Chapter Text
Lumine did not like Childe. She understood that his morals didn’t quite align with hers, that the two of them had different ideals; that the time would come where they would once again face each other as enemies. Still, she did not hate Childe. Perhaps she did some weeks ago— the aftermath of the Golden House and Osial incident still fresh and the burns still searing hot, but with the heat dying down and her getting to see him in a state of vulnerability, there was no way she could continue hating him.
If she could use a word to describe her feelings for him it would be respect . It would be easy to generalize the 11th Harbinger into an evil murderer, a man who sought to bring only chaos, who craved nothing but battle— ruthless and feared, like all the rumors she had heard of him— but that all changed with the introduction of one boy— Teucer.
Lumine thought herself to be good with kids, with how often she played Pirates with the three kids by the harbor, or how she often gave Timmie some extra wheat in her bag whenever she disturbed the pigeons (she stopped hunting by the bridge after hearing about his father), or being able to handle Klee in all of her explosive, fish-blast loving glory. Even with being the feared Harbinger’s baby brother, she treated him just as kindly as all the others.
Teucer reminded her a little bit of Klee, actually, that throughout her time babysitting him she could not stop comparing the two children. Always wanting to run around, check. Loved playing with toys, check. Massive love for their siblings, super duper check. Great at getting into troublesome situations that worry Lumine, the biggest check.
She did not like Childe, but she liked Teucer, and she liked seeing how well the Fatui Harbinger took care of Teucer— Lumine had enough self-awareness to admit that it mostly had to do with how highly she upheld family relations above all else, the bittersweet, fond feeling of watching people bond with their siblings while she was apart from hers.
He was kind of a bad guy, but he was a good brother.
Lumine respected Childe for that, so it was no wonder that she eventually gave in and accepted his requests to have her as a sparring partner every Sunday, when both of their workload was lightest. Curious to the sudden change, the ginger once asked what made her give in, and with a bluntness and lack of shame that she typically wouldn’t show to her other friends, she replied,
“You’re good to your little siblings, so you’re okay in my book,” was the moral compass absurd? Absolutely, and if Paimon was present she would have started scolding the traveler, but Childe seemed to love the absurdity of it all, laughter reminiscent of that time in Bubu Pharmacy.
“So I was right about your weakness, comrade,” the Harbinger said mid-laugh, “what if I chose to exploit that, hmmm?”
“We have the same weakness,” she countered, not even looking at him as she stretched her muscles, “besides, I thought we were past using cheap tactics to get ahead in battle?”
“For someone who’s supposed to be my enemy, you can read me quite well,” finishing her warm-ups Lumine spared a glance at her sparring partner. She found him to already have his weapon out, idly spinning a bow that matched the color of his usual attire.
Thinking about it, a bow and a sword for a sparring match up made for quite the odd combination— Lumine was quite good at dodging— but his hydro vision and her ability to control both the elements of anemo and geo more than made up for it.
“I suppose, but most enemies don’t casually spar on Sundays either,” she replied, summoning her own choice of sword as she swung it a few times, as if to signal her opponent that she was ready to begin, “or get treated to food afterwards.”
“That’s just how it is to be friends with a Fatui Harbinger, comrade!” in all of his piss poor postured glory, Tartaglia had prepared to aim at her, “so show me a good fight today as well!”
Lumine rolled her eyes, muttering something about how they weren’t really friends as she blocked it with a geo structure she had created, “don’t I always?”
If anyone asked the traveler, she would insist that no , the rumors about her and the Fatui Harbinger being close allies were not at all true and no , she was not collaborating with the Fatui… well, there was that one time with Viktor, the assistant diplomat who was always in Favonius Cathedral, but that didn’t count when it was more of a personal commission than anything else.
Xiangling, too, had asked her after that time she and Paimon had a late lunch together with Childe, but she shot down the idea that they were friends quickly enough. Yes it was true that she lacked any animosity towards him now, but with both of their positions and reputations it was probably best to deny it.
Then came Teucer’s letter, and suddenly Lumine found herself having a more difficult time disagreeing with the notion.
If the kid said she and his brother were best friends, then she supposed they were best friends after all. What else could you do when the boy, or rather his sister Tonia who wrote his portion of the letter for him, included a small segment specifically for Miss Lumine ?
“Teucer’s asking about you and…” Childe began snickering as the next words flew from his mouth, not stopping as he blocked a hit from Lumine’s sword, “your talking, floating toy , Paimon.”
Oh if Paimon was here she was sure the little fairy would be absolutely livid by now, stomping on air as she normally did when her temper flared up. Shame she wasn’t, following Lumine’s instructions of staying away when she battled— the blonde was sure it would have made for a priceless reaction.
“Paimon would not like to hear that,” an understatement, but before she could continue talking, a flurry of arrows had rushed towards her and there was no way he was going to get the first hit of the match, not if she could help it.
“Should I reply for you, or- wow , that’s some new technique, comrade!” said technique was Lumine trapping herself in her own geo dome, serving as a rather sturdy, temporary defense against the arrows. She paid his comment no mind, admittedly more interested in the conversation. She tried not to let it show, knowing it usually resulted into a Tartaglia filled with complaints.
“I wouldn’t really know what to say other than I’m well,” with the construct’s time limit arriving, Lumine jumped upwards with the help of anemo, nearly catching her opponent by surprise as she narrowly missed him with a plunge attack.
“You would let me write to him, though?” she’s not saying she would, truthfully her handwriting of Teyvat common was still barely readable and she wouldn’t know what to write, but when he gave his verbal agreement in the middle of splashing water all over her with his blades she found it oddly touching… like a sign he could trust her to that extent.
It’s after their battle has finished, in the middle of eating brunch that the topic of the letter gets brought back up again.
“You could make up a story,” her words have the Snezhnayan looking at her with confusion, waiting for her to explain further, “whatever Teucer-friendly way you could warp us sparring into… I’m sure your siblings would love to know that you’re not that much of a loner here in Liyue.”
She was only teasing him, knowing that aside from her the only other person he really interacted with outside of work was Zhongli, but the Harbinger had a strangely thoughtful look on his face, an expression she thought to be out of place for him.
“You’re not exactly wrong, but maybe you should speak for yourself, comrade,” the rest of his words went unsaid, but Lumine understood even then.
With the size of Liyue and the business of both of their occupations, if being a Traveler and Adventurer’s Guild member was even considered a form of employment, it was rare for Lumine to run into Childe during the weekdays. There had been a few occasions where she’d spot him talking to some… business partners, for lack of a better term, while dining at an expensive restaurant or teahouse, but she’d never bother him. Their odd friendship didn’t exist during work hours, after all.
That much was fine with Lumine. Since talking to Xiangling, she had made the effort to get closer to a few more people in Liyue— some for quest purposes, helping them accomplish tasks and whatnot, and others just for a few minutes of conversation, a quick chat with Zhongli or Keqing when she found them walking around the harbor.
Well, a quick chat wasn’t really a thing with the funeral parlor consultant, but he had a lot of good stories and so much knowledge that Lumine had trouble wrapping her head around it half the time. Besides, with Zhongli there was always a good meal guaranteed, to Paimon’s delight… and her mora pouch’s chagrin. Other than the people, she had begun seriously missing Mondstadt’s discounts whenever she ate out or bought ingredients.
Seriously, some prices were such a steal while others, or rather the higher quality goods… astounding, to say the least. Normally she wouldn’t bother, but she was cooking for the dinner she meant to share with a certain retired Archon, and after learning from Xiangling just how much of a fussy eater he was Lumine knew the ingredients she tended to hoard wouldn’t be enough.
“Two thousand seven hundred mora, no less.”
“If you make it two three, I’ll buy your watercress as well at normal price,” never mind that she was planning on buying the watercress beforehand, the vendor didn’t need to know that. Kaeya would be proud.
Lumine watched the man’s face shift, and Lumine was so sure she had it in the bag. It was nearing sundown and it was evident this man had wanted to pack up and go already, and it was clear that unless he would get more customers in an hour, selling it to her while the greens were still mostly fresh would be the best choice.
It was clear he was about to give in until someone had spoken up beside her.
“If you give her a nice discount, we’ll buy out your whole stock.”
Both her and the seller seemed shocked, but while the latter had hastened to pack everything up for them, she could only look at him with incredulity. First of all, what was he doing in the same place as her… on a Wednesday of all days. Second, just what kind of offer was that?
Now that she thought about it, the worst thing he could have done was bulk buy at full price. Something like this was up enough at his alley.
“I don’t…” she contemplated telling him she didn’t need him to pay for her, but the blonde quite liked not spending mora so she retracted that thought, “need that much vegetables.”
Childe had already brought out a bag of mora when he replied to her, “you’re having dinner with Zhongli, yes?”
“How’d you know that?”
“I talked to him and his boss earlier for some work matters,” Lumine decided not to dwell on any assumptions her head was throwing at her, “and he mentioned the two of you would be having dinner together! Not just any dinner too, but homecooked!”
“And you somehow got yourself invited too?” she said with a laugh, “that means you’re gonna have to cook up something as your contribution, too!”
“That’s where all these vegetables we’re buying comes in, comrade,” he said, throwing her an accusatory glance, “and I don’t like what I think you’re thinking! I’m good at cooking, just so you know! You better be prepared to get a taste of Snezhnaya!”
His volume was garnering several looks towards them, and Lumine wouldn’t be surprised if the gossip about the Fatui Harbinger and her had gotten out of hand.
“I’m quite good too, just so you know! ” she replied, throwing his words back at him. Out of the corner of her eye she had noticed the vendor had properly put all the vegetables in two crates, and Lumine had gestured him to carry one as they walked to find Zhongli, “and somehow I think you’re the one trying to imply something here! Competing with me now, are we?”
“Is this the bad influence everyone seems to think I have on you? Craving a little competition now, are we?” Tartaglia teased, tossing the bag of mora on the empty table before walking beside her, “you should make a dish from your hometown, too.”
“Don’t have the ingredients for it,” the traveler said nonchalantly, “besides, I worked so hard to haggle for those vegetables, it’d be a shame not to put them to use.”
Not exactly a lie, but if Lumine was honest the topic of home was always a little touchy for her. The taste of home, Lumine couldn’t remember anymore. Did the food back home affect her so much? Was it something she missed?
“Anyway,” she said, changing the subject, “considering you accepted Zhongli’s invitation you’re probably tired of eating out all the time, huh?”
“Something like that,” the ginger lowered his voice slightly, as if suddenly alert about people who could probably eavesdrop on them, “it’s not like I don’t cook for myself at all, but it’s a little different sharing that same food you cooked with people you’re close to.”
“Close, huh…” Lumine murmured, wondering what his standards were for that descriptor. As expected of their dynamic, maybe Lumine would have teased him for his closest friends being the Archon he tried stealing the gnosis of, and the traveler who tried to prevent it from happening. He would then tease her back, countering by pointing out that he was easily one of the closest people to her in Liyue, if not in general.
Lumine didn’t do so, knowing that despite the lightheartedness of such a joke, it was still too personal for a public space.
Instead she said, “isn’t this the first time in a while we’ve met up on a weekday?”
Childe chuckled, “at this point people will think you’ll join the Fatui.”
“Or maybe they’ll think I’m converting you to the side of the light,” she said jokingly, “kept beating you in our matches so badly that you had a change of heart.”
Neither of them followed up on her last statement, simply walking side by side as the hustle and bustle of Liyue Harbor grew more and more distant, the two of them entering a quieter street where she assumed must have been their venue for the night. It was only then Tartaglia broke the silence.
“I’m still surprised you decided to befriend me of all people, though… and sort of Zhongli, but mostly me,” Lumine looked up at him, lips already parted to repeat her you’re-good-to-your-siblings logic. She did not even get the chance to explain as he continued to talk instead, “was it really just because of Teucer?”
The silence continued for a minute or so as Childe quietly allowed her to gather her thoughts into something coherent. A bullshit answer like his money or sparring with him was fun probably wouldn’t work right now, she realized.
“Not just because of that,” Lumine admitted, “though I admit your values on family and how well you treated your little siblings really do matter to me. I guess it’s a combination of things?”
“Like what?”
“Like now. Conversation is just really easy with you. One minute we’re teasing each other and trying to compete in everything, the next we’re able to have… actually nice and thoughtful talks like this. All that without mixing work into it— it’s a little rare to find something like that, at least for me.”
There were people who you could easily talk to about your hobbies or perhaps work, maybe even flirt or joke around with, yet sometimes that was all you could say to them— indifference, if not discomfort, at diverging into other topics. Lumine talked to dozens of people on a daily basis about a multitude of things, but the more personal matters… there were few allowed to hear such things, and ultimately he, morally grey as he was, had become one of them. The her of the past would have been amazed.
While she wasn’t the best at reading people, she took one look at his current expression and figured he felt just about the same.
Childe enjoyed Lumine’s presence. Their morals were not very aligned, and she said she didn’t care as much as he did in conquering the world, but still he liked being around her.
He expected her to hate him, though, and during the intial aftermath of the Golden House incident he was very sure she did with how complaints and reports about her increased from his underlings, how she avoided the vicinity of the bank as much as she could. He could not blame her, though he found it quite a shame considering how interesting she was.
Then Teucer sneaked into Liyue, and something had changed between them. Suddenly they were sparring once a week, eating out together, and he found himself amused with so many things about her.
The first thing would have been how good she was at fighting, not just raw strength but the precision and strategy that went into every strike or elemental attack thrown his way. That much was a given, though, considering he might not have given her so much a second glance if it wasn’t for her abilities in the first place.
The second thing was how often she asked about his siblings. He wasn’t sure if Lumine was aware of it, but one mention of Teucer, or even Tonia or Anthon who she had never even met , had her all soft and mellow both in her facial expressions and voice. It reminded him of how carefully she acted to make sure his true profession would be kept secret, despite the numerous difficulties along the way. She could have ruined his baby brother’s perception of him right then, but she didn’t. Maybe he liked that even more than her sparring skills.
The third was, well, how easy it was to talk to her. There were numerous secrets he would keep close to his chest and refuse to ever speak of, and he was sure it was the same for her, but regardless it was a pleasant surprise to learn they could talk of stuff that wasn’t battle or the Fatui or anything of the sort.
If you had asked him back then if he cared how far from Snezhnaya he was, how he barely had anyone to talk to that wasn’t a Fatui directly under him or some client he pretended to like, he would have said he didn’t give a damn. Of course he missed his family, but they wrote to each other so often that it at the very least alleviated the longing he tended to feel for home.
Then he began talking to the beloved traveler about family and suddenly he was minutes away from rushing to his office to pen a second letter to Tonia despite not even having received the response to the first.
Unexpectedly, the yearning did not hurt, rather, recalling the fond memories he had of his little sister and brothers felt nothing but pleasant. It made him want to work even harder, not just for the sake of becoming stronger, but becoming stronger for them as well.
The conversation was not just centered around him, either.
Despite not having said anything about the matter, Lumine’s reason for traveling had become obvious the moment the missing person posters littered the nooks and crannies of Liyue Harbor. A blond man with clothes as unique as hers were — she was looking for her kin, and upon learning that fact, Childe could never quite forget it. Maybe it was so, should he ever find a person so similar, he could aid in their reunion, or perhaps the strange comfort in knowing he was not the only one apart from their family.
Of course, her circumstances were vastly different from his— there were certain things he would never truly understand no matter how much he analyzed her slips of the tongue or her vague descriptions of how they got separated, but still he listened, tried to take her mind off of things or even give his insights when she seemed to be looking for it.
“I’m a big brother too, you know,” he told her, and though she tried to hide it, he knew Lumine would be more concentrated on his next set of words than the crabs she had wanted to catch for their after-spar meal. The way her eyes flickered to look at him every so often weren’t very hard to miss.
“That’s why you should take it from me when I say if your brother is half as kind as you say he is, then obviously he’s searching for you, too.”
“He is as kind as I say he is,” Lumine quickly defended, before slumping down onto the sand again, “but what if I took too long and… I don’t know, maybe he’s gone and found a new family, or he’s gone… somewhere I can’t follow, or maybe he doesn’t want to be…” found, his mind supplies.
The sight of a sad, worried, vulnerable traveler— had they not been friends, maybe he would have scoffed at her showing weakness, or perhaps been touched by the amount of trust she was putting in him to reveal that side of herself. Instead, the sight left a bitter taste in his mouth. Strange as it was, she was a dear comrade, and he knew first hand how brightly she shone, not unlike a star in the sky. At this moment, despite the scorching heat and the rays of the sun, she was at her dimmest.
It was unsettling, and maybe for the first time he did not like the sight of Lumine— not like this.
“Every day, I ache to be with my little siblings again, and, well I actually know they’re a boat away,” when she finally looks at him, Childe finds a small smile rising to his lips, a little pained, a little bitter, “fate has been cruel to you, comrade, to the both of you, but despite it all you’ve never stopped looking for him. I’m sure it’s even worse off for him than me. How long would you spend looking for him?”
“My entire lifetime,” with the graveness of her voice he knew it was no exaggeration, as though she could go hundreds of years just searching.
“Then I’m sure he’s using that same lifetime looking for you, too.”
She didn’t say anything else after that. In silence, Childe had taken to cooking, hoping a meal with one of her favorite foods could lift up her spirits— comfort her better than his words could; every so often he’d look at her watching her simply idle, stretching out her legs as she let the waters of the sea graze her skin.
Lumine doing nothing. It was another new sight, but something told him to not worry so much this time, glancing at her eyes and finding relief that the golden hues weren’t dull anymore.
Yes, his comrade would be fine.
Even after that one dinner with Zhongli, Lumine and him still only ever met up every Sunday. Their schedules couldn’t quite accommodate anything else, and even that one day, once a week was enough for the both of them to garner some scrutiny from colleagues and outsiders.
The contents of his siblings' recent letter, however, had him looking for her on a Tuesday afternoon.
Fortune would have it that she was actually in the harbor, easy for him to find, and as misfortune would have it she had just been saying her farewells to the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing. Tartaglia didn’t care how he was perceived by them, but the narrowed gaze thrown at him and Lumine… he pitied his blonde friend, knowing she was going to get questioned again on their continued association.
“It’s not Sunday, last I checked,” Lumine said, rubbing her temples and he just knew she was imagining what the purple haired woman would say the next time they met.
“A new letter arrived,” with four words the traveler’s mood had quickly upped, looking at him expectedly for a summary of anything he was willing to tell her.
“Should probably start off with the backstory I used for you,” he said as he led them to Northland Bank, where he left the letter on his desk.
“Oh yes, I’m just so curious what you came up with in your imagination.”
Childe grinned. Actually, he was proud of what he came up with! “You’re gonna love this. As you know, I’m an excellent toy salesman. Actually, I’m doing so well in my toy selling business that I’ve started to run out of toys to sell, and we can’t have that, can we? That would just sadden all the children.”
The Harbinger took one look at Lumine and watched the realization dawn on her face. Oh, she definitely knew what brand new profession she was suddenly given.
“Then comes the savior of my business. As a traveler, Miss Lumine has seen a lot of different toys from all over the world, and not only that, but she’s learned how to make them as well! Now we meet up every Sunday to work on our new collaborative venture.”
“A toymaker!” he’d heard Lumine’s snickers and giggles before but there was something different about the raw disbelief in her laughter, like he had told the funniest joke on Teyvat. Childe was well aware of how amusing the backstory must’ve been, but her reaction was unexpected.
“It’s quite a fitting role,” Lumine said appreciatively, “probably the best second profession you could give me.”
He nodded, still trying to figure out what was odd about her reaction. It was so normal, but he just knew there was something he wasn’t getting, and for the life of him he could not figure out what it was.
“Somehow, I think I can guess the contents of Teucer’s portion.”
“Oh? What exactly would that be?”
Lumine was grinning now, smiling all toothy as she tweaked her voice in an attempt to imitate his youngest brother, “big brother, can you, please, please, pleaseeee get Miss Lumine to make a toy for me? You’ll definitely ask her, won’t you?”
This time he was the one laughing, well, laughing with her, and he was sure the Fatui guarding the bank was startled to see his boss and the famed traveler laughing like lunatics as they approached the doors.
“How talented!”
“I know, Paimon says I’m quite good at it.”
The two of them quieted as they entered the bank, him waving off anyone who had tried to approach him with a report or complaint. Either they save it for later or they just hand it off to Ekaterina, simple as that.
Lumine, herself, tried to look quite serious as if to give off the impression that they were definitely going to be discussing something important in his office and not talk about how far gone this toyseller scheme had gotten.
Upon entering his office Childe had quickly scanned the premises for some hidden eavesdroppers, only locking the door when he deemed it safe.
“You’re definitely not wrong about that toy bit. Of course there were other things but a toy of your creation was definitely the number one topic,” he gave her the letter for her to read, watching as she laughed about Paimon being mistaken for a toy again and cooing at how sweet his siblings were.
“If it’s Teucer, he’s probably expecting a very special gift, then,” Lumine said thoughtfully as she handed him back the papers, “something really meant for him… even more special than a ruin guard.”
“Suddenly the expectations are a lot higher than expected,” right, he had failed to realize the expectation the small child would have of the work done by his beloved big brother and the nice lady who babysat him on his trip to Liyue.
“You’re not wrong, but I think I actually have an idea,” seeing the raised eyebrow, Lumine sighed as she doubled down on her claim, “very safe! I can pinky promise you! I’m a hundred percent sure he’ll love it, maybe even more than the ruin guards if it’s done right.”
Done right? Did she have a supplier of toys or something?
“Better than a ruin guard? Interesting…”
Well… there was no way Lumine was spilling what she had thought of by the looks of it, and he did trust her after all… well, he’ll prepare a back-up toy just in case it’s horrid, so no harm would come of whatever she was planning.
“Then surprise me, comrade!”
“Oh trust me, you won’t expect this.”
Normally Childe tried to send back his letter to his siblings as fast as possible, but at Lumine’s request he had waited until Sunday, rather the day they would meet again for their match.
Sparring with the powerful traveler had always been one of the highlights of his week, but for once he had been looking forward to something else— what surprise Lumine had planned. From the very start he had expected her to be thoughtful, as she always tended to be, and that thoughtfulness seemed to extend to kids like Teucer and… would Paimon fit in that category? He chuckled, knowing that Lumine’s faithful companion would definitely scream at him for calling her a child.
Still, it was one thing to be a good gift giver, and it was another to be so smug about it to claim that your gifts were better than that of the older brother’s? What on Teyvat would ever compete with a ruin guard to little Teucer’s eyes? There weren’t many things, at least not any he hadn't already given, so in that case… something not even he could obtain easily.
It was so obvious Lumine was not of this world, he didn’t need any Fatui Intelligence to learn such a thing either, so perhaps she had some abilities to conjure a completely unique toy no one had ever seen before? Perhaps, in that endless storage space of a bag she possessed, there was some type of toy from her hometown? Speaking of her hometown, his thoughts eventually drifted… did she have any powers she kept hidden, perhaps something exclusive to where came from or trained from or something of the like? She’d definitely use it in a fight against him eventually, wouldn’t she?
It was those sets of thoughts that stayed in the back of his head even in the midst of sparring. The few times Lumine had faltered due to distraction he had chided her, urging her to put her all in the fight, but it was his turn to have his thoughts drift, and for such a simple thing. He figured he was doing good regardless even with only eighty percent of his attention on the fight, but his opponent must have noticed something off about his stance because one second she was dodging the arrow and the next—
“Starfall!”
—she raised her hand briefly before bringing it down in a fell swoop; his back cramped as he found himself suddenly sharing a space with a massive rock and some crystals, leaving him to stare agape between the gaps.
Did she just trap him in the geo dome?
Before he could complain about how unfair the trapping strategy was she threw him a concerned look, and though not as serious it held the remnants of her expression back at the factory.
“You’re not focused,” she said, walking closer as the geo structure shattered, leaving the field empty once more save for the two of them, “that’s not like you, something’s wrong... you’re not hurt again, are you? Did you use your-”
It was amusing how her expression stayed the same as he howled with laughter, as if he would suddenly start madly coughing, as if clutching his stomach was a sign he had been injured somewhere.
Foul legacy, she thought maybe he had used foul legacy recently. Had he? Of course not, he was the first to notice the effects it had on his body, and it’d be a waste to use it on a fight against someone weaker than him. There were only two people he’d want to use them against in Liyue, but since one never accepted his offers to spar and the other told him to not use it against her again… Nope, definitely no one.
If he were a normal person he probably would have had a serious talk with her, but instead he laughed in her face because even after a solid few weeks of their friendship, it was a bizarre thing to know that someone cared about him enough in this foreign land.
Her concern was so genuine that he almost felt embarrassed to admit why his attention wasn’t fully on fighting her, but the idea of her reaction to the admission shook the feeling off immediately.
“Actually, I was just too busy guessing what you were going to give Teucer.”
Lumine blinked once, then twice, then before he could even whine about a weak reaction the dome had trapped him again, as if she had put him in a pseudo jail cell.
“Just for that?!” the traveler sounded annoyed with him half the time, but it had amplified that moment, exasperation reeking straight out of her expression as she spoke with a deadpan voice, “ridiculous. How funny you are, like a comedian, a clown .”
“I’d say I’m more of a performer than a clown, thank you very much.”
“Tartaglia?”
“Yes?”
“Quiet or you’re living in the geo dome permanently ,” he would have laughed, mocked her for her seriousness, but when he caught sight of Lumine fiddling with her bag anticipation had entered his system. Oh she was definitely showing him what it was, wasn’t she?
With a gesture from her his palms were open, and his arms were stretched, just in time for the dome to explode and disintegrate around him. She followed suit, opening her hands and quickly dropping something within his.
Childe stared, and a doll with the same dead eyes as him stared back.
“Accurate, isn’t it?” Lumine said, sounding an awful lot haughty at his speechlessness, “except maybe the mask, but in my defense it’s ugly , and something heart shaped is much more Teucer friendly.”
“You made this?”
If he were any less surprised he might have noticed the pink tinge on Lumine’s ears, who usually felt a tinge of embarrassment whenever it came to her hobby, but the only thing he noticed was how she rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious conclusion.
“Teucer wanted something I made so of course I’m committing to that!” the blonde huffed, like getting something commissioned wasn’t even an option, “it was pretty easy, actually. I mean, your hair’s a mess but I’ve seen you enough times to get a good reference before sewing anything.”
“And the reason you went with me is…” he already knew, but he wanted to hear it come out of her mouth.
“Because more than any ruin guard, Teucer idolizes and loves you.”
It was a single sentence, and yet he felt himself smiling— not a faked, closed-lip one nor was it the smug and teasing grins he enjoyed throwing but something soft that even he didn’t know he could make anymore. For once, he is in awe of something other than her strength, but he supposed her empathy was a kind of strength too.
Truthfully, her work wasn’t the best he’d ever seen. The shade of orange was more warm and bright than it actually was in real life, one eyelash was slightly longer than the others, and he could see the inconsistent stitching in some places.
It’s of average quality, but Teucer would cherish it, tuck it in between his beloved ruin guards and show it off to Anthon and Tonia every chance he’d get, all because it was made in his likeness.
Her confidence was warranted after all.
“Normally me and Paimon throw out name suggestions but probably you or Teucer should do it? Still I think I’m better at this, I was thinking Tarts or Tags, but Paimon said Kid or Moneybags or Child without the-”
“AJ,” he interrupted, looking down at the toy once more, “we’ll call it AJ.”
Lumine looked bewildered at the choice, mumbling as she spelled out Tartaglia and suddenly it was his turn to laugh again, knowing she was trying to find the J in the name.
“It’s so… normal.”
Thankfully she didn’t make any further comments on it, as if she knew the choice was too personal for her to pry into. He noted to himself that should a time ever come for the need for it, he’d let her know why.
“Can’t believe you found the time to make it though, considering you’re always running around,” he said, changing the subject.
“I always make time for my friends,” it came off nonchalantly, and he’s just a little proud of how she, when it was just the two of them, was willing to admit it straight to his face without so much as a second of hesitation.
He should thank her, really, for all she had done, but first…
“Well, satisfaction truly brought the cat back!” he stood up, summoning his bow once more, “come on, comrade! Let’s continue where we left off!”
She stood as well, and with a lift of her leg the ground began to shake, “bring it!”
“So he thinks you made it after learning about Teucer’s request?” Paimon asked, “Lumi is a liar! Liar liar, pants… uh, shorts on fire!”
“Yes yes, I’m a liar,” the blonde laughed. Only Paimon knew so, but the plush had already been made even before the arrival of the young boy’s letter. It had simply stayed in the void of her bag, the traveler unable to find a good time or reason to give the Harbinger her token of friendship.
He would have been the most embarrassing one to give such a gift to, but with the chance she’d been given he suddenly became the easiest of the bunch.
“Awww, that means Mr. Moneybags won’t know it was originally for him, huh,” Paimon seemed a little sad at the thought, and she found herself wondering when the little pixie had started liking the man. Was it all the way back in the factory, or was it whenever he gave her good food to eat? The way to Paimon was through her heart and her stomach, after all.
“It would have gone straight to Teucer anyway,” Lumine said, unable to imagine Childe displaying a doll on his office desk, “and something tells me he already knows.”
“If Lumi says so…” Paimon looked a little disbelieving, but that expression quickly changed as their companion for the day arrived. Right, here was another man Paimon grew to like, watching her dearest friend smile and wave as the brunet gentleman greeted them.
“Shall we go now, Miss Lumine? There was a domain you needed my help exploring, yes?”
As they ventured off, Zhongli leading the way, Paimon whispered a question in her ear,
“ When is it his turn?”
“When I feel like it.”
Only Paimon knew so, but there were two other plushes in her bag.