pushing the kids back, away from the pool's edge, while Zeus retreats to his kennel, looking like a kicked puppy.

"Alright," Childe recovers next and approaches the pool, ready to dive in. It's probably nothing for someone who grew up swimming in frozen lakes, but Xiao and Albedo still attempt to hold him back, either worried about him or simply not wanting him to get to the results first. Probably the second one. 

"Out of my way!" Aether barges in, holding an-honest-to-god landing net only Celestia knows where he got it from. It takes him a few tries but he finally manages to fish out the soaked paper while it's still in one piece.

Xiao steps closer to help him but Aether swings the net away, almost hitting him in the process.

"No," He scolds like an angry parent, throwing a good old glare to get his point across. He turns around -again almost hitting Lumine and the kids- and puts the net by Lumine's feet, "I didn't forget my promise," He gives her a small grin, takes Ayla in his own arms, and moves a few steps back to give her more space.

She throws him a grateful smile of her own, resisting the urge to give him a hug as he ushers the small confused trio in front of him and uses them and himself as a barrier between their older brothers.

She brings the landing net closer then kneels down. Her hands faintly tremble as she grasps the edges of the paper, trying to be as gentle as possible to not accidentally tear it, yet her efforts are in vain as small chunks get shredded. She panics for a second but forces herself to calm down as the bigger part of the paper is still intact.

Deciding to try something else, Lumine takes the net by the handle and flips it, giving it a little shake so the paper falls on the ground with the image facing up. She puts the net away and closes her eyes for a moment, unable to look at it. She can hear her heart beating, muffling all the noises around her, making her suddenly dizzy.

Lumine takes three deep breaths, internally counting backward from ten, then bends over and opens her eyes. They've been stalling for long enough, it's time to rip off the band aid and get her question answered once and for all.

She feels her heart soaring to the skies then crashing down in mere seconds, a weird mix of relief and disappointment washes over her as she gazes down at the ruined image. 

The colors have bled down and ended up blending together creating swirls and blobs of a mostly yellow color, yet there's green, orange and blue, and other colors in the mix, making it impossible to guess what the image originally looked like - or maybe she could if she tried enough, but her brain is shutting down the more she looks at it, refusing to assemble the scattered pieces and give her the long-awaited answer that's been plaguing her for weeks.

Absently, she thinks that whatever ink or material Dottore is using for his machine is very cheap if it got ruined after some water splashes, he should consider replacing it with something better.

  "Lumine?" She turns at her name being called by Aether, there's a blank expression on her face, contrasting his worried one, and she blinks a few times to clear her head and reorder her thoughts.

"It's ruined by the water. I can't make out anything," She sighs as she gets up, moving to the side so Aether can get a better look. 

Ignoring his dejected expression, she takes the soggy paper and crumbles it in her fist, gaining a silly satisfaction at the water flowing from between her fingers and into the lawn. She takes Ayla back, enjoying the comfort it brings her when she hugs her closer to her.

There's a tense silence, with everyone both busy processing what happened and being confused on what to do next. In the end, it's Aether who breaks it.

"Are you ok?" She gives a shrug, not really knowing how she should react, probably upset, but she's not. At this point, she's just relieved it's done. "M-maybe we can redo the test?"

"He's right, Lumine, the machine is still here and Alya seemed comfortable enough with it this time," Albedo chimes in with a comforting smile.

"Yeah, and just leave convincing Dottore for me," Childe reassures, punching his fist into his other palm.

Xiao rolls his eyes at that, although when he meets her eyes, he gives her a rare smile, barely noticeable but it says enough: whatever you want to do.

She takes a breath and then- "No."

"No?"

"No. I don't want to do this again, or ever." She can see the confusion and questions in their eyes and she simply shakes her head and continues, "I'm tired, very tired of overthinking and anticipating and just… rushing everything. And knowing who it is-" She looks at the trio of kids and reminds herself that she should keep it as vague as possible, "-is not gonna make it better, probably just stressing me more. I want things to… progress naturally I guess, and I'll just tackle that when the time comes. Now though I already have my hands full." She gives Ayla a kiss causing her to giggle and lean in to give her one as well.

"And honestly it seems the universe isn't thrilled by this either, with all these divine interventions whatsoever." She holds up the wet paper ball as proof, handing it to Ayla when she starts making grabby hands at it.

It takes a moment, the silence just as stiffening as last time, only making her more anxious. And it's her dear brother that breaks it once again with a long sigh,

"Ok. Ok, If that's what you want then I respect your decision," He steps closer, she thinks he's going to hug her but he surprises -and annoys- her by messing up her hair, "I'm always on your side after all."

Xiao and Albedo nod in acceptance, and they all turn to Childe, waiting for his affirmation.

He looks like he wants to argue more, perhaps try to change her mind, but they make eye contact and it seems like he finds something in her gaze that appeases him because he finally relents with an exaggerated sigh, "ugh, fine I guess. It's not like this will change my plans anyway." 

His comment goes unquestioned as they hear the fast clacking of heels making their way to the backyard.

"Ajax! Teucer!" The two brothers instantly freeze up when their mother comes into view with Tonia and Anthon trailing behind her, looking very pleased with themselves. "Why is my house littered with paw prints and footprints?! And what in the Abyss happened to the porcelain vase from бабуля?!"

The two struggle to come up with an answer, but she doesn't let them explain as she holds her hand up, halting their stuttering excuses. 

She looks at her older son, and starts barking orders at him. "I need to leave right now, but I want the place spotless by the time I come back!" She takes one look at Aether's snickering face and the matching smirks on Xiao and Albedo's faces, and they know they've messed up. "Your friends here can lend you a hand, seeing as their footprints have also dirtied my floors."

They exchange an unsure look, but when she raises an eyebrow, as if daring them to contradict her and refuse, they all go running back to the house, ready to throw themselves into cleaning.

"I- I'll just put down Ayla and go help-" Lumine begins but is immediately brushed off.

"No, no, not you sweetie. You already have your hands full as it is." Lumine couldn't remember a time in which she was more grateful for Ajax's mother favoring her so much.

"As for you young man," She turns her stern gaze to Teucer who flinches, much to his siblings and Klee's amusement, "don't think you're off the hook just yet. You won't be cleaning with them but we'll have a long talk about Zeus's training and discuss your punishment once your father comes back tonight."

"But мама"

"No buts!" Teucer gives in with a pout as his mother checks her phone, muttering a curse in her mother tongue under her breath. "Great, and now I'm running late. I'll see you kids later, behave ok? And Lumine, do come for dinner sometimes we miss having you over."

Lumine gives a half sincere promise while waving at the woman's retreating form. What a rollercoaster of a day.

"How about we all go back to my place and have some snacks? I'm sure you're all getting a bit hungry."

"Can we come too?" Tonia asks while holding hers and Anthon's hands up, and Lumine gives them a tired but genuine smile.

"Of course you can." They all cheer as she starts leading them out of the house, like a mother hen with her chicks trailing behind her.

"Man, I'm definitely getting grounded," Teucer mutters, suddenly reminding the blonde of something very important she's forgotten to ask about.

"Say, why were the three of you here? Didn't we tell you to stay back with Ayla?" She stops and gives the three a questioning look.

"We-we wanted to help!"

"Ayla really, really wanted to come after you! She even started crying...kinda!"

"And the weird glasses man was being weird… "

"Weird glasses-" the words die on her tongue as it suddenly clicks.

Fuck. Dottore. She left Dottore alone. With Paimon. With potential access to Ayla's other futuristic devices and no supervision. Oh Archons, she's a complete idiot.

"Ok kids, let's- let's hurry up a bit, y-yeah?" She starts running, as fast as she can while holding Ayla and making sure the kids are following her.

"Hey, you guys still think something weird is going on, right?" Teucer asks in a hushed tone while they lag behind Lumine and his siblings.

"Obviously." Klee answers, one hand dragging her wagon with the Rex Lapis plushie inside it, "there's something very supcicious about that paper!"

"Suspicious," Qiqi tries to correct but is ultimately brushed off.

"You really can't remember anything Qiqi?"

She stares up at the sky, eyebrows scrunching in focus before shaking her head with a surrendered sigh, "sorry…"

"It's ok Qiqi! Don't listen to him, we'll figure it out!" Klee cheers up.

"Yeah! We could be detectives" Teucer imitates holding a magnifying glass, "Genius Detective Teucer and his two assistants are on the case! We'll crack Ayla's super secret that the adults are hiding!"

"Hey! I'm not your assistant, I want to be a detective too! I even have a real magni-glass that Sucrose gave me!" Klee replies sounding a bit upset, but her big smile rivals Teucer's excited one and Qiqi's relieved expression.

"Come on guys! Lumine says to hurry up!" They hear Anthon calling to them and they start running again, all the while giggling uncontrollably.

"Coming!"

-End-