Actions

Work Header

plush

Summary:

If she had to describe her initial thoughts on it, the word she would use was messy. The browns of his outfit weren’t the same shade as the browns of the clumsily stitched together version the plush was wearing. She had a hard time replicating her brother’s long hair, and the buttons she used for the eyes were a little misplaced.

Still, the white cloth hanging atop his shoulders was translated well enough, and she styled the hair as lovingly as she always braided his, and as misplaced as they were… they were the same color as his eyes. Their eyes.

or: what was a passing hobby for lumine became an accidental courtship between her and her friends

latest chapter: in which she gets a history lesson // zhongli

Notes:

hello! i had this idea in my head for a few days. it was meant to be a one-shot for paimon, but i liked the idea of lumine having a cute hobby + her being surrounded by her friends, so each chapter represents a person in lumine's life

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: in which lumine gets a new hobby // 𝐚𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫

Summary:

After all, if she had a little plush of Aether to carry around, then wouldn’t it make her feel less lonely? She definitely wouldn’t hesitate to pet the thing as often as she could.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

There were times where Lumine acted reckless, jumping off of cliffs and charging into battle with only her trusty sword on the right and Barbatos’ blessing forming atop the palm of her left. Despite this, she considered herself to be a pretty meticulous person– making decisions not out of whims but instead carefully thought out plans. 

In the past, the scheming and planning needed in fights were usually left up to her, helped by a few quips and suggestions from Aether. He always had the sunnier presence of the two, and quite frankly she was grateful for that. He could play the role of the charming talker, and she could be the cunning thinker. Of course, that was in the past.

In the present, she had a brother to find and newfound friends she wanted to protect, and she acknowledged that one small misstep could lead to her demise. 

However, a couple of hours spent babysitting her tiny, fiery, bomb-loving friend caused Lumine to entertain what was meant to be a passing thought. 

“Klee, don’t you want to play with… non-explosive toys sometimes?” she would have said normal, but Klee’s definition of normal was probably pretty skewed as it is. 

“Sure! But~ Klee likes playing with jumpty dumpty the most! Oh, but definitely not for fish blasting! And, and– drawing pictures with crayons!” Klee looked up at her with light red eyes, shining with innocent curiosity. “Big sis Lumi, do you want to borrow Klee’s toys?”

And incur Jean’s wrath? Be accused of enabling the little arsonist?

“It’s okay, I can always play with Paimon.”

“Did… Lumi , did you just imply Paimon was a toy?

With amusement, Lumine watched the fairy float towards her, clearly meaning to look angry with furrowed brows and lips shaped like an upside-down letter v. Still, it was hard to take her seriously with bread crumbs stuck to her cheeks and her tiny fists still clutching the remains of Klee’s made-with-love fishy toast. 

Clearly, Paimon found it hard to stay upset too as the small being let her push the crumbs off of her face. 

“Of course you’re not a toy…” she trailed off, before ending with a whisper, “emergency food.”

Lumine let out a laugh even as, or perhaps because of, her companion’s tiny hands tugging at her clothes like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Though Klee didn’t seem to understand the conversation entirely, she still giggled as Paimon whined about how she wasn’t meant to be eaten. 

As the noise died down, she found herself staring at the little keychain attached to the Spark Knight’s backpack, then at the new explosive Klee was crafting all by herself.

Small dolls sewn together from cloth and buttons and little beads seemed to be common toys in Teyvat, too. Amber’s Baron Bunny technically counted as a doll too, right? Although, that was also explosive… perhaps it was a trend to have weaponized toys in this world?

In one of the stars she and Aether visited, toys known as plush dolls were quite popular, though the difference between this and that world was that Teyvat, at least so far, seemed to lean towards animals and mascots while that world designed theirs like the inhabitants of their planet.

Lumine couldn’t say she appreciated it at the time– no matter how cute and soft and how much she wanted to rub her face on it, the dolls with six eyes still had a degree of creepiness to them, but now she could see the novelty of it. After all, if she had a little plush of Aether to carry around, then wouldn’t it make her feel less lonely? She definitely wouldn’t hesitate to pet the thing as often as she could.

The morning spent with Klee seemed to tire Paimon out, so as soon as the little blonde got ushered back into her room, her fairy companion went straight for their shared temporary living space in the headquarters. She had initially refused the kindness of the knights, she was used to camping out anyway, but certain days really made her appreciate the tranquility of the space, and a soft bed to boot. 

She sat next to Paimon who was snoring away, undoubtedly exhausted from their excursion, and found herself studying the room she would reside in until her and her companion would have to go back to camping outside.

… huh, not that she was here a lot, being a traveler and all, but it was kind of sad how barren the room was. It didn’t really matter though, she would leave Mondstadt soon enough, back to camping on the dirt every night, so the decorations would only be a waste of mora.

Even still… just one wouldn’t hurt?

Promising herself to be back before sunset and prepare dinner for two, Lumine quietly made her exit.

Cloth, and fabric and strings– surely, the scraps stolen from hilichurl camp tents and roofs would suffice for a small project.

 


 

Sometimes Lumine mustered up jokes about how popular Paimon was, though she supposed her talkativeness and willingness to do anything for something good to munch on made her extremely approachable. It was a stark difference from herself, who used to stumble on her sentences due to the language barriers. The little fairy made everything much easier for her, letting her progress from one-liners to a few sentences until she eventually got used to having proper conversations with people.

At this moment, however, she was glad to be alone in the confines of her room. It was a rare occasion for everything to be silent, but she wasn’t sure she could handle the embarrassment of letting someone see her doing something so…

Would childish be the word for it? Not necessarily, most children just played with dolls and didn’t make them. Two Knights of Favonius literally carry dolls around, wouldn’t be surprised if some other eccentric warrior had some cute gimmick as well in battle, but it was different because it was… her. 

Unfitting of her image.

That was probably it.

Shaking off any irrelevant thoughts, she looked at the piles of salvaged cloth scraps, along with excess fabrics and the sewing tools that some people in the town helpfully lent her. With the promise that they wouldn’t let anyone know, of course. 

The people of Mondstadt were always gossiping though, so there was a 50/50 chance a small rumor would pop up tomorrow, a speculation on whatever the nation’s hero could possibly need those supplies for.

Well, with her image, they probably wouldn’t even be able to imagine anything close.

Right. She picked up the tiny metal, gently poking her finger with it to test its sharpness. She never had a reason to use one, the clothes they tended to wear were imbued with magic that made them immune to wear and tear, but at the very least Lumine was always better with her hands than her brother. A needle was not a sword, but nonetheless was still a weapon she could learn to master.

...

Or so she thought, but mastering such a tiny blade was harder than anticipated. It had taken her give or take a few hours, to the point that she would have worried about Paimon’s whereabouts if she hadn’t known she was in the safe hands of Amber. 

Well, at least she could say she was done. 

Carefully, she lifted up the little doll, one that she unconsciously scaled to a similar size, just about a head shorter, of a certain glutton, and observed her handiwork. 

If she had to describe her initial thoughts on it, the word she would use was messy. The browns of his outfit weren’t the same shade as the browns of the clumsily stitched together version the plush was wearing. She had a hard time replicating her brother’s long hair, and the buttons she used for the eyes were a little misplaced.

Still, the white cloth hanging atop his shoulders was translated well enough, and she styled the hair as lovingly as she always braided his, and as misplaced as they were… they were the same color as his eyes. Their eyes.

Though she wouldn’t let anyone see it, she figured they’d laugh at her for making such a mess of a toy if not for making a toy in the first place, but it didn’t matter at all to the blonde. With one look, she let the walls crumble with little resistance; it was easy for her to get emotional upon recognition of her brother’s visage, fake as it may be, of–

“Aether,” her brother’s, twin brother’s, name escaped from her lips, shaky as though she hadn’t spoken his name in years. Perhaps, outside of the nightmares that constantly threatened her slumber, it had been.

Knowing no one would see, she quickly brought the plush to her chest and hugged it tightly, her chin resting on the little replica’s soft head as she choked out a sob. 

It was probably no later than seven in the evening, but her appetite was the least of her worries as she flopped onto her bed sideways, curling up and hugging the doll as tight as she could, hoping it would emanate the same warmth, the same familiar smell as the real one did, if just for a moment, if only to delude herself into thinking her brother was back with her.

She doesn’t bother wiping away the wetness splotched against her cheeks, so she could imagine Aether would be there to wipe it away for her like he always used to when she cried.

After a few minutes, her eyes shut close and her figure’s breathing finally returned to normal.

Notes:

i don't know how to write angst, but i still wanted to take the time to show how lumine's character will be portrayed throughout the series. aether will be mentioned every chapter just because of how often he weighs on lumine's mind

Chapter 2: in which a fairy gets jealous // 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧

Summary:

“Paimon, I’m sure you already realize that there’s no use getting mad at a doll… right?”

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

When Lumine woke up and finally adjusted to her surroundings, she was quite surprised. One, that she fell asleep still clutching to a doll of her brother and clearly didn’t wake until the sun had finally risen again. Two, that her left arm, more like her hand actually, was being cuddled by familiar tiny ones. Paimon.

That was odd. Though last night was a bit of a haze to her, she was definitely positioned laying on her side, both arms tight around the plush; yet when she woke up, eyes meeting the ceiling she realized she was now laying on her back, and that somehow her grip must have loosened enough for her friend to steal it away.

Golden-yellow eyes rest on how Paimon’s hands wrapped themselves on her fingers, which she belatedly realized covered the tiny cuts and pinpricks she received from her little arts and crafts session yesterday.

With a sudden rush of affection for the fairy, she carefully escaped from her protective hold, which didn’t require much strength at all but she did her best to not rouse the white-haired being awake. She slipped off what was her only pair of nightclothes and readied herself to make breakfast for two in the nearest kitchen she could borrow.

When she came back to the bedroom, two plates of Mondstadt hashbrowns ready to be eaten, she was met with the shocking sight of Paimon having a glaring match with… who she will dub as Small Aether, for now.

Before Lumine could even announce her presence, a small huff escaped her friend. “Just because you’re Lumi’s brother doesn’t mean you can steal Paimon’s privileges! Lumi’s Paimon’s cuddle buddy! And , you can’t steal Paimon’s sleeping space or food!” She ends the stare-off with a little harumph, closing her eyes and turning her head sideways dramatically.

Ah, how could my floating parasite toddler be this cute? 

Resisting the urge to coo, she set the hashbrowns down atop the table, sending a short prayer to whoever the Pyro archon was to have their meal still be warm by the time their much-needed conversation finished.

“Paimon,” as her name was called, the fairy’s eyes fluttered open, and though she seemed to know that the traveler heard her she didn’t seem to care, keeping up her frustrated expression.

Oh dear, was this going to be more challenging than expected?

Lumine glanced at the dol– at Small Aether , showing with her eyes alone, as if a stuffed toy could understand in the first place, that it was his fault her companion was so pressed this early in the morning. 

How could she possibly begin?

“Paimon,” she murmured quietly, hoping her gentleness would calm the little being down. 

She knows why her friend’s upset with her, well , the doll but by association, her . She also knows that Paimon knows she knows. It went unsaid that Paimon had a particular protectiveness over Lumine, something which she reciprocated, but it was a strange happenstance nonetheless. 

It made her wonder if Paimon and Aether would get along when she finally got the chance to introduce them to each other, who was her travel companion for all of her life to her newest companion.

When, not if. 

She figured that of course, they would, but in this case, an inanimate object couldn’t exactly talk back to a doll of all things, so she would have to do the talking herself.

Even without having to say anything, Lumine could tell Paimon already knew what was about to come out of her mouth, but she remained sitting still and listening attentively, almost like a scolded puppy. 

“Paimon, I’m sure you already realize that there’s no use getting mad at a doll … right?”

The fairy remained indignant, as though asked a stupid question. “Of course! But that’s not what Paimon is…” she trailed off, cutting off the rest of her complaint before switching her tracks, “is Paimon not enough for your Paimonial needs?”

If it were anyone else, the implication that someone could ever replace Aether would be downright offensive at least, and a death wish waiting to happen at worst. 

But it was Paimon who asked her, her fairy guardian, the one who she fished out of a lake and the only one she could fully depend on to stay loyal to her, stick by her until the end of her journey. The one that, if given the chance, she’d take with her and Aether when they finally traveled to worlds again. It’d be a lie if she said she didn’t feel a semblance of joy that Paimon grew attached, just as she inevitably was. 

With a small exhale to ready herself, Lumine allowed her voice to break the heavy atmosphere between them,

“No one will ever be able to take my brother’s place,” she began, descending to a gentler tone as she watched Paimon’s face shift, “but you don’t have to. Aether is Aether, Paimon is Paimon. My heart has space for both of you.”

Comforting people was never something she could brag about excelling in, but she remembered the way her only kin brushed her hair lightly, threading his fingers through bright blonde strands, and quickly found herself doing the same to soothe who she considered her newest family member. 

“I love you, Lumi.”

She hasn’t heard those words in what felt like centuries. Those words always used to be accompanied by a boyish voice, strong and familiar, but as much as she longed to hear it again lest she forgets, this sweet and bubbly tone was a welcome addition. 

“I love you, too.”

She hasn’t said those words in what felt like centuries, too.

 


 

Too many tears have been shed between Lumine and her companion in less than 24 hours, too much for her liking. After she helped Paimon wash her face, she offered to make them some sticky honey roast for lunch to move past this morning’s events.

Considering they were still eating their breakfast hashbrowns, which had unfortunately gone a little cold, it was a little odd to be talking about lunch already, but she knew Paimon would never be able to resist her favorite-

“That’s not enough.” The fairy let out a huff, staring down the poor plush, who really did nothing to deserve that treatment. Except for subjectively looking kind of ug– unique . She can't call something she made less than decent for pride's sake, especially if it resembles her brother, who also happens to resemble her.

Oh? Aren’t you being a little greedy? Fine, we can buy dessert, too–”

“Agh, Lumine doesn’t get it!” she whined, “Paimon wants a doll, too!”

The blonde laughed, her anxiousness fading into the abyss. Paimon, she really didn’t have any shame, did she? Still, that honesty was something she always appreciated. It made talking to the floating entity a lot easier.

Before she could chuck out a sound of agreement, her friend hastily added, “no, two dolls! One of Paimon, and one of Lumi!”

She really didn’t prepare enough materials for that order.

“Sure, one Paimon doll and one… me doll. Got it.”

 


 

She only felt a little guilty about abusing her role as the Honorary Knight of Favonius and Mondstadt’s heroine asking for favors from some of the townsfolk, but most of them were quick to jump to help her with something so insignificant if it meant for once, she wouldn’t spend all day scavenging hilichurl camps.

“You never ask for help, dearie. So if we can help you with even this much… it’d make us happy,” one of the grannies said, handing her a small yet sparkly dark blue cloth she knew would become Paimon doll’s cape.

Unlike Small Aether, Paimon and Lumine dolls would be, well, even smaller, almost like the keychain strapped to Klee’s bag. Blame the lack of materials and her general unwillingness to make something that size again for as long as she could help it. Also unlike Small Aether, she took her time crafting the two, using what little free time she had in between commissions and quests to make the plush toys.

Small Aether would have two new additions to his family: Smaller Lumine and Smaller Paimon.

… okay, perhaps she needed less complicated names for them. 

 


 

When the time came for her to venture farther from the city of Mondstadt, she knew she had to say goodbye to the quarters Jean let her stay in for at least a week or two. She looked at the plush of her brother, then sighed.

Thank the Archons for the endless amount of items her bag seemed to be able to contain. 

“Okay, Aeth, in you go.” 

Though Paimon was a wonderful cuddle buddy, the idea of being able to travel with her brother again, fake as it may be, gave her hope for the future. 

“Paimon, you can play with Lulu and Monnie later. You know how to attach them to the bag, right?”

Surprisingly, she didn’t bother hiding the plush toys, despite knowing that the people of Mondstadt would quickly notice and realize the intentions of her previous actions. She found herself not caring. If Paimon was content with the arrangement then so was she.

Lumine took one last glance at her room before locking the door. Even though it was just as bare as when she started inhabiting it, it didn’t feel as empty as it carried the weight of newfound memories.

Notes:

i love paimon so much huhu paimon. as an only child, makes me want a little sister to take care of-

Chapter 3: in which baron bunny gets a friend // 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫

Summary:

“Oh! Maybe I could teach you, then!” Amber offered, clearly already excited despite the blonde not having said a word of acceptance. “Ooh, it could be like the old times! Just like how I taught you how to glide, I can teach you how to get better at sewing!”

Notes:

Your honor, Lumine is very soft and big-hearted on the inside she just struggles to show that kind of affection to people who aren't her brother or Paimon but she's doing her best.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

It doesn’t take long for the people of Mondstadt to find out about their local heroine’s new accessories. While she clearly didn’t bother hiding it from plain sight, Paimon, the gossip and loudmouth that she was, didn’t see any problem babbling about it to anyone who would listen. Oh, and did people listen alright. How often do you get any personal stories and details about the mysterious traveler?

The little fairy seemed to talk with pride, as though she was the one who did all the work, but Lumine can’t say she minded too much seeing Paimon show off her new toys to everyone like a little kid would. She can take the embarrassment in stride and pretend the little coos she heard every now and then didn’t fluster her the least bit.

Other than the little kids and the select people she had asked help from previously, people kept their comments to themselves until barely anyone talked about it anymore. Well, it was gossip of the low hanging fruit kind, so it wasn’t that big of a deal anyway,

or so she thought.

“Morning, Lumine!” came a cheerful voice, a flash of red suddenly blocking her path towards the Good Hunter. From the dark brown hair and the red bunny-like bow that adorned it, it could irrefutably only be Amber who had come to greet her. 

Hey, isn’t Paimon going to get a greeting, too?” 

Amber giggled before appeasing the little entity with her very own good morning. Lumine had to wonder how someone could have such a cheery disposition so early in the morning, especially without food in their stomach yet. Somehow it reminded her of her brother, who while not as energetic held some semblance to sunshine as well. She, herself, tended to gravitate more towards the moon’s glow.

Her brunette friend was neither the sun nor the moon, but perhaps, like her vision, she was like the fiery and hot world Aether and her had visited at one point during their many travels. It must have been some time ago, but Lumine remembered how despite nearly everything being on fire, nothing had ever deliberately burned them, only a few accidents here and there that made Lumine glad she kept her hair short. Instead, the heat merely seeped through their skin like a warm, welcoming embrace that reflected a majority of the inhabitants as well.

The blonde traveler would never tell Amber this, the complexity of explaining how an entirely different world with entirely different principles of magic existed being too much of a hassle… and also how she might not take too kindly to being compared to an 8-foot tall foreign species;

Despite this Amber, who after Paimon, had served as her first friend and was one of the few who made settling into this world easier than she could’ve managed alone, was a lot like them indeed.

“Hello? Teyvat to Lumine!” Paimon floats right up in her face, interrupting her train of thought. Huh, were they talking to her? To not notice, she must have still been–

“Lumi is probably still sleepy since we haven’t had breakfast yet,” her companion explained, a sudden grin creeping up to her small face. “Amber, you know, Paimon and Lumi were just going to the Good Hunter! If you haven’t had breakfast yet, maybe you could–“

Oh, Lumine could easily see where Paimon wanted the direction of the conversation to go. As she was so food and mora obsessed, her intentions were clear: she wanted Amber to pay for their meal.

Well, besides eating good food, the fairy was happiest when people were treating them food, so she supposed the same feelings applied to everyone and Amber just so happened to be today’s unlucky target.

Before the blonde could cancel out Paimon and lightly scold her for trying to extort Amber of all people when it was unnecessary– Mondstadt city food wasn’t that pricey, to begin with– Amber only laughed and agreed to treat them to breakfast.

“Are you sure?” Lumine asked, her head turning to face the Outrider as she looked away from Paimon zooming past them to reserve a seat already. “She… we eat quite a lot, you know.” she corrected herself, looking a little bashful at her own admittance to her adventurer’s appetite. She was planning to go through a domain or two today, so she would need more than just a piece of fisherman’s toast to keep her sated. She could eat at least 5 dishes in one seating, and who knew what her companion's limits even were. 

“Don’t even mention it! This stuff is normal between friends, anyway!”

Friends. Amber didn’t do it to flatter her nor because she was Mondstadt’s hero, but because she was a friend. It was always quite clear before, nonetheless, she appreciated hearing those words. 

Lumine didn’t have a response. She could only smile as she sat herself in between Paimon and Amber, watching the two prattle of their orders. 

Friends. When was the last time she had someone to call a friend that wasn't her brother or her flying toddler? Maybe one day, she’d tell the Crimson Knight her past, her travels, about her. Though she wasn’t ready yet, at the very least she could do something for her, personal and outside of her title as the honorary knight of Favonius and this region’s hero.

She was about to take a bite out of her Tea Break Pancakes when the brunette told her something interesting.

“You know, you’ve changed quite a bit from when we first met,” Amber was definitely addressing her, despite her eyes being trained on Paimon, who was trying to pick up and chew on the topmost piece of the stack. Lumine noted that it was bigger than the fairy’s head. 

The blonde let out a small laugh. As amusing as the sight was, she didn’t have it in her to let her friend continue when she was clearly struggling. “Paimon, let me have that instead. You can have my plate.” 

The latter let out a little huff at being treated like a kid but still watched in anticipation as the traveler began cutting her own portion into bite-sized slices. Less mess for her to clean up later, but somehow she had a feeling the white-haired elf would find a way to get some syrup on her cheeks. 

“Awww, how cute! Do you do that for Paimon a lot?”

Oh, right. She paused her actions for a second, almost forgetting that someone was eating with them. Sorry, Amber. “Paimon can usually handle herself, but sometimes the food can be messy to eat, so…” Lumine trailed off, remembering what the knight has previously said about her.

“Hmmm… changing… ? I guess so, I was probably quieter, huh,” her eyes left Amber momentarily as she exchanged plates with her floating companion, a small smile on her face, one that did not go unnoticed, as she watched the latter dig into her breakfast. 

Amber nodded, “oh, for sure! I mean, Paimon still talks way more than you, but you’re definitely more talkative now! Plus, you used to have an accent when you–”

Lumine coughed, grateful that her mouth was currently empty lest she choked on the fluffy dish. “Was… was the accent that obvious?” she asked in embarrassment, even though she already knew the answer. By the Archons, she knew her Teyvatian used to be horrible, too. Reading wasn’t so much of an issue, but spoken sentences, on the other hand, were filled with pauses as a futile attempt to prevent grammar mistakes that still appeared anyway.

“Don’t worry! People thought it was cute, if not a little strange.” Amber reassured her, though she would have preferred leaving out the strange part… maybe the cute part, too, since she wasn’t sure how to react to people associating her with such a soft adjective. 

“Still, it’s great that you’ve gotten better at it! Less wondering about how you’re speaking and more… actual speaking!” 

Well, it wasn’t like Lumine barely spoke entirely because of her initial struggle with the language. It just so happened that she felt a lot more comfortable talking to the people of Mond now and let herself be less guarded around them.

“Mhm,” she hummed as she stabbed the syrupy dish with her fork, “I suppose you’re one of the people I have to thank for that.”

Right, back to her previous dilemma. Was there a way to repay Amber?

As she chewed on her food, her eyes dragged themselves up from her meal to the golden-brown eyed girl, who for some reason was looking a little… bashful? Was it something she said?

“So this is kind of unrelated but… you were the one who made those dolls, right?”

This time, Lumine really did choke on her meal, sputtering a bit as Paimon looked surprised and Amber worriedly pushed her own glass of water towards her. She wasn’t sure if the sudden heat creeping up on her cheeks was due to the question or because she felt a little awkward about her reaction, not that it mattered because she planned on blaming it on quite literally biting off more than she could chew if asked.

“Obviously! Lumi is great at it! Guess you’re not the only dollmaker in town now!”

If she still wasn’t recovering, she’d absolutely scold Paimon for even thinking about comparing her to Amber, whose Baron Bunny clearly exceeded in quality over Lulu and Monnie, who hung by her backpack. Not to mention, much, much better than her first try, Aeth.

“She’s exaggerating. I’m still not used to using needles and stuff, plus I don’t really have the best materials for it,” Lumine replied humbly, silently relieved that her voice held no evidence of her previous reactions. 

“Oh! Maybe I could teach you, then!” Amber offered, clearly already excited despite the blonde not having said a word of acceptance. “Ooh, it could be like the old times! Just like how I taught you how to glide, I can teach you how to get better at sewing!”

When she worded it that way, it was really hard to refuse. 

“So, uh, where would we be having our… sewing lesson?”

Lumine has no regrets upon hearing the brunette’s infectious cheer, reciprocating it with a quiet one of her own, only heard to the vicinity of their table, as she pointedly ignored Paimon’s smug gaze. 

‘What was that about never making another doll?’ , she could practically hear the latter’s taunt, despite her small mouth being shut close, save for some chewing noises. 

“Oooh, you can come to my place! Less hassle to bring stuff over, you know? Paimon, are you coming over too?” 

“Hmmm, Paimon doesn’t know… unless… will there be snacks?” she said, as though she forgot that Amber always prepared snacks for her whenever she stayed over while Lumine was running an errand deemed too dangerous or even mundane for the fairy. 

The traveler reminded herself to bring her own snacks as an unspoken apology for Paimon’s insatiable hunger. 

 


 

When Amber first met Lumine, she could never really pick out one word or even formulate a sentence to describe her perfectly. She used to be quite silent, but she was also often seen speaking to the people of Mondstadt, asking about the history of their region and helping them out as much as she could. She barely knew anything about visions and had nothing but her magical backpack and a low-class sword to her name, yet when she fought she held the elegance of a swan, adorned with her white dress as she danced in the wind she herself manifested out of nowhere.

A mystery. That was how the brunette, and seemingly many others, chose to describe Lumine, who was kind yet closed off, if not a little lonely. It wouldn't be her first time handling those kinds of people, so she didn't mind at all that her fellow somewhat-Knight acted as such. 

That, however, had slowly begun to change, just as the winds do.

Clearly the traveler, even with all of her perceptiveness and vigilance, was severely underestimating just how much of a hot topic she was all over the region, especially the city in which she resided in. From the day she made her presence, her popularity steadily grew, and few could ever hope to match the gossip and praises sung about her, save for people like the Dark Knight Hero or Acting Grand Master Jean. 

Amber, herself, was quite guilty of listening to gossip, especially about Lumine. It started out as just making sure no one was badmouthing her, but as the gossip shifted from her whereabouts and heroic deeds to just her , the Outrider found it difficult to not pay attention.

Comments about how the blonde was smiling more often, the coos about how cute it was that she seemed to baby Paimon, sighs of admiration about her beauty from young men and women alike, talk about how gentle she must be to hunt fowl and fish just to feed the strays in the city when she thought no one was looking, or maybe she simply didn't care if anyone was– Amber was happy with how everyone talked so nicely about Lumine, but beyond that, she was glad that she was becoming less of an unreachable star and more like one of their own. One with human flaws and–

“Amber,” Lumine began, and the brunette failed to suppress her laughter at the sight of the plasters she forced her friend to stick around her fingers. The former pouted; for a second, she wondered why the expression looked so familiar until she realized it was because she was reminded of Paimon’s huffy face.

Oh Lord Barbatos, how appalled would Lumine be if she made a comment about looking like Paimon of all people… er, fairies ?

“Sorry!” she finally managed to get out amidst the increasing volume of her giggles, “did you need help with something?”

“Could you check how I did? I’m not sure if the stitching would stay put like this.” Lumine asked, passing the small, the traveler insisted on starting off small, doll that was mostly brown and red and hold on

At the sudden shift of the Outrider’s face, the blonde suddenly looked worried. 

“Is it weird or something? Did… did I mess up on the stitching? I swear I used the right pattern you told me to…”

“No, no, nothing’s wrong with it!” Amber quickly said, trying to dispel any unease her guest was having, before staring back at the doll. 

No matter how much she looked at it, this was clearly supposed to be her, wasn’t it? Though the details themselves were lacking, the hair was long and brown with a little red ribbon on top; she didn’t think twice about Lumine using those colors, it was the colors she had a lot of anyway fabric-wise, but… that little red bead that hung by the doll’s hip, she was sure she hadn’t given anything resembling that to the traveler, which could only mean one thing.

“Lumine, did you come here already knowing you were gonna make a doll of, well, me ?” she had to ask, a little embarrassed at how her voice squeaked a little. The blonde herself looked a little shy, a rare expression for Mondstadt’s hero, who prodded at her bandages while responding.

“Yeah. Paimon suggested,” she paused, briefly looking at the white-haired entity who had her eyes narrowed, “okay, okay Paimon, I get it.”

“Paimon and I, together , thought that it would be a good idea to give you a doll of… you. Paimon said since she’s always with me, and our dolls are always together, it’d be nice if your Baron Bunny could have a doll version of you as a companion.” Lumine’s fair skin seemed a little flushed, as though afflicted by pyro energy, as she hesitated to continue.

Still, that gave Amber some time to wrap her head around Lumine’s words so far. That, wasn’t that really sweet? And an awfully… cute reason, too. 

“Plus,” the blonde breathed out, “I wanted to thank you properly, for helping me all these months. I don’t think I would’ve been able to get used to Mond- Teyvat without you, so, uh…”

Uh… ?” the brunette repeated, curious as she hanged onto every word coming out of the traveler’s mouth. 

The latter coughed, before finally making eye contact with Amber. “I’m happy you became my friend.”

Ahh? Ahhhh? She found herself squealing internally. So this was something handmade, meant to be a token of friendship between them? And… wasn’t this the first time Lumine has ever called her a friend to her face ?

Amber’s bubbling excitement and affection for the traveler she first found all those months ago reached its peak, as she practically doubled over in a sprint to embrace the surprised girl. 

“Huh? Wait, Amber, you…?”

“Awwww, see! Paimon told you it’d go over well! It’s just Amber, you didn’t have to be nervous at all! There was no way she would tease–”

Paimon ,” Lumine whined, another first for the Crimson Knight, “just shut up and come over here, would you?”

 


 

Outrider Amber, as the only Outrider left in the Knights of Favonius, was a busy person, juggling as many tasks as she could for the sake of the city that watched her grow up. However, on the days where she had time off, she made a promise to herself to return the favor with her own token of affection– something she would lovingly sew herself.

A custom-made Baron Bunny but with Lumine’s colors, and non-explosive, of course. Would she treasure it as much as she treasured the stuffed toy Paimon so affectionately nicknamed Amby?

“Alright, Jean will be upset if I arrive to work late, so I’ll be off now!” 

Though no one but her resided in that room, she gazed at the plushes sat by the windowsill, Lumine’s gift nestled in between Baron Bunnies.

Notes:

few things! first of all yay thank you to the people who wished me luck on my midterm! (´ω`*) i finished the first one last friday, and i wrote this chapter in between breaks studying for another one tomorrow. also, thank you for over a hundred kudos! i didn't expect it considering i only had 2 chapters up ehehe(>﹏<)

i was struggling a bit on characterizing amber, but i think reading her story + listening to her voice lines really helped me out! i hope i was able to convey her character properly!

Chapter 4: in which she succumbs to a child’s whims // 𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐞

Summary:

The small girl nodded her head in understanding, but her gaze remained resolute as she approached the traveler with her eyes pleading and lips pouty. “Lumi onee-san, can you help Klee make Dodoco a new friend?”

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Whenever Lumine planned to stay in the city of Mondstadt for more than a few hours, that was the only time she got to bring out Aeth, the plush she made after her brother, and set it down within the privacy of her gifted personal, albeit temporary, quarters. 

Sure, it was always secure inside the magical depths of her bag, but she couldn’t risk anything by bringing the doll out, deeming it unsafe even when she made sure that no monsters or enemies alike could harm her or her companion during nighttime. 

What exactly she was risking she wasn’t sure of but it had to be something along the lines of accidentally misplacing it, as unlikely of an option that was, or accidentally getting the earth’s filth and grime on it, or tearing some part of it on accident with her blade, or the fear that someone would see it, either determining she had someone as a weakness or was someone softer than first perceived, and then ambush her somehow as she would be caught off-guard. 

Hero of Mondstadt, mauled to death by boar, too busy playing with plush toy to notice . Wouldn’t that make quite a headline.

Sure, the dolls of her and Paimon were still proudly tied, courtesy of the latter, to her backpack but as attached as the blonde had gotten to the pair, they had always been made for Paimon’s sake alone. The fairy had nothing to do with Aether and the doll she deliberately crafted in his image. 

So the only time Aeth ever saw the light of day on the days she got to sleep on a bed. The poor thing, only getting to see the same sights of the bedroom she resided in.

“Hi Aeth, long time no see.”

Lumine stared at the doll for a little bit, petting the soft plush delicately while searching for any possible frayed threads and detached buttons, even though that was practically impossible; as soon as she was done she plopped it atop her bed, having it lean against the pillows. 

“Last week, one of the villages we, Paimon and I, visited held a small festival.”

Sometimes, the traveler would catch the fairy talk to the plush, in the same way she would babble to Lulu and Monnie during hikes or when Lumine was too focused on foraging to hold a conversation. She wasn’t too sure what Paimon was saying or the whys of it, only catching a few words she was unable to string together, but as long as her friend didn’t threaten to eat Aeth anymore that was good enough for her.

As for herself, she knew why she began talking to the inanimate object.

“I wasn’t planning on intruding, but they insisted we celebrate with them since I’ve been clearing out the nearby monster camp for weeks now… plus, Paimon really wanted to munch on the food they were serving,” the blonde chuckled, “probably smelled the feast a mile away, no wonder she wanted to pass by and check up on the village… not that I could ever deny her for something as simple as free food.”

As her own laughter died down, the room turned quiet again. 

“It was a humble gathering, nothing spectacular like what the other worlds held. Years ago, I wouldn’t have appreciated it, but now I do,” she paused, even though she knew there was no Paimon or someone, anyone else who would respond, “you’d probably like it, though. I wish you could have seen it.”

She pet the plush’s head one last time before moving to the stand up, stretching her body and letting her fingers crack as she prepared to head out. She couldn’t keep Paimon waiting, not when they had a long day ahead of them.

“Sorry you had to stay in the bag, Aeth. See you later.”

 


 

It would’ve been bold of her to assume a child would not immediately notice the presence of new toys. After all, no matter how mischievous or eccentric Klee was, she was still a little kid who seemed to interpret most things as playtime. 

“Big sis Lumi!~ Is that supposed to be you and Paimon?” the girl asked, light-red eyes sparkling as she pointed at the plushes. “They look so, so cute! Where’d you get them?”

With only a few sentences, Lumine immediately softened. Even when they ventured across worlds, she always had a soft spot for little kids and generally small beings, hence her immediate affinity with Klee and Paimon, even though she thought about eating the latter in the past. Where they differed, however, was whereas the fairy teetered between a best friend and a cherished toddler, Klee… 

She wouldn’t say a daughter, didn’t think she had unlocked her maternal instincts yet, but perhaps a little sister. It was a weird position, considering she was a little sister, but it wasn’t an unwelcome one. 

“I made them myself,” she began detaching the two from her backpack, before handing it to Klee while simultaneously sending a prayer to the Archons that Klee wouldn’t burn them lest Paimon throw a temper tantrum and make her make a new set. “You can play with them, if you want.”

The elf-like girl smiled brightly, her little hands reaching out towards Lumine as she grasped Lulu with her left and Monnie with her right. 

“Oh, thank you big sis! Thank you for letting Klee borrow your treasures!” she exclaimed, and the Outlander watched the little girl run to a different corner of her room, digging up her other, hopefully non-explosive toys.

Treasure, huh.

Those were honestly more of Paimon’s treasures, considering how unusually careful the floating entity seemed to be when handling them, letting everyone see but not touch, but said entity had been unknowingly bribed with some Fishy Toast. As long as Klee didn’t accidentally blow them up or turn them into bombs somehow, all would be well. 

Briefly, she had wondered if she was finally going to have some peace of mind. A nice playdate where, for once, she wouldn’t spend most of her time chasing the Spark Knight around Mondstadt in order to prevent a forest fire. Red Burny Girl indeed, Razor. 

Visiting Klee in solitary confinement had started out as a once in a while thing, mostly so the little girl wouldn’t feel too upset at the words Acting Grand Master Jean spewed as she got scolded... and also because she was worried about Klee’s newest inventions.

However, things changed when half an hour of watching over the kid turned into an hour or two of, thankfully not fish blasting, playtime. Still exhausting, but in most cases they never got punished by Jean, so at least they were in the clear.

“Do they have names?” the girl asked, scooting closer to sit down across Lumine. 

“Ooh, ooh, Paimon will answer this one!” with no more food left, the fairy must have decided it was time to start chatting up a storm again. She watched as Paimon floated towards them, sliding her hands against each other to get rid of the remaining crumbs on her hands before gesturing at the blonde doll.

“This one is Lulu! And that one is Monnie, Lulu’s best friend! Must not separate, or else bad luck for 500 years!”

The traveler laughed heartily, partially because of the astounded ‘woahhhh’ Klee let out but mostly because of the sudden declaration. Since when had there been a curse on the plushes, or would Paimon be the one to set it in place should something happen?

“Klee also has a best friend! Wait here!” Klee pulls her rucksack into view, presenting the little pompom with both palms pointed, imitating the way her white-haired friend did so a while ago. “This is Dodoco, my oldest and bestest friend! Okay, now that Klee introduced you, don't forget her name again alright? No more calling Dodoco that silly doll Klee always hangs on her rucksack ."

Lumine giggled once more, before petting the elf-like girl’s head, pushing back her cap momentarily before putting it back into place. 

“Okay, okay. Dodoco is a very cute name. How could I forget Klee’s best friend?”

Looking at it from up close, she wasn’t quite sure what Dodoco was supposed to be. It was clearly meant to be some woodland creature, the closest thing she knew that resembled it being those little creatures that liked to eat apples off the ground.

“Klee loves Dodoco because mommy introduced her to me! And, she’s very fluffy! Like dandelions, and Razor’s hair! Here, big sis Lumi, try it!” 

She reached out and… oh, boy, it really was soft. Like the fur of a rabbit or well-groomed cat. Was Razor’s hair really comparable to this? She would have to find a way to test it out, hopefully he wouldn’t mind her being in his personal bubble for a few seconds… or more, depending on just how nice it was to the touch.

Not that she was planning on making anything so soon, but… would Amber happen to know how to stitch something up using this kind of material? For future references only, of course.

“Klee… is kinda sad, though,” as golden eyes met with teary pale red, as much as she was quickly softening up at the sight she had an inkling she was about to get dragged into something. Call it a premonition, perhaps– a warning she would not be heeding, as long as it wasn’t blowing something up.

“Why are you sad, Klee?” she asked, already taking the bait even before Klee said or did anything significant. Such was the power of an adorable child, she supposed.

“Monnie has Lulu, and Lulu has Monnie, but Dodoco doesn’t have anyone her size. Klee is a GIANT next to Dodoco.”

Oh, Lumine already knew where this was going. 

“But friends come in all sizes, right? You’re smaller than me, but we’re still friends.”

The small girl nodded her head in understanding, but her gaze remained resolute as she approached the traveler with her eyes pleading and lips pouty. “Big sis Lumi, can you help Klee make Dodoco a new friend?”

Haaahh, she didn’t have her supplies or anything prepared today, but…

“Not today, but… we can draw what you want it to look like. How does that sound?”

“Yay! Thank you big sis!” the little bundle of energy scrambled to give her a hug, before running off with an exclamation, “Oh! Klee left her crayons in solitary confinement! Be right back!”

Paimon snickered at her, probably at how quick she relented to the Spark Knight’s whims, but honestly she was just relieved it wasn’t blast fishing.

“Would you rather help clean up a burning Wolvendom?”

When Klee drew three circles, or perhaps an oval ellipse based on the circle’s unevenness, Lumine wasn’t sure what she was supposed to make out of it. The dolls she was familiar with tended to be full-bodied, both arms and legs present. She waited for Klee to attach more beside the figures, but she ended up drawing atop and within them instead.

She started with the middle one, giving it triangles for ears and yellow crayon pigtails, clearly a masterpiece of a self-portrait. Lumine made sure to slip in a few coos of approval to let the girl know she was doing a good job.

The tiny knight then moved on to the left circle, and from the fangs and sharp eyes alone it was obvious who she was trying to draw.

“Razor?” a cheerful hum resounded in the room, continuing to color in his hair. 

It was then Lumine came to the realization that she would be making not one, not two, but three dolls. Granted, the size would probably be small, if she were to scale it to the drawing’s size, and the shape seemed… manageable, to say the least, nothing she or Amber wouldn’t be able to figure out.

The last circle was… an unfamiliar person with light blue eyes. Klee picked up the yellow crayon again, drawing something that resembled a half-up, half-down hairstyle… was that supposed to be a braid?

The traveler racked her brain for any possible names, before settling on one, one that Klee often dropped during their conversations. 

“So that’s what Albedo looks like?” Paimon chimed in, floating a little closer, “the super popular, pretty guy, right?”

Lisa and Kaeya both called him a handsome guy, but she never got the chance to meet him, even during her months of stay in the city. Well, Klee’s drawings were absolutely charming so she wouldn’t mind picturing that every time he got mentioned instead of drawing a blank slate.

Even though Lumine’s been watching over Klee’s shoulder the entire time, the latter stood up to show her work anyway, the proud look on her face inclining the traveler and her companion to clap in appreciation.

Three… if she wanted to be efficient about it, she’d make Paimon take up a needle, too, so the three of them could divide and conquer the tasks, but she already had a tough time trusting Paimon and a dinner knife so that was definitely a no-go. Klee, at least, made bombs as a passion so she definitely trusted one of them over the other.

Fine, she’d leave making that Albedo plush to Klee, maybe bribe Paimon with food to help. At least with Klee and Razor, she was pretty familiar with how they both looked like.

“Just give your big sister time to get materials, okay?”

At this point, she was going to need a supplier… and maybe a sponsor, too.

 


 

Just apply what Amber thought you, Lumine, and you’ll be fine.

If she was asked what her favorite part of plush making was, it would be stitching. Something about holding the needle reminded her of her blade, how different attack patterns, err, stitching patterns were better suited for some projects more than others. Even when you master one move, there were many more to master and even new ones left undiscovered. She found that she quite liked the similarity between the two crafts.

She liked cutting the patterns from colored cloth, too. Making sure they were all the perfect size was good practice in precision. When she struck, nothing overdone and nothing too subtle that she would have to waste energy covering up for her mistake.

… of course, she was hesitant to let Klee hold a knife so she cut up the parts for her beforehand.

“Hihi~ Klee likes the stuffing too! It’s also soft like Dodoco!” the blonde woman watched as the younger knight lightly squeezed the cotton, before settling it back down as the latter attentively watched her again.

“So watch me closely, okay? You can watch me make the Razor plush by myself, then we can make the Klee plush together, then I can watch you make the Albedo one by yourself,” Lumine instructed. She was usually pretty silent when working, but she knew Klee would probably learn better with vocal instructions. She prayed to Barbatos that her Teyvatian was good enough in a teaching standard.

Talking to Aeth while pretending it was Klee better be worth it.

 


 

Klee thought big sis Lumine was the best! Every time she played together with the Honorary Knight, she always had lots of fun! Plus, when she was with her, she never had to go to solitary confinement immediately after!

… Klee still wished she could take the older girl blast fishing, though.

It didn’t matter too much, though, because Lumine made treasures too, just like her! They didn’t explode, but they were as cute as Dodoco and they looked like her friends and Klee liked that a whole lot.

The Spark Knight wanted tiny treasure versions of her friends, too, so she could give it to them. Klee had many friends, they were all the best but~ she wanted big brother Razor and big brother Albedo especially to have treasures of their own. Klee thought big brother Razor was a little lonely living in Wolvendom, and big brother Albedo was always so busy with his experiments. Treasure from Klee made with help from miss traveler would make them feel happier, right?

“The final step is to name the dolls! But since they’re yours, name them whatever you like!”

Lumine said Paimon told her to tell Klee that dolls needed names, cute names! So Klee thought very long and hard about what the best names were for the plushies made after her and her best friends.

Kikico. Big sis said she liked the name a lot, and she was very proud of it! Dodoco and Kikico, the ultimate best friends! Then, Klee had a genius idea! Just add -co to the end of every name! 

Big bro Razor… when she gifted him the plush, he thought it was a bomb at first, which was very silly. Why would Klee give him a bomb that looked like him? 

“Zozoco doesn’t explode! Here, you can smell!”

Razor sniffed it hesitantly, before pausing in recognition.

“... Lumi?” Klee smiled brightly, happy that her friend realized her other friend’s hard work. She reached up her little hands towards Razor, who took it as a sign to bend down and let the younger girl pet his hair.

“Big sis Lumi helped Klee make it! Now you have to believe Klee that it won’t explode at all, right?”

It was some minutes later that Klee said goodbye to Razor, when she noticed the sky was getting dark, but before she could even make it far the wolf boy skittered beside her, a small bundle of those glowing grass in his hand.

“Give… thanks to Lumi.”

 


 

Klee’s happiness skyrocketed tonight, since the secret code sign Albedo used was gone from his door! That meant she could go see him, and she didn’t hesitate to eagerly call his name and knock on the door.

Big brother Albedo was very, very, very, very smart, so Klee was not surprised that he asked about the treasure right away. She was super ready to introduce him to… a different him!

“This is Bebeco! Big sister Lumine taught me how to make it! This is for you!” When she plopped the plush in his waiting palm, the alchemist’s light blue eyes analyzed the item carefully. Pale tan hair, same eye color and eyebrow shape…

“I knew the Honorary Knight was interesting, but…” he let out a small huff of amusement, his free hand petting Klee’s head. 

"Thank you, Klee. Should I paint you something as a thank you gift?" the little girl giggled, already thinking of numerous requests, one flying in and flying out as soon as a new idea came to mind. As for Albedo, well,

he didn’t have the time to meet the mysterious Lumine right now, but even so…

 


 

When Lumine stepped out of her room this morning, she only planned on heading to the kitchen to cook breakfast for her and Paimon. She didn’t expect to be greeted by a bundle of Small Lamp Grass at her feet and… 

“Dear Archons, is that a Gemstone ?” 

Notes:

Yes, Klee basically drew omanjus of her, Razor, and Albedo, but the end result was more plush instead of squish, and not fully round on both sides, more flat.

The doll name for Albedo, "Bebeco", is a Filipino joke. Bebe ko = my baby, because that's what I feel when I see Albedo. I feel guilty that I'm skipping his banner, but I'm saving for Xiao,

Razor and Albedo *still* get their own chapters, btw, so no worries.

Midterms finally over and Christmas break is here, so I finally had the time to write this chapter! ( “・ω・゛)

Chapter 5: in which the lu in lumine means… // 𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐫

Summary:

“It looks just like lupical!”

Notes:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Hope you guys are having an easier time managing the Dragonspine temperature than I! This is accidentally the longest chapter by far, with almost 5k words. Hope you enjoy!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Now that she really thought about it, Lumine never questioned why exactly Klee wanted more than one plush. The little knight was incredibly friendly, considering a good chunk of Mondstadt her friends, so the traveler merely translated her intentions as just wanting more friends, even if the said friends were inanimate objects.

Maybe she should have asked.

The Spark Knight never told Lumine that Razor and Albedo’s dolls, who she later found out were named Zozoco and Bebeco, were meant to be gifted to the people they were literally modeled after. Sure, there were no loose threads or any obvious flaws this time, but she was more than a little embarrassed that not only Razor but some guy she had never met possessed what was the equivalent of a child’s toy.

She wanted to believe Klee never told them who helped her make it, at least it’d be cute, but the gifts that sat by her doorstep clearly contradicted that notion. Seriously, the bundle of small lamp grass, most likely from Razor, was already pretty thoughtful of him. However, a Vayuda turquoise gemstone ? Never mind that elemental gems were of no use in making her stronger, wasn’t Albedo being overly generous? Or was he just the type of guy who had too much materials hoarded?

… not that she was one to talk, of course. She had over 900 pieces of mint stashed in the depths of her bag and barely any recipes to use them for. 

Regardless, her pride was still a bit wounded from having even more people know about her secret but due to recent developments not-so secret hobby. If things continued at this rate, Kaeya would surely start teasing her for it. With the way that man was, he probably already knew.

More for her sake than anyone else's, she would avoid interacting with the two, for how would she even react if asked about the dolls? Avoiding Albedo would be a piece of cake considering how their paths have never crossed, the both of them being busy individuals who probably only knew each other by descriptions. As for Razor, all she had to do was stay away from Wolvendom for a few days. She could go a few days not foraging Wolfhooks, no problem. Besides, she only challenged the Wolf of the North every Sunday, and today was only… 

Sunday. 

Wonderful.

“Time here flies really quick,” Lumine murmured to herself, piling up the meat while making sure to separate her and Paimon’s, a difference in doneness preferences setting them apart. Medium rare for hers, well-done for the latter. 

Steak, potatoes, cheese, repeat … she briefly entertained checking how high she could stack them before a certain fairy’s voice interrupted her.

“Paimon smelled something good!” 

From their room? Was Paimon’s sense of smell really that strong?

“Good morning to you, too, Paimon,” she greeted, plucking a bulb of lamp grass from the bundle as she topped the meaty dish with it. “Breakfast will be special today. It’s finally time to try a new recipe since Razor gave us some lamp grass.” 

When she turned to her white-haired companion, the latter was in the middle of wiping drool, Lumine wasn’t sure if that was from sleeping or just a natural reaction towards the food, off her mouth before replying. 

“Eh? Razor stopped by? Doesn’t he hate it in the city?”

The blonde hummed, setting Paimon’s portion down on the table before getting to work on hers.

“More likely he asked Klee to give it to me, who left it outside our room.” 

As for the gemstone, well, since neither of them had any use for it at the moment, Paimon might try tempting her to sell it for mora so she’d keep it a secret for now. She’d feel wrong about giving away a gift.

“Since today is Sunday… I have to challenge Andrius again… then Dvalin on Wednesday… time feels like it’s going too fast, I want it to go slower but I also want it to be Saturday already again,” Lumine bemoaned, cutting up a hearty portion of steak before shoving it in her mouth. If anybody were to come by the kitchen at this time, they would have been surprised to hear their hero who accepted any request or commission with a polite yet self-assured smile. However, it was just Paimon and Lumine right now, and Paimon was used to hearing the traveler complain about mundane things.

“Time flows so differently here. The days and nights are so short, how can people get things done in a short time frame?”

“Hmm… Paimon thinks that if time is the issue, maybe we can just adjust it?” Right, time control. She sometimes forgot that was a thing, but she wanted the days to go slower and unless her friend wasn’t saying something, that was neither in their realms of expertise.

“Just eat your Pile ‘Em Up already, Paimon, or I’ll be the one to finish them.”

The blonde warrior giggled, watching her companion scramble to finish her meal quickly. She looked down at her half-eaten steak, deciding that conversation could come later. Time waited for no one, and Andrius probably would appreciate neither her being late nor her not being at full strength due to an unfinished breakfast.

For such a simple and mostly ordinary plant, she couldn’t deny how much better it made the dish. She would have to thank Razor eventually, preferably later rather than sooner, though.

 


 

Fighting Lupus Boreas, Dominator of Wolves, always made her a little anxious. Paimon told her she would probably be able to resonate with all the elements soon, but considering she only had Anemo right now and he was immune to that, it meant she only had the strength of her blade to rely on. 

Maybe she should have asked Amber to help her out, but at the same time Andrius always expressed that the challenge was about her, the traveler, testing her skills so it felt a little wrong asking assistance from someone who was already busy with her duties.

In any case, training against a strong opponent, one who at least had no intent to kill her, was a good way to have her fighting skills improved.

“It seems that Barbatos truly favors you, traveler.”

Still a little riled up from still being half-frozen and getting kicked by an overgrown dog spirit, she had half the mind to tell him that no, he would not be able to tell how much Venti favored her if she couldn’t even use his gifts in this battle. Still, she held her tongue and nodded anyway, hoping her silence would be interpreted as something in the middle of respect and recovering from being out of breath.

At the end of his challenges, Lumine noticed Boreas had made a habit of lingering for a little bit, usually to comment on her skill. Today, however, he added something strange.

“You have been around Razor lately, yes?”

The blonde debated on how to answer his question. It was true that since their first fight some time ago, Razor’s presence had become more frequent, but by no means was it constant. 

“Yes,” she finally replied, “why do you ask?”

“That boy… how has he been adapting to human society?”

Lumine knew this was a question she had to tread carefully. Say nothing that would offend the noble spirit, say nothing that would portray the Wolf Boy poorly, and say nothing but the truth, for using even white lies and half-truths would be risky when it came to deceiving the Wolf of the North, who would probably see right through her deceit. 

Yet she could not formulate a concrete answer. Although she had seen him go on adventures with the likes of Bennett and Klee, at points having more party members than her party of one and a half, it could still be said that he was alone, never going back to where most humans resided and continuously longing for the wolves he called lupical. 

The Knights of Favonius continued their efforts in convincing him to go back with them, if she were to go by Amber and Lisa’s words, but no matter the new lessons he learned, they remained unsuccessful.

Sure there were improvements, but…

“I believe… he’s learning what it is to be human, but he still has a ways to go,” Lumine began slowly, mindful of the way she worded her opinions. “His intentions, you could say he’s not fully committed to leaving behind the life he’s known with his family.”

A rush of cold air passed through the arena, and for a second the Outlander worried if she had said something wrong before realizing it was probably just the equivalent of a giant sigh.

“He is not a wolf. He will eventually learn where he truly belongs.”

As Andrius’ spirit faded, the knight found herself troubled. No, the wolf boss definitely wasn’t in the wrong for wanting his adopted son to fully adapt and experience life as a human, and yet couldn’t he have been less harsh with Razor? Or was it simply in his nature of being Wolvendom’s guardian that he had to be cold to the one he raised.

To have your family so close and yet so far;

If she were in Razor’s shoes, and her brother had casted her away, what would she have done?

...

Unable to help herself, she ended up breaking her self-proclaimed promise so soon. At this point, she was embarrassing no one but herself.

When she appeared outside the entrance of the cave Razor usually resided in, he had a look of surprise on his face, even though the words that soon followed suggested that her presence should have been expected.

“Smelled scent of mint, windwheel aster, and… other flower in wind. Now… you here.” 

Lumine quickly realized that now that she was in Razor’s vicinity, her somewhat turbulent feelings had died down; now that she saw him, she suddenly struggled to explain her arrival, knowing she had no real purpose other than being bothered by Boreas’ words… not that she could tell Razor that. Even though it was far from the type of gossip that was frequently heard in the city, most people wouldn’t be able to say they had talked about someone behind their back without coming off a certain way.

Instead, she settled with thanking him for the lamp grass.

“They made our breakfast today taste really good, so thank you.”

The grey-haired man merely grunted, bright red eyes trained on her before darting to peer within one of his pockets, pulling out a familiar item. Honestly, feeling a tinge of awkwardness arise within, even she was surprised how she had practically forgotten about that.

“Lumi is the one who… Lumi made Zozoco?”

Just as quickly as it came, her embarrassment washed over, immediately replaced with the feelings of warmth she began to link as a common symptom of being with her friends in Mondstadt. The present cause, currently, was Razor calling the doll by the moniker Klee so lovingly gave it. 

Even as she kept her face as calm and composed as usual, it was truly a herculean task to not gush at his cuteness, at least internally. Ahh, perhaps her weakness towards adorable things extended to someone like him, too?

“Yes, Klee and I made that together.”

He stared at the small plush, and the blonde nearly let out a giggle at the sight of the plush’ not-as-bright eyes staring back at the person whose image and likeness it was based on.

“What is Zozoco… use?”

“Its purpose? Well, um…” Lumine paused. Her two initial answers, being a toy or decor, didn’t seem satisfying to her at all, and she figured Razor would be confused, too. What would Razor do with that information? 

In terms of purpose, at least for Razor, there was honestly none. Despite this, the least she could do was talk about the whys of its creation.

“Klee wanted to give it to you because you’re her friend,” Lumine explained, “and friends sometimes give gifts. Like the lamp grass you gave me.”

“So you make Zozoco... for friends? Lupical?”

“Yeah, and sometimes you make the plush, like Zozoco, look like your friends and family. That’s why Klee and I made Zozoco look like you.”

The sparkle in Razor’s eyes was unmistakable at this point, the sudden shine making her wonder if the Pyro Archon had blessed him, too, with the way his ruby red rivalled that of an Everflame Seed. 

When it came down to it, Wolvendom’s resident Wolf Boy was quite easy to understand. His driving force of motivation had always been his friends, those he considered his lupical, so of course he would get excited if the topic had anything to do with those two.

“Plush… only human? Like Zozoco?” as she shook her head, the wonder that previously restricted themselves to his eyes seed through the rest of his facial features, too.

“Plush can be animal? Wolf?”

Unlike Klee, it was clear to Lumine that Razor had no intention of pleading or asking for anything out of her, knew that he was only naturally curious of the things he had had little to no knowledge of. Despite this and despite herself, talking with Razor had softened her up to an immeasurable degree. All she knew at this moment was that perhaps she should have toned down all the emergency food and mascot jokes thrown towards the fairy, because surely Paimon would take the opportunity to get her revenge once she inevitably found out.

“Yeah. Razor, do you want me to make a wolf one?”

If the boy had a tail, she was sure it would be wagging right now. Actually, if she zoned out for long enough she was sure she’d begin to hallucinate it. 

Belatedly she realized she had no experience making animal dolls, and wolves didn’t seem like the easiest of creatures to work with, either. Oh well, no room for regret now. She could break promises with herself all she wanted, but she wasn’t about to do that to someone else.

 


 

As predicted, both Paimon and even Amber were snickering at her. While she was glad that the latter had gotten closer to her and vice versa, she was only a little upset that it meant situations where the Outrider joining in making fun of her would become commonplace. At the very least, she hoped it would stay out of the public eye.

“Paimon, Amber…” she whined quietly, for once hoping they’d take pity on her.

“No one even asked you this time!” Paimon guffawed, her tiny body exploding with unrestrained laughter, “you just offered!”

“... I have a weakness to puppies.” Lumine replied, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. It wasn’t as if she was lying, anyhow– she didn’t stop whatever she was doing to pet a dog for no reason, their cuteness was enough of a reason.

Amber only turned to her in confusion, “but he’s literally a human?”

“Human form puppy. Same thing.” At least in her eyes, Razor was to puppy in the same sense that Amber was to bunny, but she wasn’t about to tell her friend that any time soon lest she retaliate, instead bringing her attention back to the paper.

The longer she stared at it, the longer she found herself frustrated. Small and cute version of the wolf boss that would practically bully her in their weekly challenges, how would she even do that? 

The brunette found her facial expression pretty hilarious, Paimon in the same boat as well. How could those golden eyes look so serious and focused on sketching while the rest of her face looked like a child in a temper tantrum, nose scrunched and lips set in a pout?

Draw, erase, draw, erase.

Finally, Lumine resigned herself to a break, yellow, blonde hair thrown back as she fixed her posture to rest against the wall of the Crimson Knight’s room, doing her best not to slide down to the floor due to her mental exhaustion. 

“I can’t draw animals,” Lumine’s mask slipped even more now, genuinely looking upset. “Drawing it realistically is fine, but…”

Art was another thing she had picked up from years of traveling. In places without the technology to capture beautiful landscapes, she began bringing around charcoal or pencils and whatever paper she had on hand and sketched. Though she hasn’t had any practice drawing save for map creation purposes, she thought a wolf would be easy enough. It was easy enough when she drew Aether and Paimon.

Unfortunately, whatever skills she possessed didn’t translate here.

“Maybe you can ask any of the artists around here,” Amber suggested. Before she could even consider it a valid option, she followed up with “Captain Albedo–”

“Pass,” she shivered on the inside just thinking about it. She didn’t have the excuse of doing it for Klee anymore, nor would she want to add fuel to the growing flame of ‘Mondstadt’s Hero is just a huge softie’ propaganda. While she wasn’t too caught up with her growing list of titles, she still wanted to come off as a respectable person at least.

When she noticed Amber looking puzzled again, she just shook her head, “maybe when we get acquainted with each other more in the future…”

“Besides,” she continued, voice lowering to a whisper. Neither Paimon nor Amber said anything to interrupt her, waiting for her to finish whatever she wanted to say. “I’m still not that used to… asking help from people.”

The latter two turned to each other, smiles on both of their faces, before turning back to their blonde friend. The old Lumine, the one from months ago who did every commission with a party of one, wouldn’t even be able to admit that. Even this much as enough for now.

“Paimon thinks you’re doing good so far!” the little fairy cheered, abandoning her plate of cookies as she floated next to Lumine, setting herself down on her lap, feeling familiar hands pet her white hair and knowing it gave the traveler comfort.

Amber, too, scooted beside the two, eyes growing determined as she looked at the sketch the Honorary Knight had abandoned. It… honestly wasn’t that bad? Her lines weren’t shaky and she could definitely tell what she was trying to draw. There was just a lack of a clear direction on how she wanted it to come off. Cute, most likely, as all her plushes have been.

“Well I’ll offer my help anyway!” the brunette said, picking up the pencil. “Between you, me, and Paimon, two and a half brains are better than one!”

Lumine giggled as the bundle of stars and white atop her lap suddenly burst into indignant cries and complaints thrown at Amber; said Crimson Knight laughing as well as she insisted she was joking.

Right, this was fine. Just like battle, there were times where it was better to take your time and go with the flow the deities wanted you to take. For once, she wouldn't need to rush at all.

 


 

She hadn’t expected to be back in Wolvendom so soon. After all, Lumine had promised Razor she would meet him again Sunday, go straight to him right after her fight with his… father? Guardian?  Well, she supposed Mondstadt was full of its weird family dynamics.

It was only Wednesday, but someone had asked her for a dozen short lamp grasses. Yes, she was a hoarder who took advantage of her bag’s magical capabilities and yes, she still had some left over from Razor, but for two reasons she was back in the area: one, she didn’t like knowing her stock would diminish, even by just a few pieces, and two, it felt wrong giving something a friend had given her.

She had a routine whenever she foraged. Defeat all the enemies in the area so she could be left undisturbed as she picked up as many flowers and herbs as she felt was reasonable without damaging the environment. Still, there were the rare times where she overlooked an enemy or five, even worse when they just popped out of nowhere.

“Seriously, more hilichurls?” She groaned, manifesting her sword. “You’ll be dead regardless, but if these lamp grasses get destroyed…” she lets the threat hang, knowing it won’t matter anyway. They wouldn’t be able to understand her. 

Then Lumine heard a familiar sound, like cracks and chunks of ice and hopping and she remembered just where they were– right beside a lake, the Cryo slimes’ favorite hangout spot. This had just gotten more annoying than necessary. Aiming her hand near the lake, she felt the wind gather around her fingertips before releasing a Gust Surge, hoping an elemental reaction would naturally occur before she struck them all in one go with her blade.

Unexpectedly, the sky above her turned purple, electricity crackling around her, until she noticed the tornado had turned that very same color as well. When the wind returned to their rightful place, free to roam the atmosphere again, nothing remained but things left for her to scavenge. Already weakened, that interception made their defeat absolute.

She recognized that power, or specifically who it belonged to, almost instantaneously. 

“Thank you, Razor,” a small smile appeared on her lips as the Wolf Boy came into sight, jumping from a nearby rock to land in front of her, “you didn’t have to, but…”

The red-eyed boy shook his head. “Lumi is friend. I can protect Lumi in forest.”

Though her face betrayed nothing, she found herself gushing at his words. Unable to express her gratitude further through words, she did the only thing she could think of to convey so as her hand reached up to his hair, petting it gently.

Oh, Klee was right. Dodoco and dandelion soft indeed. 

Her hand stilled as she looked at Razor, realizing she never asked for his explicit permission. When he looked back at her, she could tell he was confused, but he made no further movements, keeping his head in place as Lumine slowly eased back into petting him.

When silence befell them, the boy is the one to break it first.

“Lumi in forest again. Why?”

“I needed more lamp grass.” 

Razor scrunched up his nose before separating himself from Lumine, the latter of whom suddenly wondered if she smelled too much for his sensitive nose. Sure, he told her before she smelled like flowers but

“Lumi,” he said, interrupting her train of thought. “Lumi follow Razor. Know place with many lamp grass. Go there.”

He stuck out a hand, a little too low than he really needed to, until she realized he was probably used to doing this with Klee. He looked startled when she let out a small chuckle, but said nothing as she accepted his offer.

 


 

Wake up early. Hunt boar. Cook breakfast. Eat breakfast.

After doing all of that, he ventured to the ring where Andrius fought the traveler weekly. He didn’t know what time the traveler usually fought the wolf that took him in all those years ago, all he knew was that it was always before the sun was highest in the sky.

Lumi. For Razor, it was hard to put Lumi into a specific group. Lumi was not the big and strong man who gave Razor his name and taught him how to use his steel claw, she wasn’t his purple teacher who turned sky black, she wasn’t Klee who burned the forest and rolled around wolfhook bushes with him.

Lumi was strong, too, like wolf. If he ran fast, she also ran fast. If he hunt, she joined and made hunt fun. Talking with Lumi is fun, too. Hard, tiring, but fun.

Best part about Lumi, he decided, was smell. His lupical taught him to rely on his instincts, and part of that was how to tell good person from bad person. From smell alone, he knew she was good person. Sometimes she smelled like knights, sometimes food, but usually it was mint and flowers. Razor always smelled those in the wind when he ran really fast, and he liked that his friend had almost same scent.

Days ago, Lumi laughed for the first time. He decided he liked that too. Her eyes looked like the moon, better than the sad eyes she sometimes had. He didn’t like it when she looked sad, even though he understood, because he got sad too.

Razor didn’t know how to fight off Lumi’s sadness, so he’ll protect her getting hurt instead. She said he was getting stronger, so he had to show her.

When the traveler finally arrived an hour later, she looked surprised, blinking as if to really reaffirm his presence.

“Razor? What are you doing here?” the blonde said as she walked up to him, traces of confusion still evident on her face.

“I fight with Lumi.”

For a second he thought she might say no and he wouldn’t know how to convince her other than asking a second time. Luckily, he didn’t have to. There was a fleeting hesitation, but it quickly passed as she gave a determined grin, flashing her teeth. 

If Lumine was a wolf, he would’ve taken it as a sign of disagreement, bared his own fangs in anger and sent her a growl of his own, but because it was her he found himself mirroring it.

 


 

Unsurprisingly, they had won against Andrius. While strength wasn’t always in numbers, Razor’s vision of electro against cryo made the fight less painful and time-consuming for the both of them. Really, she would have to cook him something with meat and potatoes as a thank you gift.

As she collected her rewards from the blossom that always seemed to sprout after these battles, the wolf spirit addressed her battle companion.

“What are you doing here, Razor?” Boreas asked, voice rumbling within the stadium. 

Without an ounce of hesitation, Razor was quick to reply with the utterance of his nickname for her.

“Oh?” even while sorting her inventory, she could feel both of their stares digging through her back, which was only a little bit intimidating. When he said her name again, he seemed to be calling her this time.

“You promised today, right? After fight?”

At his reminder she froze momentarily, still caught up from the fight that she forgot she had a certain something she promised to give him. A part of her wanted to scream, a part of her, internally, was already screaming in embarrassment. 

Right here? Right now? With the Wolf of the North still watching them? With said being whom the plush is based off of still present? Couldn’t he… wait a little longer? Choose a different time?

Likely oblivious to all of Lumine’s present inner turmoil, she had gotten good at hiding that after all, he took her silence as a sign to be more specific. 

“Lupical doll.”

If her face is flushed, which it was, she blamed it on the combination of anemo and cryo from the challenge making her cold. 

Still, she handed him the plush. It was half blue and half white, unfortunately not as fluffy as Dodoco or Razor’s hair but she did her best to make up for it with the details– the ears that pointed upwards and Paimon declared as ‘fun to play with’, the black button she used for the nose, and the ever carefully cut and layered pieces to represent the spirit lockets.

Razor seemed to like it a lot, if his audacious proclamation was anything to go by.

“It looks just like lupical!”

A rumble of laughter shook the ring, a gust of wind passing by the arena. 

Did… did Boreas just laugh ? Can wolves laugh because that’s what it sounded like .

Lumine silently sent a prayer to Barbatos, asking him to end her humiliation right now, until she realized that no , Venti would definitely not help her with something he’d find entertaining. Archons, if this wolf was truly as much of a noble soul as described, may he not bring this up in the next few weeks, or ever. She wasn’t sure if she could take it.

Too busy half hiding her face and half watching Razor’s reactions, she barely noticed the wolf boss giving them their privacy. As if to comfort her, the grey-haired man crouched down to the floor, letting the traveler’s hands pass through his hair.

Oh well, this was a good consolation prize. Playing with long and fluffy hair had always been a good way to refresh and reset her mind.

“Lumi,” the wolf boy began. She stopped her ministrations as he looked up at her, eyes sparkling in a way not too dissimilar from Amber or Klee, and she briefly wondered why she associated them with each other. Maybe it was the red?

“You,” he said again, “are my friend. Good friend.”

Her eyes crinkled in a delight she couldn’t be bothered to hide, but before she could reply in kind he spoke once more.

“You are my lupical.”

Lupical… family… When was the last time she had someone nearby that she could call that? 

She thought back to Paimon, and Amber, and Klee, and when her eyes finally met Razors, she realized that was the connection she had made between all of them. 

She wondered if her brother would get mad at her, wondered if he would think she was replacing him. The cynical side of her, the one that always threatened to reign when she felt too much , said he would, that she should feel guilty for thinking this way. However, another part reminded her, her brother always strived for whatever choice he thought would make her happiest. If these feelings brought her joy, then…

“Thank you,” she whispered, the wind carrying her burden away, “you are my lupical, too.”

Notes:

notes on certain details in this chapter!
✦ since the game takes its mechanics very seriously (weapon dis/appearing, waypoints being common examples), I decided to take time skipping seriously, too. blame the reddit theories on paimon
✦ just realized that paimon only uses third person in EN, while in JP she doesn't which is the opposite of klee. it might be inconsistent, but I enjoy characters who refer to themselves by name. it's cute, so we stick with that
✦ i can't actually tell if razor has pockets, but if they don't we pretend lumine sews some for him
✦ honestly spent so much time listening and reading his voice lines to fully understand his speech pattern but i have no regrets bc he has tsukishima kei's va in JP
✦ albedo name drops left and right, blame 1.2 update brainrot

Chapter 6: in which she almost gets scammed // 𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐲𝐚

Summary:

If she wasn’t careful of who she was assisting, things could get rather precarious.

Even though he trusted her, more trust than he was willing to put in others, he couldn't trust every person around her. After all, Lumine was known to help anyone and everyone, and someone could easily be taking advantage of the girl.

Notes:

Happy New Year! May you manifest your faves this 2021~ Plus, thank you for over 300 kudos! I appreciate every kudos and all the lovely comments as well, they're super motivating! Hope you all enjoy this latest chapter!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

The Knights of Favonius Cavalry Captain had eyes and ears everywhere. It was a necessary aspect in his work, both Ordo related or otherwise. For him to proceed with his schemes, information was key and lucky for him, his charm and wit usually made it easy to retrieve such. Of course, there were certain details that he himself couldn’t gain with a direct approach, but that was where two external factors came in.

First were informants, who would get whatever dirt he wanted for a sizable sum, station themselves in areas he couldn’t reach without rousing suspicion. Sure there were always the ones from the guild, but he definitely preferred the work from those he was more… closely acquainted with.

Second were the people of Mondstadt themselves, never able to help themselves from gossiping all day should something interesting come up. It wasn’t his favored method, even those with loose lips only had so much valuable material he could make use of, but it had its moments.

Plus, he couldn’t deny what great entertainment fodder they made. 

Darknight Hero this, Acting Grandmaster Jean that. Rumors regarding him were also quite common, and it was always amusing to see how silly they could get, how close or far from the truth they were. However, new topics that actually stuck around for more than a few days were few and far between…

until her.

From the day Kaeya watched the traveler fend off Dvalin from the city, beaming like a light of hope, he knew that things had suddenly become much more interesting, not just in Mondstadt but possibly all the other nations this foreigner would set foot on.

Lumine was a cute and pretty little thing, who was filled to the brim with untapped potential and unusual charm. It was only natural that the pull of the land itself would have everyone gravitating towards her, scrambling to get a taste of being in her presence. He, himself, fell victim to a certain extent.

The blue-haired man often found himself wondering about her origins, her intentions, her actions, but most frequent of all he wondered just how much she’d be able to influence Teyvat as a whole. 

If it’s her, then maybe Khaenri'ah…

Alas, it was too early for him to act on anything.

A part of him knew after some time of observing the foreigner that Lumine was completely innocent, at least when it came to her intentions towards the Wind Nation and her purpose in looking for her brother. It was also clear to him that she was hiding some things from people– when you were as experienced at deceiving people as he was, it was obvious when someone was trying to skirt around certain topics. That was given considering she was Mondstadt’s anomaly; for as long as she wasn’t causing any harm to innocent people, as curious as he was, he wouldn’t pry. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets.

Of course, that didn't stop him from keeping tabs on her.

Not that he didn't have some form of intel on anyone and everyone, the Honorary Knight just so happened to be one of the more interesting cases.

Some things he discovered on his own, like her weird ability to activate and use those ancient devices scattered all around the continent, or what he’d come to know as a Teleport Waypoint. There was also her weird bag, that seemed to contain everything and anything, regardless of item type or size.

Don’t even get him started on the floating elf thing that was Paimon.

Then there were the things he had his men tell him, like new people she found herself involved with or unlocking temples and domains, conquering them on an almost daily basis, usually on her own, while most people had difficulty adventuring them without gaining injuries the traveler usually lacked upon return. The most interesting piece of news, he’d say, was how often she’d return to Stormterror’s Lair and Wolvendom. There were speculations that she was fighting that dragon every week, and such rumor was heightened over the fact that she was seen fighting Lupus Boreas every Sunday. 

Still, not all information was valuable, but he had a tendency to listen just because it let him judge her character better.

In hindsight, the information on his weekly report on Lumine was mundane, or at least it should have been. Still, something about it caught Kaeya’s attention.

“Lumine’s been asking around for Liyue merchants?” the turquoise-haired man murmured to himself, giving the paper a once-over if any additional tips had been added, but when he personally asked they couldn’t get a hold of what the blonde girl wanted to buy from Liyue.

Interesting. So was the little lady trying to buy something in secret ?

Liyue had a lot of specialty products they could offer that Mondstadt couldn’t, at least not for at least double the price and likely less craftsmanship than those merchants could provide, so it’d make sense to seek out sellers from the neighboring nation.

The question was… what could she be planning on buying?

Ingredients and crafting materials were quite likely, knowing Lumine’s surprising competence in both cooking and alchemy, but he also knew that that girl had a tendency to go great lengths and travel far distances to forage and mine if it would save her the mora.

Kaeya crossed that off the list.

Commission work or some kind of outside-guild quest was likely, too. The traveler would accept each one without question, and he wouldn’t be surprised if a particular one would be more dangerous or much more of a hassle than others, one that would require her to seek people outside of Mondstadt.

If she wasn’t careful of who she was assisting, things could get rather precarious. 

Even though he trusted her, more trust than he was willing to put in others, he couldn't trust every person around her. After all, Lumine was known to help anyone and everyone, and someone could easily be taking advantage of the girl. 

Even with all the history books she’d read from the library, the land she’d scoped, her fighting skills, there were certain things that couldn't be learned without years spent in this world, that most people here wouldn't even know was happening behind the scenes until they've experienced it, seen it with their own two eyes.

He threw the papers into a fire, burning all traces of his intentions.

 


 

Lumine had a penchant for hopping from one place to another, and her unusual ability to teleport around normally made it difficult to get a hold of her without prior knowledge of her daily schedule. However, Kaeya must have been lucky today to have found the traveler sitting on one of the benches within the city, eating a meal together with her floating companion.

“Well, look who we have here,” he said, casually striding up to the pair, “it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it?”

The blonde gave him a small smile, another thing he noticed had become more frequent, as he waited patiently for the girl who was quickly chewing the food in her mouth in a haste to greet him. She almost looked like a squirrel , he thought as he laughed at the sight of her full cheeks. 

“Woah, just take your time there, traveler. We don’t want you choking on anything now, do we?”

Beside the traveler, the white-haired being managed to huff at him, even in the midst of a bite.

That was another thing– Paimon had become even more protective, clingy almost, to the traveler. She used to stay hidden most of the time, disappearing and appearing at will like a vision wielder’s weapon, but nowadays the elf spent most of her time floating around Lumine, only leaving her companion’s side when someone or someplace with food distracted her.

“Kaeya,” he brought his attention back to her, who swept the crumbs off the corners of her lips before continuing, “did you need me for something?”

“Hmm? I’m not the type to approach you just because I needed something out of you,” he said, ignoring the fact that he did have a few questions he wanted answers to, but it was rather upsetting that she immediately thought anyone who approached her needed her help for something.

It was also rather depressing that she likely wasn’t at fault for thinking that way.

“Have you considered that perhaps I just wanted to catch up with you?” he asked, sight trailing down to how the girl scooted sideways, patting the empty space she cleared up for him beside her. 

“Really?” she squinted at him warily, though that gaze soon softened up as he took her up on her thoughtful action graciously, sitting down beside the Knights of Favonius Honorary Knight.

Paimon didn’t seem to believe him entirely though, letting out a sound that told him she was still suspicious of him. He had to give it to the tiny creature, somewhere in that brain consumed with thoughts of food and mora, there was some sensibility.

“Though perhaps I was hoping to invite you out to, say, Angel’s Share or Cat’s Tail? A much better place to talk, no?” Plus, the ambience combined with a drink or two on him always made it easier for lips to loosen up.

“Are you asking my traveler on a date? Paimon won’t allow it, you… bad man!” 

Lumine laughed quietly, waving her hands in embarrassment, though whether it was at Paimon’s accusation or at the suggestion of a date, Kaeya wasn’t too sure.

“Paimon, I’m pretty sure Kaeya meant it in a friendly way,” she assured her friend, nodding to herself like she was so sure of it. She wasn’t wrong there, that hadn’t been his intention at the time, but if only to get more enjoyment out of the pair’s reactions, he neither confirmed nor denied anything.

“So? What do you say?”

Before the blonde could get a response out, someone had come up to her and stole away her attention, saying something along the lines about needing assistance for recovering a forgotten item in a ruin. Really, for adventurers from the guild, weren’t they a little too incompetent for needing the famed traveler for something as simple as a retrieval quest?

“Sorry, Kaeya, but I have something to do right now,” and she really did look sorry, and he had half the mind to tell off the adventurer who interrupted them, disturbed her free time… she better be getting compensated well for aid.

When he, or rather most people, thought of the traveler, phrases such as the epitome of strength and beautiful but mysterious foreigner and kind and generous traveler generally came to mind. However, as he watched the view of her back get farther and farther from sight, he thought that she, too, could be quite pitiful.

Would there ever be a day she’d refuse?

 


 

Kaeya had asked Lumine, once, if she could drink wine. In all honesty, the topic of anything that had to do with age limits stressed her out. Every world had different set-ups to the point that she and her brother had a hard time keeping up with it. In one world they had visited, the minimum drinking age was considered to be 500 years old, which could only be proven by the presence of an intricate ink design that appeared around your neck when you became that age.

Obviously, as travelers they could not possess such a tattoo, so they had forgone alcohol there altogether.

There was also the whole time and age ratio calculation involved. It was as irritating as it was fascinating, to hop into one world and spend one, extra long day there only to find out one year had passed in another world they planned on revisiting.

She was confident enough with her financial mathematics, but everything else was… something akin to a headache-inducing nightmare.

“I suppose I look like I can’t. It’s not worth the trouble.”

He looked intrigued at her answer, like he knew she was avoiding answering properly, but being truthful would just overcomplicate everything . She wouldn’t be surprised if her reply would leave more questions than answers– they always seemed to when she vaguely talked about her past. Still, she was grateful he didn’t pry, remaining courteous as he continued the conversation.

“That doesn’t stop Venti.”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t.”

Even still, she would always order apple cider or grape juice or whatever non-alcoholic beverage bartenders were willing to sell her. Anyway, it felt wrong to drink alcohol by herself, not when she always used to clink glasses with-

“Miss Lumine,” the red-haired man called, causing her head to snap up in attention as her gaze locked with his. While he didn’t look irritated, there was a slight frown on his lips, almost like he was concerned with her lack of awareness. He must have called her name at least twice.

“Two Berry & Mint Bursts?” 

So she had asked for two again, instinctively. 

Ordering in pairs was another habit of hers, one that was quite troublesome for her wallet. Plus, the lack of Paimon tonight immediately narrowed down her choices on what to do with the second drink.

“Thank you, Master Diluc,” she replied, a little embarrassed with herself as she quickly found an empty table and tried to make herself seem busy. The owner of Dawn Winery was by no means a gossip, nor was he nosy with her affairs but it would be best if she didn’t bring any more attention to herself, not when she agreed to meet…

Coincidentally, just as the nobleman left the bar, a certain Cavalry Captain had entered the premises, immediately searching for and heading towards her.

“Oh? Well aren’t you considerate, getting me a drink as well,” he commented, taking the chair across her. Her mouth poised to disagree, say ordering two was a mistake, or even insist she planned on drinking both tonight, but couldn’t find the will to correct him.

“Sorry, I couldn’t exactly order wine…” she still found herself apologizing anyway, knowing his drink preferences and dislike towards a certain drink. As unintentional as it was, it’d be quite disconcerting if she suddenly found out his least favorite food extended to non-alcoholic juices of all kinds.

Kaeya laughed, shaking his head as though he was hearing something unbelievable. 

“Don’t worry, fair traveler. I wouldn’t dare reject a drink from a cute lady who ordered the same one for herself. Of course, as long as it’s not grape juice.”

It… it was all a misunderstanding, really, but Lumine sighed out in relief anyway. She didn’t want to accidentally offend a friend, after all.

As she sipped on the aromatic drink, she mindlessly responded to the captain’s idle chat, letting him do most of the talking as she occasionally supplied her opinions or answered any questions thrown her way. With such conversation topics, it was easy for her to believe that he really only wanted to catch up, at most maybe he was using her as a cover-up to listen in on other people.

“With the threat of Stormterror gone, it seems like more merchants from Liyue are making their way to Mondstadt,” he said nonchalantly, face remaining unchanged even as the blonde visibly perked up.

“Oh? I wonder how their products differ…” having taken the bait, it made it easier for Kaeya to ease the traveler into that topic.

“You know how it is. Their local goods will be offered cheaper, while their specialty crafts will be a little expensive for their quality,” he shrugged, sliding away his empty glass as he leaned onto the table, amused at the sudden shift in her expression, like a confused little pet.

“What kind of products are you interested in, traveler?”

Even Kaeya found himself surprised at the sight before him, the upheld and honorable Lumine sputtering against her drink, cheeks coloring to match the rosy tint of those valberries Noelle and Lisa liked so much. If he hadn’t known she didn’t drink, he would have suspected she had actually drank alcohol beforehand and it had finally gotten to her just now.

Really, for such a reaction from her no less, what was she hi-

Kaeya, what are you doing to Miss Lumine,” when the blonde lady and blue-haired man turned to meet the sound of an annoyed voice, they were met with Diluc less than a foot apart from their table, eyes set in a glare directed towards the Cavalry Captain.

“What’s it to you, Diluc? Celestia above, never thought I’d see the day where you became one of the traveler’s overprotective fans as well!”

Overprotective… fans? It sounded so ludicrous that she had to hold back a shudder. The thought of her having a fanbase like Acting Grandmaster Jean or the Uncrowned King of Mondstadt was both scary and laughable.

The Pyro Vision user ignored Kaeya, turning towards her now.

“Miss Lumine, it would do you well to not fall for Kaeya’s charming words. You can only trust half of what he says… at best.”

That statement seemed to only mortify Lumine more, who shook her head hurriedly, adamantly letting him know to the best of her abilities that he was getting the wrong idea, if she understood his implications correctly.

As the two men bickered, she silently apologized to Kaeya before slipping away into the night. She knew it was impolite to leave without letting your companion know first but, desperate times call for desperate measures. She also apologized to Diluc, knowing she’d use the sudden banter as an excuse if the Cryo Vision user asked her why she left so early.

Technically half the truth.

Mondstadt and its weird family dynamics… then again, she had an actual, floating child-fairy being and a missing twin so she wasn’t one to talk.

...

When Lumine finally left the tavern, Kaeya and Diluc immediately stopped squabbling with each other, but the hostile tone in the latter man’s voice never left as he addressed the knight.

“Why are you trying to dig up information on her?” Kaeya raised an eyebrow, wishing he could have some alcohol right now.

“None of your business, but before you accuse me of anything unsavory,” he added, observing how the scarlet-haired man’s eyes narrowed further, “I’m just doing my part in looking out for her.”

The Ragnvindr son could only scoff, still displeased by his explanation, or lack thereof. “You’re talking as if you don’t trust that she could handle herself.”

Kaeya threw him a bitter smile. “Well clearly, you don’t trust she can handle herself around me, either.”

Neither of them continue talking, but that was fine. 

He’s only slightly upset that he couldn’t question the little lady further, all because a certain Dawn Winery owner had interrupted them, but at the very least he was granted the rare sight of a flushed traveler. Briefly, he wondered how irritated her fan council would get if he told them he got to see their Lumine that way.

 


 

The third time, he didn't even bother asking Lumine or Paimon or anyone around her for information. He’s not above following people, after all.

All he knew was that today was the day the traveler would meet up with a Liyue merchant, or so his eavesdropping on her and Amber’s conversation told him. Perhaps it was because they were in public, but even to the Outrider she remained quiet about what exactly she planned on buying.

What Kaeya didn’t expect, however, was the vendor bringing out bundles of cloth, threads, and fabrics, all in different colors and textures. What… what on Teyvat would Lumine want with that ?

He should have been disappointed with the anti-climatic turn-out, but he instinctively lingered, not liking the conniving look of the man. Keeping watch turned out to be the right thing to do, shocked at the amount of mora that weasel intended to extort her of, no doubt because she looked like a foreigner clueless about local market prices. As his anger began bubbling up, he stepped away from the box of crates he was hiding behind, revealing himself to the two before the blonde properly completed the transaction.

“Kaeya? What are you doing here?” the Cavalry Captain smiled at the traveler, sidling up beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulder, keeping his gaze on her as friendly and unsuspecting as possible.

“It’s your first time buying Liyue products, right? This Favonius Knight Captain of yours wouldn’t want Mondstadt’s precious and beloved hero to get swindled.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the merchant flinch. Good , he was hoping both of their titles would be enough to scare him into submission.

“Wh- oh, you never mentioned you were that famed heroine!” the seller suddenly spoke up, nervous laughter accompanying him, probably in fear of what she could do if she found out she was talking to a sham. Then he looked at Kaeya, whose animosity was evident as day to everyone except the said heroine.

Oh dear, he was probably wondering if the Knights had the ability to ban him from selling on Mondstadt soil again. Well, something like that wasn't part of his specific field, but he was sure he could pull some strings should the worse come to happen.

“Since- since you made this nation safer for us merchants to travel to, I’ll offer you a special discount!” 

“Thank you, sir!” Innocently, the traveler’s lips lifted up to a grateful but inquisitive smile. “Oh, but are you sure? You won’t be suffering from a loss, will you?”

Dear traveler, you were the one who was about to suffer a loss.

Before the merchant could get another word in, he quickly inserted himself in the conversation again. “It would do you well to just accept. After all, you’ll need all the mora you can when you eventually travel to Liyue for the Rite of Descension, right?”

“Hnghh… the original price was a week’s worth of commission work…”

Wait, that amount was a week’s worth? As if he wasn't already troubled, thinking she'd be losing out on probably three or four day's worth. Just how little were those clients paying her? Was that including or excluding necessity expenses?

This time he audibly groaned, rousing Lumine’s concern.

From now on, he was going to add Honorary Knight’s Financial Advisor to his job description, and he was going to give her a long, very needed lecture on market prices. Better yet, maybe he should just take the chance to piss off the other Knights and Diluc while he was at it, follow Lumine around until he was sure she wouldn’t get overcharged for anything again; maybe even teach her to use her reputation and title more to her advantage.

As the vendor scurried off, he sighed at the traveler. 

“Let’s sit down somewhere, traveler. You and I need to talk about your finances.”

 


 

It was several days and one lengthy admonishment later when Kaeya and the traveler crossed paths again, and it was only then he realized he never quite found out why Lumine wanted to buy all that fabric. Was she planning on making new clothes for herself or something? She was always wearing that same, seeming indestructible white dress, after all.

“Lumine, fancy seeing you again,” before the floating food could explode on him, he quickly greeted her too, “Paimon too, of course. Say, were you perhaps looking for me?” he teased, his grin getting larger in delight as she nodded in earnest. How unusually honest of her.

“So… to what do I owe this pleasure, fair lady? You wouldn’t happen to need my help with another swindler, do you?”

Again, just like that night in Angel’s Share, she was beginning to blush in embarrassment, palpable in the rose red slowly blooming atop her cheeks. Really, she should be more careful of her, albeit innocent, reactions, he wasn’t above mocking all her fans and letting them speculate the worst, after all. 

“Will you ever let me live that down?” the blonde whined in complaint, “I have good money sense! It’s just that new nation, and I heard stuff there could get quite pricey, so I thought…”

She cleared her throat, dropping the whole excuse bit altogether as she blocked out the sound of him laughing at her. Wait, was Paimon laughing too? She promised she wouldn’t anymore!

“Anyway! Um, I came here because I wanted to say thank you for helping me out… I guess I got too comfortable and didn’t realize people would try to scam me… um,” she hesitated, eyes darting around like she was waiting for an interruption.

Unfortunately for her, no such thing came. Still, Kaeya waited for her patiently, filled to the brim with curiosity. 

“Come on, Lumi! Just give him the thing already so we can eat lunch together!” like an impatient child, Paimon stomped on air as the two watched Lumine open her bag and retrieve something from the infinite space.

“Oh? A gift from the esteemed traveler? I’m hon...ored.”

When the Honorary Knight caught wind of Kaeya’s very visible astonishment, she belatedly realized that maybe she shouldn’t have gone through with it at all, should’ve just treated him to something from one of the city’s taverns instead.

Unlike everyone else so far, Kaeya was a grown man who probably didn’t appreciate the novelty of this kind of gift.

Her embarrassment further worsened as she heard Kaeya not even bothering to hold back his laughter, blush now creeping towards her neck and exposed shoulders.

“So this is what you do with fabric?” he said, grabbing the little plush of him before Lumine could try and snatch it back. Oh, the doll was quite adorable, possessing blue-lilac eyes and even the same diamond star pupils he had; he was quite tempted to lift the little eyepatch and check if the traveler had done anything special beneath it. 

However, what was truly adorable was the fact that Lumine had made one of him, and gifted it to him.

… but now that he thought about it, wasn’t Klee trying to show him her new treasures that one time? Her wording made him think it was another bomb, but when he really put two and two together, everything suddenly clicked.

Well, he gazed at the little gift, rather than the doll itself, he quite liked the fact that even with all the warning signs, mostly from Diluc, that she shouldn’t trust him, she still gave him a token of her friendship.

Motives aside, he’d do his best to make sure harm didn’t come her way… or at the very least, swindlers.

“Lumi!” the fairy gasped, “we forgot to name the plush! Quick let’s think of something! Cyclops! Eyepatch! Discount Kaeya! Pirate! Yakae… yucky!”

“Can’t you just name it Kaeya?” the said man questioned, feeling the doll’s fabric against his thumb. Well, he’d be damned, that Liyue merchant was actually selling fine quality goods. Shame his tactics probably steered away Lumine from ever doing business with him.

The blonde hummed, looking a little serious, and he wondered if she was going to scold Paimon for her silly nicknames-

“Patchi.”

He blinked, “what?”

“I-I mean, Patches wouldn’t make sense when there’s only one eyepatch...but… but then just Patch sounded lame, so, you know, I added-” she stuttered out, raising her voice in bashfulness the last second, “ just name it whatever you want, or don’t at all!

Inwardly, he sighed and resolved himself. Okay, he fully understood now. Now this, this was high caliber cuteness. The embarrassment mixed with her purity mixed with her thoughtfulness. Mocking the fan club be damned, he was going to infiltrate and join them and no amount of Amber’s Baron Bunnies would shoo him away.

“Then Patchi it is, little lady.”

On another note, he was so eager to waltz in Angel’s Share with his new present. Now, what day would Diluc be tending the bar, again?

Notes:

✦ Kaeya's so tricky to write for! There's his story depth + theories on his true identity, plus his speech pattern where he talks like he's very close to you while keeping up his courteousness like??? Where is the balance...

✦ Quick side-note regarding how I portray Lumine's age in this and future fics: unless otherwise specified, she will be "older than she looks" or at least 18. Mostly because the twin's ages are so confusing, I swear they don't age like normal people, or so goes my headcannon. Still, it shouldn't matter in this fic since no romance will happen.

✦ Diluc kept getting mentioned because he's the next chapter, and his part has some connection to this chapter...

Chapter 7: in which she dreams // 𝐝𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐜

Summary:

“And… what reminded you of him?”

“Who knows,” she said, a teasing lilt carried in her voice, “the hair, maybe? He had long hair, too, one that I used to braid a lot.”

Notes:

My longest chapter so far at 6.1k+ words, oops. I think I got carried away, ehe. Thank you for over 400 kudos and all the comments! Super appreciate it!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Conversing with the people of Mondstadt had become a lot easier for Lumine lately. Paimon said it took her long enough, that being the one to do all the talking and translating was tiring her out. She had laughed in reply, as if Paimon didn’t enjoy dominating conversations and rattling on and on about any topic that interested her. Especially if it was food or mora related. 

Though Paimon still did most of the speaking anyway, the blonde couldn’t help but feel a sense of something akin to pride and satisfaction. Even in all the worlds they had visited, all the creatures they had met, no matter how kind and lovely some of them could get, trust was always an issue for her. 

Attachment, her brother warned, was a dangerous thing. With who the siblings were, their abilities and the fleetingness of the time they had to share, attachment would only lead to one thing— hurt. Most of the time she listened, keeping a neutral yet pleasant visage on the outside but making sure to keep a noticeable distance. There were times, too,  long before she grew to become more quiet and detached, where she couldn’t help but go against the advice that was given to her and she tried to entangle herself within their adventures, within their stories.

Aether couldn’t get mad at her for too long, not ever, but that didn’t stop his gentle yet firm admonitions, his hold on her comforting yet protective as they left another world to crash and burn. She tried to look back, but his hand slipped to her head, keeping her gaze trained forward.

‘Your heart is softer than mine. You could pretend you don't care about them but I know you do, and I’ve always loved that in you, little sister, how you could maintain it despite everything… but it is a double-edged sword… if you’re not careful, it is that which will lead you to your ruin.’

When she jolted awake with sweat all over her body, the cool night breeze making her shiver in her nightgown, she knew going back to sleep immediately would be difficult. 

Lumine walked towards the window, closing it shut but not stepping away, instead choosing to look back at the plush she liked to hug to bed.

He had been right all along.

 


 

She was getting better at conversations, or so she liked to think, but so far all the people she counted as a close enough friend were easy to talk with, or at the very least were amicable people. The Uncrowned King of Mondstadt, however, didn’t exactly fall into either category. She never knew what to say, if and when to say anything at all, but a part of her wanted to try.

If asked, she would say it was because he was the type of person she had always admired from the past— anti-heroes who were not all what they seemed on the surface, that sense of justice and valor that few would be privy to.

It was not exactly a lie, but she thought of Diluc and Kaeya, and Diluc and the rest of the Knights of Favonius, and the severed bonds that she couldn’t quite grasp completely but to a degree she understood .

It was not curiosity that compelled her entirely, but perhaps a wish to see that distance lessen. He shouldn’t have to be so aloof, not when he was one of them, one that tread the same soil and slept under the same sky.

If she, an outsider who did not belong, could, then-

“Should you really be meeting up with Kaeya so much, Miss Lumine?” the unexpected question snapped her out of her trance, the surprise soon dissolving into confusion as her current bartender, Diluc, continued. “I thought I had already warned you.”

“Um, I’m planning on dining by myself today?” She managed to keep her voice steady despite the slight plight she found herself in once again.

The redhead raised an eyebrow, sliding two glasses of Wolfhook Juice on the counter.

“Oh.”

How many times was she going to do this, and in front of Master Diluc of all people? If he had asked, she wouldn’t be able to lie to him, not when his crimson red eyes looked like they were going to gaze into her soul and detect any deception she dared not attempt.

If it was anyone else, they would’ve thought she had gotten stood up, or perhaps she was ordering a drink to go for her little fairy friend, but he was not just anyone else.

Still, she was grateful that the nobleman had enough tact to not pry, even though he probably knew something was off.

“I’ll put the second one in a bottle. You can take it out with you later.”

“Thank you,” she replied, “Paimon would appreciate it.”

There was something off about Lumine. Of course, there was always something or things off about her, typically not in a bad sense, but whenever she arrived at Angel’s Share alone, no flying pixie or rambunctious friend in tow, there was an unusualness to her that he couldn’t help but notice.

Diluc supposed that it wasn’t his place to pry, not when her eyes glazed over, not when she looked as melancholic as many alcoholics in his tavern tend to be despite having been served non-alcoholic drinks only.

Briefly he wondered if it had something to do with Kaeya, the bastard, who had been seen around the traveler more recently, or so he heard a complaint from some admiring, fledgling adventurer. Lumine clearly said that wasn’t the case, but…

He gazed at the bottle in his hands, frowning.

Clearly a mistake. Maybe he’d clear it off her tab discreetly.

“Miss Lumine,” he called out, about to hand her the spare until he noticed another thing that was off with her. The blonde looked up from her glass curiously, reaching out a hand out to retrieve the iced drink from his grasp, the dreamy violet clashing the white bandages wrapped around several of her fingers.

“You should consider getting proper gloves,” he said, subconsciously adjusting his own pair as his customer gave him a wide-eyed stare, “your hand is your weapon. How do you expect to brandish your sword if you hurt them frequently?”

For a moment she seemed stunned at the suggestion, until it became his turn as he watched pinpricks of pink appear on her cheeks, the blink-and-you-miss-it variety that made him question if he had accidentally put alcohol in her order.

“Gloves would make it harder to...” she stopped herself, shaking her head, “never mind. Maybe I’ll consider it.”

Having finished her drink, she stored the spare bottle of Wolfhook Juice in her bag before turning to leave Angel’s Share.

He squinted at the leaving figure— and Klee said he was a weird adult.

Grabbing a rag, he began cleaning up the part of the counter where Lumine sat herself a while ago, setting aside her empty glass for later. 

It would be easy to give her something privately, perhaps under the guise of having helped him and his staff numerous times. Gloves as thick as his probably wouldn’t match her well, not when her preferred method of manifesting Anemo was through her hands. Perhaps white fabric detailed with gold, thinner but enhanced with elemental resistance.

Then the tavern door creaked open, causing Diluc to open up his pocket watch and sigh. Of course, it was just late enough for a certain irritant to enter the premises.

Instinctively he scowled when the blue-haired man strolled inside with a carefree whistle, but a part of him began to feel bewildered, specifically at what the Cavalry Captain had on hand.

As though noticing his interest, the latter grinned, sitting himself down on where Lumine always preferred to order when she was alone, plopping down what was, upon closer inspection, a doll made in Kaeya’s likeness.

“A lovely gift from a lovely maiden, do you not agree?” Honestly he could care less about whatever poor girl fell for his charms, he’s just baffled that this man had the audacity to stride up to him and show off a toy of all things. 

“Aren’t you too old for these things?” the redhead said with a scoff, not paying too much mind to either Kaeya or mini-Kaeya as he continued to busy himself whatever way he could. Unbeknownst to him a glint appeared in the Knight’s eye, smirk growing bigger.

“I’d say most of her recipients are, but who could deny a carefully crafted and thoughtfully given gift from Lumine ?”

Immediately Diluc’s attention was caught, head rising for crimson to meet lilac blue. He ignored the sniggering that came soon after, only sparing a few seconds to determine he wasn’t deceiving him, before drawing his sights to the doll instead.

The Dawn Winery owner couldn’t say much about it, even now that he was actually looking at it properly… or as properly as he could while dissociating it with a certain man. It was small, and detailed enough to know who it was, and the fabric and color choices were nice. It… looked like she put a lot of effort into it, basically.

Oh, that explained the bandages. 

“Poor Patchi, to be hated because he resembles me,” Kaeya gave a dramatic sigh, “you better not glare that hard if Lumine gives you one, Diluc, you’d break her heart.”

He pushed aside his thoughts on the odd nickname, more focused on the Captain’s taunting. To be given what he presumed was a token of friendship or trust of sorts, from the Outlander to Kaeya of all people, that troubled him. 

“I don’t know what you’re planning, trying to get so close to Miss Lumine, but-”

Kaeya was never one to dawn anything other than a smile, misleading as it could be, but at that moment his face had betrayed him, gaze darkening like dusk as the corners of his mouth dropped to form a straight line. 

It was gone as soon as it came, but the sudden change in visage was not what caught him off-guard.

“To think you suspect me of having ill intentions towards Lumine, betray the steady trust that took months to cultivate… to that girl who thinks of nothing but her brother,” his voice was as frigid as his vision, flat and too lacking of all the ostentatiousness he had perfected as his self-portrayal.

“It makes me wonder, how little you think…”

A reply had already been written in his head, only waiting to be said as he parted his lips to respond.

“...of Lumine,” his hands stopped moving abruptly, the metal clanging of utensils drawing the attention of a nearby customer or two, but he paid them no mind as the Knight continued to speak. “Do you truly find it so hard to believe that she considers me a close ally? Do you not trust her ability to make decisions?”

Having gone five seconds without a response, Kaeya must have interpreted his silence as some sort of victory on his end, demeanor once again shifting into what the people of Mondstadt was usually accustomed to, laid-back as he began toying with the doll

“Or perhaps you’re just upset Lumine gave me something first, hmm?”

Before he could scoff and refute such a claim, the turquoise-haired man stood up from where he sat and walked away, plush in tow and no amount of wine in his system as he took off. He hadn’t planned on serving him any regardless.

The last sentence replayed in his head, before the redhead quickly shook it off. 

Did Kaeya always call the traveler by her name?

 


 

Things like the weather never mattered to her before. Whether the sky, cocooned in black, crackled with thunder and lightning or the flogging squalls of winter blew loudly— it was all irrelevant. As travelers, they waited for nothing and no one, their destination taking priority over everything else.

Lumine supposed this was one of the more inconvenient things about her stay in Teyvat, actually feeling the effects of the droplets of liquid that rained on her bare skin and seeped into her clothes, the cool making her shiver with discomfort. Paimon had long disappeared into her pocket dimension, not without one last look of concern. She had reassured her companion that she wouldn’t take any longer with her last commission, that she’d get them under a roof with some boiling soup soon enough.

That was two hours ago.

While the realistic thing to do would be to return to the city, collect her payment, then dry herself while having a warm dinner with Paimon, she quickly got distracted upon spotting some flowers and fruits that had already replenished from her last picking. Which led to her spotting more things to forage in another, nearby location, and so on.

She was already drenched already anyway, just a little more time under the rain wouldn’t hurt.

Or so she said, until she got jumped by a group of Cryo Slimes, which were honestly the second worst, right after the Dendro Slimes that liked to follow her around specifically when Amber or Klee weren’t there to make things easier for her.

Actually, either of them or even Razor’s presence would make this experience better, but right now she was alone and currently sopping wet and if she wasn’t careful, one misstep would lead to an endless cycle of being frozen and unfrozen. 

Maybe she should have taken Paimon’s advice after all. 

Using Anemo clearly wasn’t the best option either, not when the slightest pick up in the breeze brought upon more chills to her already freezing body, but this was fine. There was only one more slime to get to, as soon as she killed this large Cryo Slime and collected their droppings she would-

She must have been out of it to not notice the slime retreat to its mist cloud earlier, as its armor had regenerated again.

Cursing in her native tongue, she steadied her stance, quickly looking for the nearest place she could execute a plunge attack from, until a searing slash of red and orange interrupted her planning. Within a blink of an eye and one last swing of the black and red longsword, all that remained were the condensate and secretions she would inevitably collect once she was done thanking her surprise teammate. 

“Master Diluc, thank you for helping me,” Lumine said with a small bow of her head, the shift making her realize that her hair was dripping with water too. Now that she thought about it, what was he doing out in the rain?

Before she could question him, a weight dropper atop her bare shoulders, one look at the redhead making her realize it was most likely his usual black coat, judging by the absence of it on his form.

There was something at the tip of her tongue, she was unsure if it was an apology or more words of gratitude, but as he wordlessly asked her to follow him, she shut her mouth instead.

With the presence of Diluc’s coat lightly wrapped around her, fur-trims warming her legs to the best of its abilities, she realized just how cold she actually was. The cold wasn’t something she was immune to, neither of them were, but usually his presence and a nice set of clothes were enough to warm her.

As the manor came closer and closer into view, she hastened her speed to catch up to the Dawn Winery’s owner. Before they entered the building, he spared her a troubled glance, one that confused her, but one that also waned as the doors burst open and he instructed Adelinde to tend to her.

“Thank you, but I can dry off elsewhere, it’s not that bad,” the blonde tried to insist, but with a cough and a lowered gaze her eyes followed his line of sight, to the floors that were now muddied with the rainwater she brought. Rosy-cheeked, she internally apologized to Hillie and Moco, who she knew would be instructed to clean up after her, before letting the head housemaid lead her away to a guest room.

 


 

Apparently she was wearing either Diluc or Kaeya’s shirt from their teenage years, Adelinde said she wasn’t sure whose it was but Lumine had a feeling she was being played with here. Still, after getting over her initial embarrassment, she let the woman take care of her, drying her hair with a fluffy towel.

The blonde complimented the Head Housemaid, who laughed quietly and said she was used to taking care of children. She pouted then, wanting to grumble out that she wasn’t a kid, but stayed quiet instead. Something like this, it’s probably been a while for the both of them.

As of now, she and Paimon were relaxing in the guest bedroom, waiting for the dinner Adelinde was adamant they stay for.

‘Master Diluc insisted, so you should stay.’

With her little companion already excited at the prospect of a free meal and the rainstorm still ongoing, she supposed she had no real reason to refuse. 

Would the manor’s owner dine with her? She never knew what to say to him, what would they even discuss over the meal? Would he prefer she stay quiet? Would he question why she was out in the rain because she did not have a good excuse, and Paimon would probably go all ‘I told you so!’ to top it all off. Would he say she was acting dumb and scold her for it? He seemed the type.

Speaking of the fairy, she spotted white hair peek out from beneath the coat that was lent to her, the small muttering of how it smelled like a rich person making her laugh. Right, she should return that as well later. The man didn’t need more rumors about him.

With a knock on the door, Moco peered into the room and called the two of them for dinner. After thanking the brunette she quickly went after Paimon, who flew past them in her hunger. Right, maybe she should’ve been more worried about the fairy annoying Diluc over her other concerns.

 


 

When Lumine strolled in the dining area with a midnight blue shirt tucked within a white skirt borrowed from one of the maids, Diluc resisted the urge to scowl. Had Adelinde really kept their childhood clothing stored somewhere, and Kaeya’s no less? Had most of them not been given away? Still, it had benefited the traveler right now, so he would just let it slide.

Aside from the fairy’s occasional comments here and there, dinner was mostly silent. He didn’t mind, taking the time to observe the blonde who seemed to enjoy the combination of soft ribs paired with diced potatoes and quality sliced cheese. A part of him swelled with pride that she liked the dish he specialized in, but no one would know as his face remained impassive.

Though the answer was obvious, he asked anyway.

“Were you satisfied with your meal, Miss Lumine?”

“Definitely. Even Paimon’s absolutely stuffed, which is quite rare for her,” a small smile rose to her face, “I pay my compliments to the chef.”

He was the chef, though.

“I’ll pass on the message later,” he replied, not needing the credit anyway. He ignored how Adelinde cleared her throat from the corner of the room— she helped Lumine out earlier anyway, so she was excused for that as well. 

“Now, Miss Lumine,” he began, shifting the conversation to what he really wanted to talk about, “just why were you out in a thunderstorm fighting cryo slimes?” 

The girl across him flinched, usual neutral and pleasant expression crumbling as she visibly searched for an excuse, most of which Diluc already had a rebuttal too. Commission work? She always finished them in the morning, mid-afternoon at the latest. Just got caught in the rain in the midst of battle? It had been raining for hours before he spotted her near the winery. Somehow immune to the cold? Clearly not, she was drenched and shivering like a wet puppy.

“The truth, Miss Lumine,” Diluc said, a little more impatiently. 

The traveler gave her hesitant reply.

“I, uh, saw some flowers and wanted to get them.”

The redhead looked in absolute disbelief, until he realized that, no, Lumine would definitely be the type of person to stay in the rain to forage all day. The girl was like a bird attracted to shiny and pretty things, and admittedly even the less appealing things like damaged masks and branches.

“Those flowers could wait for you tomorrow,” he reminded her, “but if you stayed out there any longer you would have gotten sick, and that would just hinder you on your journey, right?”

To his amazement, the blonde was unabashedly giving him an owlish stare, one that softened into something fond as she quietly laughed. Before he could question her, Lumine went ahead and explained herself.

“Sorry, Master Diluc. It’s just that it’s been a while since someone has…” she muttered incoherently, before smiling at him gently, “well, you reminded me of my brother just now is all.”

Brother. That word rang in his ears.

It was clear to see she wasn’t from here, but there were times where he forgot she was something beyond and at the same time a lot simpler than Mondstadt’s Hero, or the Honorary Knight of Favonius. She was a sister looking for her brother, a voice that irritatingly sounded like Kaeya's reminded him.

“And… what reminded you of him?”

“Who knows,” she said, a teasing lilt carried in her voice, “the hair, maybe? He had long hair, too, one that I used to braid a lot.”

He didn’t reply anymore, not when her eyes held the same melancholy they did whenever she ordered by herself in Angel’s Share. Coming to a revelation, he might have understood her a little better. Still unusual, but an unusual he could make sense of.

Both of them stared at the window, the storm clearly not letting up anytime soon. 

“Thank you so much for the food, Master Diluc… and for letting me dry off in your home,” the blonde said, standing up from her seat as she quietly ushered Paimon to return to her pocket dimension and continue her slumber there.

“This is nothing,” he shook his head, “the guest room should have no problems. You can sleep there tonight.” 

Lumine froze in place, before waving her hands around in protest. Oh, the bandages were gone, then?

“Thank you for your hospitality, but it’s alright, I still need to collect my pay...ment,” she looked a little nervous as the scarlet-haired man stood up, crossing his arms as he stared down at her. 

“And let you go out in a storm? At night ?” he clucked his tongue, like she had just said something outrageous. “Nonsense. You’re one of the guild’s most reliable adventurers, they can wait a day for you. If they don’t, then talk to Elzer and I’ll pay you out of my own pocket.”

The Honorary Knight was sputtering now, but she clearly realized that there was no room for arguing against the Darknight Hero, bidding her good nights as she excused herself, only stopping her steps to acknowledge his own.

"I could have just used a waypoint... or one of the statues," Lumine grumbled to herself, combing out her hair as she prepared to head to bed, "gone to the guild before quickly running to the headquarters or something..."

And yet she stayed because Diluc told her to, or rather because he scolded her. When was the last time someone, well someone other than Kaeya, tried scolding her? 

No matter, the beds at Dawn Winery were absolutely comfy, much comfier than the dirt outside or the semi-hard mattress at her temporary living space, so she was going to enjoy this comfort to the fullest. It was a shame her companion didn't feel like sleeping out today of all days. 

Paimon was still her preferred cuddle buddy in Teyvat, but there were times where the little fairy chose to sleep in her little pocket dimension, somewhere Lumine couldn’t follow. For someone of her age, it was a little childish of her to not be able to sleep well without someone to keep her company, but in her defense it was a recent development that she was still learning to overcome.

Opening her bag, she pulled out Aeth, gently petting the doll before burrowing it against her arms. She hoped the plush would be enough to quell the nightmares tonight.

 


 

It was often she dreamt of Aether. It wasn’t uncommon at all, waking up scared and hopeful, and getting frustrated that their separation and her lonesome time on Teyvat hadn’t just been a particularly long lucid dream, that she would soon be woken up by her brother. 

However, they’ve lately gone from being a daily occurrence to every once in a while, for the less pleasant ones at least. When Paimon commented on it, she laughed quietly and blamed it on being too exhausted for her body to conjure anything up, but she knew it had something to do with the recent developments in her friendships. It did not stop the pain, but instead of wanting to wake up in the arm of her brother back home, she now wanted to wake up to the sight of her brother in Teyvat beside her, getting to know the new people she held dear to her, show him it wasn’t so bad to get attached.

It was selfish, but a girl could dream.

However, despite her earlier wishes before heading to bed, tonight was not one of those lucky nights, and with all her misfortune this was the worst one yet. Forced to be separated, dueling to their deaths, dying together— those had always pained her, but all prevalent scenarios that were never by their choices. 

As Aether stared at her with the cold eyes he’s never once directed towards her, she immediately knew this was different. 

He didn’t try to kill her, neither did she to him, but she would’ve preferred even that over the sight of her brother turning his back towards her. No matter how slowly he walked away or how fast she ran after him, no matter how much she screamed and pleaded to not leave her, to not abandon her, to come back to her,

she couldn’t catch up.

She watched, pained and distraught as sparkling wings of gradient gold manifested behind his back, sparing her one last look, emptier than she’s ever seen him, and bid her one last goodbye as he shot up to the sky and left her shackled to the earth.

‘You don’t need me anymore.’

Amidst her tears, she kept shouting, hoping he’d hear her futile calls and rush back.

“Aether!” she cried with more violence than any hurricane or earthquake, her wailing and heavy breaths a primal sound that carried with the gale as she thrashed helplessly for the ground to release her, if not for the chance to fly after him, then for the world to crumble beneath her feet as hers had, falling and vanishing to the abyss.

“Big brother!”

“Lumine!”

She awoke with a start, trembling, with her heart pounding out of her chest; her mind abuzz with muddled thoughts and memories, all blending together into something incomprehensible. There was a weight on her shoulder, she belatedly realized, rubbing up and down gentle and slow, as though too much pressure would break her fragility. Still, she matched her breathing with that consistent pace, her breathing rate beginning to steady.

She didn’t have to strain too much into the darkness to know who it was by her bedside, the familiar crimson more than a dead giveaway.

Weakly attempting to sit up, the redhead pushed the blonde back down onto the mattress gently.

“You have a fever,” Diluc informed her, keeping his mouth parted for a few seconds before keeping it shut, neither of them knowing how to continue. Though well-hidden, Lumine could see by the rise and fall of his shoulders that he was breathing quite heavily, too.

For him to have rushed into her room, she must have been shouting really loudly for Diluc, perhaps even some of the staff, to have heard her. Her presence must have been nothing but bothersome to them— she would have to find a way to make it up to everyone tomorrow, but for now she would have to deal with the awkward situation she unknowingly caused with the winery’s owner.

“... I’m sorry for disturbing you, Master Diluc,” she apologized, doing her best to maintain eye contact without cowering in shame, “you… can go back to sleep now.”

“Will you be able to go back to sleep?”

Lumine wanted to lie, but one look at Diluc, a rare expression of genuine concern and eyes peering into her very being, she couldn’t help but tell the truth.

“No, I don’t think so.”

One of his hands, sans gloves, continued its comforting ministrations as he spoke, “do you want to talk about it?”

Did she? Normally, the traveler would talk to Paimon about these things, but since the fairy was still presumably asleep in her pocket dimension and she was clearly still shaken up with the worst nightmare to date… 

Diluc was not a gossip, the farthest thing from it, but she still made him promise to keep everything said and done tonight between the two of them, a promise he obliged to without hesitation.

There were details she could not say, things she was not ready to talk about, but at the core of every nightmare was the emotions she felt, emotions that did not need the backdrop of the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, of their origins and of powers lost long ago, to be properly conveyed.

“I’ve been spending all of this time searching for my brother, but what if I’m not trying hard enough?” she began shakily, “He’s clearly not in Mondstadt, and yet I’m still here. Would he hate me for it? For taking too many breaks, for spending too much time with Amber, and Klee, and Razor, and the rest of the Knights? For meddling in affairs that have nothing to do with me, with us?”

For a moment there was only silence, and Lumine wondered if she should keep talking, if he only planned on listening, until,

“Do you regret it?”

The answer was instantaneous, but still she hesitated before shaking her head. 

“My only regret is that we couldn’t go through this together,” she said, voice dropping to a whisper, “but what if I took too long? What if he doesn’t want me by his side anymore? What if he thinks I don’t need him by my side anymore?”

“Aether is, and will always be, the most important person to me… but since our separation I’ve been so lonely, and everyone in Mondstadt has been so good to me and I’ve grown to care for them, wanted to protect them too,” she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, “but if a time comes where I have to choose between my brother and everyone here… I don’t know what I’d do... 

I just don’t want to be alone anymore .”

Words of comfort, words of reassurance, words of compassion— none of those came naturally to Diluc, but as he stared down at Lumine, he knew that for as long as he had the power to do something, he would.

It didn’t matter that she was an Outlander. For as long as she stayed in Mondstadt, even when she inevitably roamed the rest of Teyvat, where he would not be able to follow, she was one of his to protect.

“It’s good that you’re independent, it’s always an admirable trait to have,” his hand moved from her shoulder to messy blonde hair, doing his best to untangle the strands for her. She was staring again, the similar expression she possessed during dinner… her brother must have done this, too.

“But people wouldn’t mind if you relied on them more… Amber, Jean, Lisa… even Kaeya or I… if you need an older brother figure, I can-” Diluc paused abruptly, realizing that might not have been the right thing to say, not when he felt her flinch beneath his palm, unknowingly clutching the doll she crafted out of her brother’s likeness a little tighter, not when he was supposed to be comforting her over the disappearance and her fears over her damn brother.

Terrible , he was absolutely terrible.

Before he could apologize and take his leave, Lumine showed him a regretful smile.

It was different when it was Paimon or Klee, who she always pictured as her little sisters, or Razor who was something like a little brother. An older brother would be…

“I’m sorry, Master Diluc. I don’t think I’m ready to call someone else…” she trailed off, trying to find the words to properly communicate her feelings, “it’s not that I don’t want to, I just… need time to be more accepting of it.”

She didn’t need to go that far, he could’ve handled a straight rejection, but on that cold, stormy night his heart warmed with affection, a warmth he hadn’t felt in years as he patted the blonde on the head.

“Go to sleep, Miss Lumine. Maybe you’ll be cured of your fever tomorrow.”

He would go and ask Adelinde to prepare a wet washcloth and some medicine for the girl, but before exiting the door he gave one last glance at Lumine, relieved that her eyes were closed and she was breathing properly again.

How much of their conversation would she remember tomorrow?

 


 

The Master of Dawn Winery was noticeably grumpy come noon time, or so thought Elzer and Adelinde. When he had left the estate early in the morning, Lumine was still fast asleep, and when he came back she had already left.

Apparently, she took off after cooking breakfast for the whole staff together with the maids as a thank you gift. He couldn’t even fault the staff for letting a guest, one that was sick, do so— her persistence wasn’t something to laugh at.

Still, even with the Head Housemaid’s insistence that she had recovered quickly, the redhead still wasn’t satisfied. Having just recovered and probably back to working herself to the bone, who’s to say she wouldn’t rebound and catch another illness?

“Master Diluc, Miss Lumine also left a message for you.”

Diluc uncrossed his arms to accept the note that Adelinde had procured out of her pocket. The paper was neatly torn from something, a scroll from a Samachurl if he had to guess, and he struggled to contain a chuckle at the sight of her handwriting. Right, just because her Teyvat had improved tremendously didn’t mean her C’s and E’s were super distinguishable yet… same went for her I’s and J’s by the looks of it.

Still, it was not as if the contents of the note were anything special.

“We’ll be having Miss Lumine as a guest for afternoon tea two days from now, so prepare accordingly.”

 


 

Small, barely as big as his hand, and likely soft to the touch, he couldn’t exactly tell due to his gloves restricting his ability to feel textures. Eyes that resembled Agnidus Agates stared at each other, and he briefly wondered if his expression was truly so one-note in the eyes of the traveler. 

Right, he should ease up his face, if he looked like he was glaring at the doll, its maker would be saddened.

He’s not at all surprised that it was a plush doll, given Lumine’s clear attachment towards making those things, but he was definitely surprised that he had been given one, that he was even considered a close enough person to her. 

It was a strange feeling.

“Paimon wanted to name it Captain Pyro, and I thought something more simple like Scarlet would be more acceptable to you, but…” he raised his eyebrow, as though asking her to spit it out already. 

“The name you wanted to give it?”

“... Fluffi, with an I,” before he could question it, she gestured to her own hair with petting motions, “... it looks fluffy, like a fox tail. It’s not offensive or anything, right?”

Overly cutesy for his tastes, that much was true, or so he thought to himself as he tried not to check his reflection to see if it really was true. Still, it was a name Lumine had thought of, and she seemed to like it, so there was only one logical response.

“Just keep it between the two of us.”

Her lips were already twitching upwards as she hastily chewed on her pancakes, waiting for herself to be done until she smiled at him, gleam rivalled by the sun alone, warm and vivacious as she thanked him again, something she seemed to do often.

“Thank you, umm... b... buh… ahhh?” he furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what was wrong with the girl. 

“Miss Lumine?”

“Bi... big br- hahhh ,” she breathed out in resignation, pout following soon after, “no, never mind, I really can’t do it yet.”

After that display, it immediately clicked to Diluc what the blonde was attempting to say. He couldn’t have been mistaken, that night he only offered to be an older brother figure; he didn’t need to actually be called older brother or any of that sort. Still, he guessed that for Lumine, with her rather innocent nicknaming style, it was just like her to think a change in name was necessary. 

He didn’t mind it, the strange, warm softness he felt in her presence. 

“Diluc. Just Diluc is fine, right?”

“Of course, Lumine.”

Notes:

✦ I feel like I bamboozled most of y'all who wanted to read a fluff fic about plushies and instead get that plus the inner turmoil that lives in Lumine's mind rent free, sorry <3
✦ This was only supposed to be 4k+, but I accidentally... wrote more? It was getting too long so you'll see more Diluc next chapter too... also I proofread this at 4 am if you see any grammar mistakes, oopsies
✦ Ended up editing this! Decided to go consistently English, so if you're rereading this, you might remember Lumine meant to call him "onii-chan" but i changed it to big brother instead.

Chapter 8: in which two ladies take a break // 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐧

Summary:

“Even still,” she replied after a few final giggles, “Jean isn’t just any knight— she’s the Acting Grand Master! She already has so much on her plate, and people are constantly bothering her with simple tasks with no rewards at all.”

The fairy snickered, “now who does that remind Paimon of, hmm?”

Notes:

Thank you for over 500 kudos! I keep repeating myself but all the comments uplift my day, I love all my precious readers! (•‾⌣‾•)و ̑̑♡

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Here she was again.

Quite frankly, Diluc hadn’t expected to meet up with the traveler too often outside of his days bartending in Angel’s Share, but a recent conversation taking place about her usual weekly schedule and the areas she frequented most for one reason or another resulted in him inviting her for afternoon tea. It would occur at the same time with a game of chess while her little fairy friend indulged in the food she would inevitably be treated with by the staff that had quickly warmed to the blonde and her companion.

Still, when he had told her to arrive at the winery this afternoon, he couldn’t say he appreciated the way she made her entrance.

He sipped on his blueberry tea, watching in bemusement as her chosen piece, the white king, moved to F3, only a space away from his bishop. Strange choice when there was another opportunity he would’ve taken instead, but alright. 

“Lumine,” he began, lifting the black chess piece off of the board. Pawn to G4. “Just a few days ago, I told you how important rest was, yes?”

Her king to G3. Huh, not bad. Actually, if he wasn’t careful, she’d be minutes away from winning the match.

“... yeahhh .”

Black castle to H4. As his fiery red gaze met with her own of confusion, he resisted the urge to grin. He was still supposed to be scolding her, after all.

“And yet whose wind glider was it that nearly collided with the winery’s grape trellises?”

Bishop to F5. He should have foreseen that, but he would just have to let his pawn get captured. If he tried to move away now, his king would be left vulnerable, ultimately resulting in her win.

“... mine,” Lumine sighed, sounding a little bit upset with her as well, though knowing her, it was probably at the thought that she could have hurt the grapes more than hurt herself.

Black castle to H5.

White bishop to G4, successfully capturing his pawn. He huffed, before moving on from it. The next few moves would result in the capture of another of his pieces, but victory was still plausible.

Black bishop to G4, capturing her bishop.

White king to G4, capturing his.

“I’m not mad,” he said, sending his castle to the corner of the chessboard, “I’m just-”

“Nooo,” the blonde whined, sporting a barely hidden annoyed expression as she retracted a hand from her king, clenching it by her lap. “Don’t even continue that! That’s even worse than being mad!”

“Also, you’re going to sound more like my father than a brother. An old man,” she continued shamelessly, rendering a sigh out of the crimson-haired man.

Jean and Lumine… even Barbara to a certain degree. If he had to make a connection out of all three blondes, it would be that they were diligent to the point of working themselves to the bone for the sake of others— though perhaps Lumine was the worst case scenario, doubling it with her purpose of finding her brother. 

The two of them made quick work of the chessboard, more her than he who only moved to match her pace. Most people he played with had a tendency to spend a few minutes analyzing each move made, even more time passing as conversations shifted to business-related matters, but he supposed it was just like the Outlander to move so quickly.

“Ah!” she exclaimed suddenly, summoning a pocket watch out of her bag and onto her palm. Only a few days had passed, but wasn’t it a completely new design? From where he sat, the precious metal shined brighter and seemed to be a cut above in quality than the last.

“Oh Sevens,” she took a few seconds to squint at it before stashing it away, “I still have a delivery to get to in half an hour. I should go pick up Paimon from your kitchen, sorry to have her intrude by the way, then before sunset I should-”

“Let’s end this game quickly then, shall we?”

The traveler was always quick to the point that it was hard to catch up to her sometimes. That in itself was worrying as it was admirable.

A mistake. The realization came belatedly to her, perhaps in her haste to leave and move to another place she had overlooked her own vulnerability. She needed to be more careful, otherwise…

Diluc smirked, knocking down her king with the piece he held between his fingertips.

“Checkmate.”

 


 

She paced outside of the Knights of Favonius headquarters, uncaring or perhaps oblivious to the stares of the Knights guarding the front entrance. The Honorary Knight had weird behaviors, particularly climbing up on anything and everything for the sake of efficiency , but this was certainly new behavior. 

Still, it was their homeland’s respectable heroine, so they would just leave her be. 

It would only be known to none other than Paimon what her best friend was feeling so antsy about.

“Just go inside already! Paimon doesn’t get why you’re hesitating so much!” the fairy whined, putting her hands on her hips. “You never hesitate when it comes to Amber or Razor!”

Lumine would have to disagree with that. She did hesitate— there was still a certain guilt that came with asking anyone for help, anyone other than Aether and Paimon, but she had enough self-awareness to know that she needed it and there were people willing to give it to her. With the loss of her powers and the original sword she possessed there was only so much she could do, hence the help she had begun requesting from her friends— Amber, Razor, and occasionally even Kaeya and Diluc when she mustered up enough will to ask them.

Jean, on the other hand…

Well, she too had said it was okay to approach her for help anytime she wanted, saying it was the least she could do for the Honorary Knight, that missing person posters and giving her an unused room was too little a reward, but… the Acting Grand Master was always so busy with her duties and taking care of things outside of it as well.

“I’m sure she already has so little time to herself, I’ll feel bad if I impose,” Lumine explained.

“Paimon is sure she would accept if you asked! To quote Master Diluc," she shifted her tone to try mocking the aforementioned man, "you are more efficient than all of the knights combined . Giving you assistance in mundane activities is the least they can do for the person who did all the work for them.”

She laughed at the impersonation, as bad as it was cute. 

“Even still,” she replied after a few final giggles, “Jean isn’t just any knight— she’s the Acting Grand Master! She already has so much on her plate, and people are constantly bothering her with simple tasks with no rewards at all.”

The fairy snickered, “now who does that remind Paimon of, hmm?”

She felt the heat creep up her cheeks, and she was certain it wasn’t due to the sun or a sudden blessing from the Pyro Archon. 

“Oh hush, Paimon! I usually get paid a good…” wait no, Kaeya definitely said her wages weren’t that good, “a decent amount! Meanwhile Jean does things out of the goodness of her heart, and she's absolutely terrific at it to boot!”

Now Lumi is talking like she isn’t - well anyway, just try it! You’ve been having a difficult time doing this domain solo, and a healer would really help, you know!”

When the word healer came up her thoughts flickered to the self-proclaimed idol, but she couldn’t even consider her a party option when they’ve barely interacted— she did prefer to just heal by Venti’s statues or with the passage of time, after all.

Which meant Paimon had a point. The Anemo resonance between the two of them would be quite nifty as well, wouldn’t it?

Hahh, this would’ve been a lot easier if she at least maintained some semblance of what she was once capable of. Curse the Unknown God, truly.

“If Jean accepts, I’ll just have to defeat the enemies as fast as possible then, so I’ll only bother her for a little bit. An hour at most.”

Lumi ,” the fairy whined, “don’t be too reckless, okay! Rushing it might be more harmful than helpful!”

The blonde laughed, patting her companions head as she finally walked towards the front doors, briefly greeting the guards who looked strangely… relieved? Well, it was none of her business anyway.

“You’ve seen me! I’m plenty strong! I’ll be unstoppable with the added help, wouldn’t I?”

 


 

Lumine must have jinxed something after her conversation with Paimon.

Things were going pretty well in her opinion. If she had done this solo like usual, it would have taken her thrice as much time with a few food breaks in between, a far cry from the three runs she and Jean were currently on. She was lucky the Dandelion Knight was willing to go for a few more domain resets— at least she wouldn’t have to go back to this place for a few weeks, or until she could become stronger to conquer it by herself with ease.

‘Since this is the third one… perhaps two more would do? I have some Mushroom Pizza we could replenish with while we take a breather…’ Lumine thought to herself as she dealt one last blow to the hilichurls in front of her, feeling the anemo particles return to her. 

She wiped off some of the sweat trickling down to her neck. That was, what, three waves of creatures now? She wasn’t sure if it was the fatigue finally getting to her or if their opponents were progressively getting stronger the more they repeated this domain. Did domains work like that?

Waiting for the screen blocking her from collecting her rewards to disappear, she could only blame herself later on for having her guard down and not being suspicious of the lack of movement besides themselves. Even Paimon had yet to reappear, as she usually did when things were already safe and-

“Watch out!”

The next thing she saw was a flurry of black, brown, and red— blazing hot axe coming to meet with her right thigh as she flew upwards, the second Mitachurl’s wooden shield quickly knocking her down as she collided with the ground.

Lumine cursed in a language only one other would know, silently thanking Jean for taking over as she took a few seconds to compose herself, manifesting her sword of choice once more from the space it resided.

She ignored the ache of her body as she manifested anemo energy to dash forward faster and assist her party member— while one against two certainly wasn’t fair, two against two most definitely was.

“Prepare to be blown away!” 

As she leapt, wind swirled beneath her feet as she summoned a tornado forward. As sword users, her and Jean had a clear disadvantage towards the Wooden Shieldwall Mitachurl, and Lumine currently didn’t have the strength to try and steal away the other’s Blazing Axe to set the shield on fire either, as fun as that would be to try.

She nodded to Jean, who by her signal approached the enemies from behind. 

“Wind, hear me!”

As Jean’s Dandelion Breeze activated, the traveler sighed in relief as the pain she was feeling eased up. Despite this, she had a hunch a bruise would still form regardless, especially with no ice to cool it down, and the scar that would be left behind by the cut on her leg certainly wouldn’t be leaving too quickly.

With the wooden shield plummeting to the ground, she knew the Acting Grand Master would be able to deal with it easily now. As for the other one…

“Come on big guy, let’s dance. Windblade !”

20 seconds. The Honorary Knight had lasted a grand total of 20 seconds before Jean called her out for her façade. She wondered what gave her away— was it her awkward way of walking, or the way her legs buckled as she stumbled up the stairs, or was it the gash still present on her leg?

… it was most likely all three, but in her defense she had Wolfhook seeds prepared!

“Miss Lumine, it would be best if we returned immediately after you’re finished collecting your rewards. We still need to dress your wound since neither of us have any bandages.”

Right. It was quite embarrassing to admit, but as someone who had a multitude of items in her bag, from at least one of each type of food or drink she could find, to numerous borrowed books, to dolls of her and Paimon… she did not have any bandages.

She staggered as she stood up from ransacking the drops of the furry beasts they had defeated, Jean immediately rushing to her side and steadying her stance.

“Are you sure the Mitachurls didn’t hit you anywhere more vital? Perhaps the head or-”

“I don’t think so,” the yellow blonde-haired girl replied, though a little unsure as well, considering how much of a blur those few seconds really were, “it’s just my legs. I’ll be fine soon enough.”

Jean sighed, keeping close to the shorter girl in case anything worse happened. 

“The pain should have already eased after I healed you, so this must be something else, then… overwork? Exhaustion?”

Silence met her question. Bingo . It must take one to know one. Jean decided to switch gears instead, stirring their conversation elsewhere.

“Are you able to teleport the both of us back to Mondstadt with that strange yet respectable ability of yours? I don’t think you should be exhausting yourself by walking so far.”

“The waypoints? While I can’t teleport us directly outside the headquarters, I can go pretty close. Though, um…”

Lumine hesitated to continue, feeling embarrassed for concerning herself with such a trivial matter. She tugged at the ends of her dress, lamenting that it couldn’t cover up 

“What is it? I could carry you if needed.”

Her face warmed at the offer, as cool and mature as that sounded out of Jean’s mouth there was no way she was taking up that offer! Her pride certainly wouldn’t allow it to happen! She was sure the last time she had ever gotten carried by someone was her brother, so having someone who was technically her superior do it had her shivering internally. 

“No thank you! Rather, um,” she paused shifting her gaze downwards to her legs again. “Do you think we could somehow… hide this from people? Or at least not tell them how I got it?”

With furrowed eyebrows, it was clear the taller girl was either confused or misunderstanding her plight, but she nodded anyway. 

“Of course, Miss Lumine,” she replied gently, “but remember that as a knight, scars and the like are nothing to be ashamed of.”

So she did misunderstand.

“I know that much,” the traveler laughed, recalling all the marks that had come and gone on her body all those years ago, brief as they may have stayed she never bothered covering her battle scars up. “I was just thinking that some people might overreact or worry. Everyone’s too nice, after all.”

As she prepared to teleport the two of them away, she briefly caught the look in Jean’s blue-grey eyes, an almost knowing gaze that she understood quite well. 

It was precisely because they were too nice that they would worry regardless.

 


 

People were whispering, though to Lumine’s relief it seemed to mostly stem from the Dandelion Knight and the Honorary Knight being within the same vicinity. She wouldn’t be surprised if a sudden speculation arose about the two of them having gone from a special and secret investigation or expedition rather than the unexciting truth they knew it to be.

Still, there were a few comments about the injury she had.

‘What terrifying beast must they have encountered!’ no, there was no terrifying beast, just two Mitachurls she could’ve taken on any day in or out of a domain if only she weren’t so careless that moment.

With ego a little bruised she pouted for a few seconds, a sight that unbeknownst to her made Jean’s lips quirk up briefly, before fixing herself to the usual neutral expression she dawned as they entered the Headquarters.

That , Jean thought to herself, was a little similar to Barbara’s quirk, wasn’t it? One girl who couldn’t let herself be depressed for more than 30 seconds, and one girl who couldn’t allow anyone to see her vulnerabilities for more than 30 seconds .

They would get along well together, she deduced.

As they made their way towards Lumine and Paimon’s private quarters, the two blondes stopped their tracks at the sight of a certain blue-haired man, or rather, they stopped due to a certain blue-haired man.

“Lumine,” he began, squinting at the reddish blotch on her thigh, then onto the cut on the other, as he approached. “If you don’t cool it now, that bruise will be bigger and bluer and uglier than it needs to be… your fans don’t want anything to ruin their precious heroine’s skin, after all! ”

“Fans? What fans... anyway, I didn’t have any ice with me,” the yellow-blonde haired girl replied with a frown.

“You somehow manage to maintain the coolness and temperature of the juices you store in your bag, but not have any ice or even plasters or bandages with you?”

As the two talked Jean continued to observe them. Kaeya had crouched down, gently hovering his hand atop her skin, nowhere near inappropriate but she would have scolded him either way for his lack of boundaries if not for the ice that suddenly pressed against the growing bruise. 

“Wrap this with a towel when you get back.”

He continued to chide her, inserting a few teasing remarks here and there about her recklessness, inquiring about how she got it but never deviating from his true purpose. A part of Jean was astounded— both Kaeya and Lumine had her utmost trust, but she knew the former, despite all his invasiveness, was a rather closed off person who put people in a distance;

yet here he was, telling of the Honorary Knight like an older sibling would, and she was just taking it like she was already used to it— like it wasn’t the first time.

How was it that the two had gotten close?

Suddenly Jean felt the Cavalry Captain’s gaze on her, merely a brief glance as he smirked mischievously and turned back to the girl he was attending to.

“So the Acting Grand Master is next on your agenda, Miss Honorary Knight?” 

“Next on what agenda?” Lumine feigned obliviousness, but it was obvious to the man that she was merely covering up. 

“I’m sure you already know. The reasons you have are so simple it’s obvious she’s next in line,” While Kaeya chuckled, Jean herself was surprised at the sight of delicate pink dusting the Outlander’s cheeks, clearly not out of exhaustion but something else entirely— like an inside joke she was missing out on.

As soon as the captain retracted his hand from Lumine she quickly stalked off towards the direction of her room, only stopping momentarily to whip back around and quickly bow, “thank you again, Kaeya!”

Sure you don’t want me to carry you back to your room?”

“Don’t- don’t tease me like that!

Even as they entered Lumine’s room to dress her wound properly, Paimon eventually appearing again to fret over her current state, Jean could not help but wonder what exactly Kaeya meant. She did not doubt the traveler one bit, and the Cavalry Captain would have at least hinted if something was off, so it was easy to cross any maliciousness out. Perhaps a prank? Though the blonde didn’t seem like the type to engage in such things with just anyone .

As the white-cladded girl entered her bathroom, her pixie companion soon following, it finally gave Jean the time to observe her bedroom,

or rather the messy state of it.

Truthfully she understood that Lumine probably didn’t have the time to properly organize anything, not when she was always on the go and camping out half of the time, but there was something about her undone bed combined with the fabrics and papers and threads and pencils scattered on the floor and-

Then she did a double take.

Crouching on the floor, she delicately picked up one of the papers and found herself stifling a laugh instantaneously. 

Unruly, red hair and a black coat- must be Diluc Ragnvindr. She would never have the heart to tell Lumine this, but it looked like one of Klee’s drawings, only with less vibrant colors and more precise strokes.

She picked up another one. Oh dear, the eyepatch was enough to let her know just who it was, and so was the small curve she drew that was clearly representative of the smirk Kaeya Alberich liked to dawn.

Before she could pick up another, the Outlander’s voice had her frozen. She was just thinking of keeping the papers in an organized stack, and yet she pried on something, while innocent in nature, might’ve been private and embarrassing to her.

“Jean, I think I cleaned it up properly, but could you double check? Also I’m not sure how long I’m supposed to keep the bruise iced, Kaeya never…” as she trailed off, the aforementioned woman turned to face Lumine, alarmed that she was suddenly coughing.

“Miss Lumine, I’m sorry for-”

“No, not at all!” she waved it off quickly, face a little flushed now, “sorry for the mess. Paimon and I never really have people over nor do we stay that long, so we don’t bother… aha please watch out for the pins and needles, too. Whenever I’m sewing, I’m…”

Oh, so the fabrics, the drawings… out of the corner of her eye, on the bed where Lumine had plopped herself down, was a plush doll of her brother. When she put two and two together, she had suddenly realized what Lisa meant when she said the traveler had developed an unusual hobby.

The first thought that ran through her brain was relief that unusual meant something cute and soft and not developing a taste for elite monster meat. While she couldn’t afford to be picky with her meals, it made her stomach churn thinking about it.

Then, she found herself thinking, why was it so unusual? By no means was she a normal girl, but it was a little weird that her looting dead creatures’ bodies was something people barely batted an eye at by comparison.

“This hobby of mine,” snapping out of her thoughts, Jean’s ears perked up again as soon as she registered the change in Lumine’s tone, “is quite childish, isn’t it? And a bit of a time waster.”

No, it definitely wasn’t. She didn’t know anything about Lumine’s life before Teyvat, but perhaps she enjoyed things like this too, before, but never got the time for it again due to the Stormterror mess everyone dragged her into.

“I disagree. On behalf of the Knights of Favonius, I would like to extend my gratitude to you for all you have done for Mondstadt. Busy as you are, if things like this relax you, then please remember to rest from time to ti-”

Laughter interrupted the impromptu speech she had prepared. Both Lumine and Paimon were laughing, and Jean had no clue as to what rendered it out of them. Did she miss something? Did she say something odd? Before she could possibly inquire the traveler, she herself asked a question.

“If relaxation is what this is… perhaps you would like to join me?”

Honey gold stared into her own widened eyes, and in the back of her mind appeared all the work she had yet to do and piled up in her office. The little voice in her head, sounding strangely like Lisa, told her most of those weren’t needed until a few days from now, but if she got a head start then she could get a head start on other things and then-

“No, I shouldn’t… perhaps inviting someone like Barbara would be better? I’m sure she’d enjoy something like this very much.”

Quite frankly she wasn’t too sure, after all she and Barbara weren’t as tight-knit as they could’ve been, but her little sister was a hardworking girl who needed a break from all the duties she had serving the Church. Besides, despite the Holy Lyre der Himmel issue, the Hero of Mondstadt would be a good friend for her to have.

“Oh,” Lumine’s tone dropped, and the Dandelion Knight worried she said something wrong or possibly offended the Honorary Knight.

“Barbara… I don’t really know how to get close to her. I thought about asking you for help, maybe we could make something together? A make-up gift for the Lyre fiasco.”

Well, Jean thought to herself, with this at least she wouldn’t have to threaten the traveler with solitary confinement to get her to rest the rest of the day.

“What did you have in mind, Miss Lumine?”

...

Lumine wondered how she managed to outdo herself this time with her acting prowess. Of course, she had to stop herself from smirking too much, and she had to distract Paimon with some snacks to stop her from spilling the beans- how the fairy found out she was tricking Jean was a mystery, though she supposed it was one of those times the little one decided to use her brain.

Of course she did want to become friends with Barbara, and she did feel bad for the state of one of Mondstadt’s precious artifacts, but her true purpose was most definitely getting Jean to take a break.

She never expected the Acting Grand Master to lack self-awareness to that nature of hers- recognizing it in her but not in herself

So that was what Paimon meant

Still, a part of Lumine had a hard time relaxing. It was different when she did the same thing around Amber and Klee, but with Jean she found the lulls in their conversation to be a little uncomfortable. She wondered if it was only her feeling this way— the effect of being in a superior and junior dynamic.

Knights, Favonius, Mondstadt— was there anything else they could talk about? 

During her stay in Mondstadt, she had eventually come to the realization that she enjoyed learning more about its inhabitants, the stories and preferences of her friends, and she was hoping she could learn more about Jean, too.

She tried to phrase it, but somehow the Archons heard her struggle as the woman in question took the initiative to ask what she had wanted to.

“I realize I barely know anything about you beyond the surface level,” Jean began, pausing mid-stitch, “perhaps you could tell me something about yourself?”

That was unnecessarily a harder demand to fulfill than it should’ve been.

“My brother was always… as for me, I was always the one who was…” littered her sentences, and it was in times like these where it became evident to herself that it was difficult to describe Lumine without comparing and contrasting herself to Aether. 

Shifting gears, the traveler switched to talking about their travels, wording them in a way that made it seem like she was just talking about a faraway land and not something outlandish like a whole other star, but even that was difficult without the frequent namedrops. Still she tried, recalling the time Jean had told her about the heroic king of Khaenri’ah, figuring that she would probably enjoy the stories of the royals and knights of different worlds.

Woman in question had stayed silent the whole time, and while she just assumed she was being polite by not interrupting, apparently that was not the case.

“You must miss your brother very dearly.” 

She was stating the obvious, Lumine knew that, and she must have deduced a good extent of just how much by the way she spoke of their adventures, but she wondered what brought on that statement.

“It’s not comparable to yours… but I believe I can emphasize, wanting to get close to someone.”

The Honorary Knight looked at the half-finished doll in the Dandelion Knight’s hand and knew instantly. 

“It’s never too late.”

A beat.

“... but when is the right time?”

The question goes unanswered. Lumine looked down to her own doll that she was stitching, briefly wondering how she could get the ponytail to stay up that way, “Barbara… do you think I could invite her to do this someday?” together with you as well goes unsaid.

“I wouldn't be surprised if she accepted. Besides, with all the work she has at the church, I'm sure something like this would be a good break for her.”

Lumine laughed, and before Jean could question her any further she continued, “Has this been a good break for you, too?”

Jean’s mouth hung open slightly, before letting out a laugh of her very own. 

“Was that your plan all along, Miss Lumine? Pretending you wanted to give something to Barbara… to think Kaeya’s influence has gone to this extent.”

Lumine smiled widely, shaking her head, “will still give that to Barbara! Our hard work shouldn’t go to waste!” well, more like Jean’s hard work, the plush she was working on was entirely different but the knight had no need of that knowledge for now.

The both of them looked at the mostly finished product— uneven eyes and uneven lengths of pigtails, it reminded her of her first attempt of sewing Aeth

“This is… just embarrassing,” the Acting Grand Master admitted, the two of them laughing quietly, “this doesn’t do her any justice at all!”

The other blonde waved it off, “it’s fine, just trust me!”

“By the way, would you like to eat dinner with Paimon and I? You mentioned it’s been a while since you’ve had pizza, and so…”

As Lumine offered to finish the doll’s clothing up by herself, Jean realized she never did get to see what Lumine was working on that day.

 


 

Mondstadt’s number one idol looked a little confused by the sudden request to meet with the traveler, but nonetheless happy and ready to provide whatever services she could.

“If there’s anything you need my help with, I promise I’ll do my best!”

“Oh, I actually have something for you!” the traveler said, which only added to Barbara’s confusion, but she still waited in wide-eyed anticipation as Lumine pulled out a little blonde plush doll with stubby arms and legs and cute crooked eyes-

“Oh, wrong one, hold on…” keeping the first doll trapped between her side and arm, she pulled out a second one, slightly smaller but possessing a similar shade of blonde, donned in all white and having the same degree of eye crookedness as the first.

“Don't tell Jean I told you this... but we made these together yesterday. She made the one that looks like you," there was a certain flicker of emotion that Lumine failed to catch, but she barely had the time to think further about it as Barbara let out a shocked but delighted gasp.

“So cute! A pair!”

Happy that the deaconess was pleasantly surprised, Lumine decided to keep talking. 

“She was too shy to give you the barbara doll, but…” as soon as she handed out the plush, Barbara snatched it up quite quickly, delicately petting the little hat on the little head.

“An idol with her i doll! How adorable!”

Oh if Paimon were here right now, she’d probably be guffawing at the pun. Sure, Jean said to just let her sister decide what to name the plush but… was that the name or was that just a title?

… of course, it was none of her business whatever Barbara decided to name it.

“By the way, Lumine… what do you plan on doing with the Jean doll?”

She looked at the doll still trapped beside her, “I was planning on giving it to her right after this, actually.”

The Deaconess smiled at her, “what a coincidence! I was going to her office today as well! I need to deliver a few documents to her for the church~ Let’s go together, Lumine!”

 


 

As much as Lumine enjoyed fooling around, a part of her worried about how Jean would react. Though no promises were made, it probably went unsaid that she didn’t want her little sister to find out who it was that made that plush; Jean was definitely going to find out now, though, with Barbara skipping inside the room with her lookalike sitting atop her open palm like the star of a parade float.

Oh gosh, she sure hoped she wouldn’t end up in solitary confinement after this… could she even go into solitary confinement, or was that just a Klee thing? She’d rather not test it out.

Barbara strolled in the Acting Grand Master’s office with a gentle smile, handing over a small bundle of papers that would inevitably add to the growing stack already on her desk. Oh Archons, she didn’t know where the Deaconess got that sudden surge of confidence but how she wished she had it now, considering she was doing her best to avoid Jean’s questioning gaze.

"Good morning, Jean! I just have some papers I need you to go over and sign," Barbara continued to talk in her usual peppy manner, if not a little more formal as she went over a few details not included in the documents. Risking a peek at the older sister, Lumine found that she was actively trying to keep her eyes, but the way her eyes occasionally flitted towards the doll gave away her true intentions.

All was well, and for a moment the traveler thought Barbara only meant to show that she had received the gift and knew who made it, but as soon as the aforementioned girl plopped the plush down on the table she knew to avoid Jean’s gaze once again. Solitary confinement was suddenly a lot more plausible than she expected it to be.

“Let me just rest her here! She was especially made for me, after all, so she must be treated carefully!” The Deaconess turned to the Honorary Knight, as if egging her on to participate with her shenanigans.

… well, another opportunity to test her acting skills again, she supposed.

“Little Rara looks a little lonely to me,” she said, feigning a sigh.

Great, she was reverting to Paimon’s nickname techniques. She hoped Barbara didn’t mind the name so much- she couldn’t find the strength within herself to say idoll without wanting to groan. Besides, wasn't it cute? Rara, rah-rah, like a cheering noise? Okay, she wished she had her moral support Paimon to uplift her just now. 

Slowly, she took out the plush version of Jean. She was biding her time not because she was genuinely slow or anything, but rather because she had no nicknames thought up for Jean’s specifically. It was a one-syllable word, for crying out loud! Going by repetition, JeanJean just sounded absolutely terrible, 

“Dandelion, you can sit beside Rara.”

Again, absolutely brave in the cutest and most peaceful way possible. She could only aspire to Jean's patience and Barbara’s current boldness compiled into her body.

The Acting Grand Master finally broke her silence, talking softly, “Miss Lumine… that doll… you-”

“A thank you gift,” she interrupted quickly. A gift to express gratitude, or in Kaeya’s words, the weird mixture of a courtship offering and a friendship token; both were embarrassing to say in public, so thank you gift it was then.

“Lumine is just bursting with talent! Oooh you’d make a wonderful idol, too! So anyway, Dandelion is just such a lengthy name! Let’s shorten it to something cute… maybe Dandy?”

“Nope. Sounds more like an Adventurer’s name to me rather than a knight… maybe Lion?”

“Ooh what about Delly? Deli?”

“So like the meat shop. What about Lili, or Deon?”

“Dan?”

“Dan Dan?”

The discussion between the two of them was suddenly interrupted by Jean’s burst of giggles. Oh just how the tables have turned.

“Wait, are we getting laughed at?” Barbara pouted, Lumine unconsciously following suit.

“Jean, why are you laughing so much?”

The current Leader of the Knights smiled, shaking her head as if amused with her train of thinking as well. “Just now, I thought of you two as little children fighting over what to name a new toy.”

Children…? Did they just get compared to a child?

“Just because we’re shorter than you…”

“This is important, though! Names are important!”

When the Acting Grand Master looked at the two of them, it was hard to deny the surge of happiness she felt at that moment… like she wasn’t too late after all.

It looked like she would have to extend her gratitude to Lumine once more.

Notes:

Sorry for taking so long! I've had so many requirements for uni, but thankfully my first sem ends before Valentines day so I'll have time for a little bit to write again! By the way hello Xiao fans, how are we doing? I hope he came home/comes home to you, but please remember to know your limits and take a step back, okay! Okay, some notes time!

✦ I think it truly becomes evident in this chapter that I plan on bringing back the other characters more and more (hey Diluc and Kaeya). I wanted to do this approach to show that Lumine's connection with that person isn't just brought up in their original chapter and never again.
✦ I was going to heavily revise this chapter, but on second thought I have Barbara's chapter to insert more Jean character introspection (specifically her imposter syndrome thing) so I kept the general flow for now.

Chapter 9: in which she makes an offering // 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢

Summary:

She had to admit that they had gotten closer, but it wasn’t very normal to call an actual God your friend, was it?

Notes:

It's been almost two months since an update, sorry university kept me busy, but thank you so much for over 600 kudos and all the comments! I really appreciate it (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Lumine never knew how to read Venti. Though perhaps she shouldn’t have been one to talk, she found the Anemo Archon to be quite confusing, though it laid less with his personality and more of his identity.

Her relationship with the Gods across numerous worlds had been… complicated, for a lack of a better term. When the time called for it, she was quite reverent— like any old disciple or priestess, she would say her prayers and sing her songs of worship to appease them, curry their favor. However, too many times had she faced disappointment, faced betrayal — the Unknown God was no different… no, she was different, for their separation and all that was stolen from her had caused her to despise the Archons for months

—and yet she prayed by that statue in Mondstadt, prayed to Barbatos, to Venti

It started out as an act of desperation. Stripped of her original strength, of everything she knew, of the one she knew, she had nothing and she knew her and Paimon wouldn’t be able to live as they did for any longer. It was out of hope, no matter how little she had, that this God would be kinder and more merciful to an Outlander like her.

As she got caught up in Mondstadt’s trials and tribulations, Lumine had briefly entertained the thought of this God manipulating her to do his bidding— it wouldn’t be the first time, but she quickly realized it didn’t make sense, not for the one who watched over the City of Freedom.

Kinship. 

Something that was not quite friendship, but rather an understanding— similar emotions snatched from different situations. It was the not-so tangible proof of the connection between them yet to be explored, one of her biggest reasons for deciding to help him despite her circumstances as an outsider. 

Still, even though her opinions of Teyvat’s Gods remained not so pleasant, her opinion of Venti was quite the opposite— was it because she first met him not quite knowing who he was, or because he bestowed upon her blessings equivalent a vision, or was it the guidance he had, perhaps unknowingly, given her?

Some separations were meant to last forever, but not all.

Lumine, holding onto her resolve, knew where she fell.

The God that resided in Liyue, the Geo Archon… how would he treat an outsider of his domain, of this world?

As the music nearby slowed to a stop her ears perked up upon hearing familiar footsteps approach her table. Even if she hadn’t known, Paimon’s greeting would’ve been enough to tell her who was approaching their secluded spot.

“Tone-deaf bard!”

“Venti, you’re already done performing?” The free-spirited bard sat down beside her, laughing at her whine of protest as he took a sip of her apple juice. At least it wasn’t wine, or he probably would’ve downed the whole thing before her very eyes. 

“Now, if you paid any attention to little old me, you would’ve known I’d played a dozen songs already!” Lumine smiled sheepishly. 

Admittedly, though she could admire the various tunes coming from him, the lyrics had gone from one ear to another, unaware of how much time she spent preoccupied in her head— eyes glazed over as she watched Paimon gorge herself on the meal Diluc so generously made for them.

“I was a little busy thinking about something,” she replied, taking back her drink as she sipped on the beverage. Huh, it was surprisingly lukewarm already. Was it actually pretty late into the night?

Venti hummed, tilting his head as his aqua green eyes stared into her own of gold, “no wonder why you sat so far from my stage! Don’t you usually sit by the bar?”

“Mhm, plus I didn’t want to disrupt Master Diluc. Paimon would just end up asking for seconds,” as sleepy as the little fairy was, she still managed a little ‘hey!’ of complaint before yawning. Lumine didn’t worry too much, her companion would return to her pocket dimension when she felt like it.

In truth, she was aware that the redhead noticed her… tendencies of not paying much attention whenever she had a drink in Angel’s Share. Kaeya had called it being the quiet, melancholic drunk without actually consuming alcohol

Lumine knew she was in one of those moments tonight, and Diluc would probably be concerned over what she was thinking about, so she chose to sit elsewhere under the guise of wanting to make sure Paimon didn’t make a mess when she ate.

“Hmmm? What are you thinking about, dear traveler?” she opened her mouth to say him , but closed it again once she realized that wouldn’t come off right. Sure, she technically was, but rather than him, wouldn’t it pertain to-

“The archons,” she finally replied, mulling over what else to say as the rest of her drink washed down her throat. Bummer, would it be impolite to Diluc if she discreetly brought out her own drinks and refilled her glass? He always looked at her funny if she tried to buy more than two of the same drink, and even then mora was too much of a luxury to do that. 

“I’ll be heading to Liyue soon, so I’ve been thinking about how to face him in the Rite of Descension,” Lumine continued, now returning his gaze properly, “I’m not sure if Rex Lapis will be as welcoming as you were.”

Of course, Mondstadt welcoming her involved a dragon and her first encounter with the Abyss and the Fatui, but that was besides the point. Who knew what Liyue would bring to the table— Fatui part two? A sea monster trying to kill her, perhaps? Of course, the ideal would be borrowing some powers, maybe even restoring some of her past powers, getting some leads on her brother, but… was she being pessimistic in thinking she was going to get dragged into something again?

“That gentleman? Pfft, don’t worry about it!” Venti chortled, popping himself a drink that came out of nowhere, using her empty glass as his own. “He’s a stubborn, old fool, but all you need to do is approach his statue like you did with mine!”

“Stubborn? Hmm… do I need to make an offering to convince him or something?”

She always managed to find those anemoculi floating all over Mondo and used them to restore the state of the Statues of the Seven, so maybe she would just have to do the same thing in Liyue— find a golden orange geo version of those little things.

“How come you never give me offerings, traveler? You’ve never even met the man and you’re already playing favorites?” Venti pouted, huffing playfully as he pointed at himself dramatically, “weren’t you supposed to be a certain someone’s disciple? Devotee?”

“I give you apples when you ask, and I let you steal my drinks!” she said with a giggle. Admittedly he could probably procure those apples anytime and anywhere, plus they both knew no amount of juice would ever truly satisfy Venti’s taste for liquor, but she had to defend herself somehow! It had less to do with the whole disciple thing though, that he probably knew too, and more to do with the fact that he was something like her first ally… even before Amber and even before she fished up Paimon, she was kept safe and away from harm in Mondstadt.

She had to admit that they had gotten closer, but it wasn’t very normal to call an actual God your friend, was it?

Then again, she was considered something sort of an alien being around these parts, so if that was some sort of impolite transgression, she probably had a free pass anyway.

“Is there anything you want then?” 

The bard didn’t waste a single second thinking about his reply, throwing an arm around her shoulders as he grinned mischievously, leaning slightly against her to whisper, “well… you and Diluc have gotten closer, right? If, somehow, you could convince him to get some dandelion wine on the house, then-”

“Impossible!” she pushed him off of her playfully, the both of them laughing as she did so. As if Diluc, or any of the bartenders in the tavern for that matter, would ever let her walk away with a wine bottle on hand. Even then, she wasn’t the type of person to ask things for free, and she has been trying to slow down on spending to prepare for her nearing trip to Liyue, so that would’ve been a red flag immediately. “He’s even more adamant about not letting me drink now! Kaeya joked about buying me a glass once, and he got mad.”

“Ehe! Well, can’t say I didn’t try!” Venti shrugged, expecting her response. “Considering how much Master Diluc hates alcohol, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s trying to spread his grape juice agenda with you~”

“I don’t mind too much,” because he was enough of a gentleman to keep her and Paimon fed for free despite her initial adamance, “but doesn’t he have anyone else, or is everyone in the city just… really into alcohol?”

“Hmmm… well, there’s little Diona, her drinks are amazing by the way. I'd try to sneak you some if I had the mora, but…!”

Diona? She had only heard that name in passing from Margaret, Cat Tail’s owner. She’d never been since she was always a loyal patron to the tavern they were residing in as of this moment, though now that she thought about it there were still a lot of places she’d never seen and a lot of people left to meet in Mondstadt. It was a bit of a shame to leave so soon, but the Rite of Descension was a week away and a brother to find.

“You’re looking a little melancholic, Lumine. Perhaps a song to cheer you up?”

“Hmm? Didn’t you say you were done for the night? Besides,” she side-eyed her usually floating companion, who for some reason decided to sleep leaned against the wall instead of returning to her pocket dimension, “don’t want an irritable Paimon calling you names for waking her up, do you?”

“And Paimon will call me tone-deaf bard no matter what I do anyway!” he had a point, still he never proceeded with that song he offered. “Let me guess, you’ve gotten attached to Mondstadt and you’re a little sad to leave. No need to be shy, it’s an honor you think that way for us!”

Really, he was right again.

“You’re a lot smarter than people give you credit for,” Lumine replied honestly, and though she did not outright say it it was clear to Venti that his guess was correct.

“The waypoints are also in Liyue, so you have no excuse to stay away from Mondstadt for too long!” the bard said jokingly, “and if you do… I’ll forgive you as long as you give a souvenir! Now let me think… it’s been a while since I’ve visited Liyue, but I’d like…”

A souvenir? Well, it was a little too soon to be thinking about what trinkets she’d be able to acquire in the Land of Geo, however she wasn’t against getting Venti something soon, even before she made her trip. 

Paimon was going to make fun of her with that very same, exaggerated laugh she always did but at the very least she was used to it now. Besides, she probably wouldn’t get the chance to sit back and relax at all for probably weeks! Why would she be sewing while camping out in the wild?

Truthfully, he was probably one of the people who deserved the little, as her friends would call it, token of her affection the most in Teyvat. Venti was like the wind that guided and led her to all the right directions, after all.

As she took the snoring Paimon in her arms, Lumine turned back to the Anemo Archon to ask him another question, “just to be sure… your allergies don’t extend to stuffed toys, right?”

 


 

The wind carried secrets, but it wasn’t like she was hiding it from Venti to begin with. Not when he probably already knew what she was up to.

“Who knew our Honorary Knight was quite the artist? Perhaps you should dabble in paint next, I have a feeling art made by the beloved traveler would sell for a pretty price, enough to buy a bottle or two!”

Lumine looked up from the paper to look at her subject with a deadpan expression, “trust me, if I could create a living with the reasonably bad drawings I’ve made with the old crayons Klee gave me, I would’ve done it by now.”

Previously she drew her sketches with a pencil or two that she may or may not have picked up from the ground and stolen, but now that she was using crayons she wasn’t sure if the addition of color was an upgrade or if her childish medium of choice was a downgrade. Still, it got the job done, she thought to herself as she colored in the top half of his eyes with blue and the other half as green… that was the correct gradient, right?

Even though she didn’t think she was that forgetful of a person she looked up to check his face again, just making sure , and ignoring the tiny burst of laughter that escaped him. 

“Well I’d say! By the way you’re acting now, the whole artist eye thing, you could give Captain Albedo a run for his money!”

Now he was definitely just messing with her. Had she ever seen him or his work? No , surprisingly she still had never run into him, but she knew honeyed words the moment she heard it— Kaeya had, who knew if it was on purpose or not, trained her to pick up on it quite quickly, and personally she was never really against using it herself from time to time. 

“Is there something you want, Venti? If it’s not alcohol, I can deliver,” aforementioned person made an incredulous gasp, as though he was baffled at her for making such an accusation.

“Hey now! It’s good that you’re more comfortable around me but don’t you think you’re getting a little too bold with your claims, hmmm?” he chided her teasingly, looking down at her from his spot seated at her bed. “What if I’m just complimenting you genuinely?”

If it was anything other than her current… piece, she would have believed that.

“Venti be quiet, you’re going to wake up Paimon or alert people that there’s someone else in my room,” she plopped the paper and crayons to the side, satisfied with her mockup design for his plush, “and I don’t want to explain why the most popular bard of Mondstadt is here this late at night.”

“Aww you’re gonna make me blush! Most popular bard, I like the sound of that! If anyone asks, I’ll just say I’m doing a private concert. Singing you a lullaby,” he grinned to himself, teasing her as he made the paper float upwards and towards him, all the while ignoring her whine of protest, “though now that I think about it, couldn’t you have done this some other time? It’s getting quite late, don’t you need to sleep?”

“My sleeping schedule… is not completely adjusted yet,” which meant she wasn’t sleepy and was probably going to get 4 or 5 hours of sleep at most. “And you? Do Archons need to sleep?”

As soon as the question left her mouth, she found herself thinking it sounded kind of dumb. Venti took naps quite often, and he once confided in her bits and details of his past, but it was clear to her that just as all things with the land of Freedom, everything was by choice. 

“Rather than needing it, most of us choose to. I’m sure you get that feeling.”

Now? Not so much, she had to learn that it was something her body needed... but back then?

“How’d you know?”

“You told me so before,” Venti said, but honestly she couldn’t remember doing so. Paimon and him were exceptions, but she had a tendency to stay quiet about the extent the title of traveler really applied to her, “you’ve gotten quite forgetful! Aren’t I supposed to be the old one here?”

She huffed, pointing a tiny needle at him as threatening as she could manage… which was about as much hostility as a tiny puppy could produce, but alright, she wasn’t trying that hard in the first place.

“Just tell me if you’re okay with the design already,” she paused momentarily, eyes set on the twin braids framing his face before moving onto his eyes. “Ah, but maybe it won’t be that accurate color-wise… the hair will probably stay all black, and the eyes will probably be all blue or all-”

“Go for all blue,” Venti interrupted suddenly, “and the hair… it’s okay to make it all black.”

There was a pensiveness in his tone, and though she wasn’t completely sure of his reasonings… she had a good feeling why he said so. 

“Okay, I’ll go for that,” she shifted from her spot on the floor, scooting to choose between some fabrics.

“Thanks, Lumine.”

“I haven’t started it yet, I probably won’t finish today either, but you’re already thanking me?” 

Venti hummed in response, fingers idly strumming a soothing tune on the strings of Der Frühling as he watched her work.

“But do you know what I’m thanking you for?”

If he caught that moment of softness within her, the smidge of flusteredness she felt at his words, he didn’t say a word, only letting out quiet laughter as he continued to provide music for her to work to.

Morning came and she somehow wound up on her bed, something soft other than her pillow against her face, Paimon half snuggling against her and nudging her awake and mumbling about the unfinished mess she left unattended on the floor. 

 


 

Lumine was someone he cared very deeply about. The moment he met her, he knew she would be someone special to the people of Mondstadt, though perhaps it was somewhere along her decision to save Dvalin and the journey they went through together that cemented the affection he felt for her.

Venti, throughout the years, had a few friends and companions he would be inevitably drawn to, consequently tried to watch over, and he knew he was viewing her in the same light— not quite, but as the days passed it was slowly growing closer to their level.

Maybe, he realized after some time, that was the reason he enjoyed being around her, that he wanted the best for her, that he wanted to keep her from harm’s way— that gentle but bright burning soul, the ferocity, the subtle but shining tenderness and kindness— resembling the friends before her and yet completely her own.

That flame of hers, he did not want to see it diminish, but even with the temptation of following her everywhere if only to serve as her second guide next to the pesky pixie, to help her in her trials and tribulations, the words died down at his throat before they could even make an escape. 

That kind of protection, the extent he would be implying, she probably would not appreciate it, not from him.

Even then, if he had tried to make an offer to be a long-term traveling companion, she would probably become confused before refusing, stating that the people of Mondstadt need, perhaps not the Anemo Archon Barbatos but rather Venti, the beloved bard.

Selfless, he could admire that very much, and though she was getting better at accepting the care of her friends, it was easy to tell a part of her felt a little uncomfortable with it, with her choice to still do most things by herself even with a choice of multiple adventurers and skilled vision wielders.

Then again, was it not only recently that people had begun approaching the traveler to lend their aid? It would be no surprise then that she thought it wouldn’t be right to ask someone for help…

Or perhaps she had already given up hope that someone would help her find him in Mondstadt.

Gently, he tucked her into bed, a smile that did not reach his eyes appearing as she tried to fit her face snug against the doll, the white-haired pixie letting out a small whine at the loss of warmth.

They had failed her, hadn’t they?

If not for the Honorary Knight, then for her, Lumine, his dear friend, he would do something to change that. He just needed to talk to some people to make it happen.

 


 

With the plush doll done quite quickly, admittedly due to the fact that she decided to skip out on farming calla lilies and snapdragons from her agenda, the last thing she had to do was give it to Venti. 

Normally she had quite the knack for finding people, and even someone like him who was all over the place she could easily find within the city— if not performing in Angel’s Share then on the palms of Barbatos’ statue, or by the oak tree that represented Vennessa at Windrise.

The latter two she had checked first, teleporting there with ease yet finding them empty, and it was pretty unlikely of him to be at the tavern in the middle of the afternoon. 

“We should probably look around for the tone-deaf bard then,” Paimon commented, serving as her second pair of eyes as the two of them walked the streets of Mondstadt in a comfortable silence. 

The city was always peaceful, sure the taverns could get quite noisy at night and there were always bards and performers left and right, but it wasn’t so intrusive a noise that she couldn’t relax with it in the background. However, wasn’t it too quiet?

“Mondo… is really weird,” Lumine said lamely. 

“Hmm, don’t you think they find you a little weird too?”

“That’s an understatement. I walk around with you, of course people think I’m weird,” she laughed as Paimon made a noise of protest, whining about how she was the more normal one between the two of them, before she stopped talking abruptly, twisting her head to look at something.

“Something catch your eye, Paimon? If it’s food I can just cook it for you later, you know, I can probably learn to cook it any-”

The fairy shook her head slowly, ushering her to look closer with a tug at her arm, “Lumi, was that always there before?”

As her eyes read over the contents of the parchment her breath hitched slightly. No, she was sure that was never there before. She never had the heart to comment on it, not when she was grateful enough to receive even the slightest bit of help and she was sure no one else would be kind enough to give it at the time, but the missing person posters were… all over the place. This one, however, was stuck to be seen by the public eye, beside a store where people would frequent enough daily.

Beyond that, as she read over the contents it discussed more than just the exotic clothes he adorned, but went as far as to discuss the shade and length of his hair, the style of his clothes, the hues of brown that he preferred, the golden-amber of his eyes that matched her own… 

“Huh…” she had to admit she was a little bit… flabbergasted? It was a depressing thought, but as she had long accepted that Aether was probably not in Mondstadt, she figured there was no reason for her to exhaust any more energy into asking people to go on a look out. In any case, the more important people to her would know at sight if someone matching that description was seen any way.

“It’s not on a roof,” Paimon was the only other being who knew, the only one with her as she flew over the city the first time after the Stormterror incident. That day she agreed to help clean up, that day she realized…

Lumine felt silly for being so affected, but as she turned the corner she found another poster, stuck upright and eye-level with the same revised details.

Like a trail she continued to follow, though the posters were by no means one after another, she found that they were at least placed in places where people would gather, pinned or placed properly so that the winds would not blow them away, and that trail led her to one place— back to Barbatos’ statue where she was sure had been empty only less than an hour ago. There stood four familiar people—

One was a brunette clad in bright red.

Another was a man with navy blue hair and clothes just as blue but of a different hue.

Beside him was another brunette, this time clad in purple and white.

The last, but would never be the least, was the green-clothed bard she had been looking for all this time, who was holding a poster with his own hands. 

Lumine’s not sure who noticed first, perhaps Kaeya had seen her first while Venti had known she was arriving all along, but it was Amber who called out to her first, murmuring embarrassedly about an apology she couldn’t quite comprehend quickly enough. Despite this, it was already clear to her what she was trying to convey.

She couldn’t be mad at her, though, not when she counted as her second friend in Teyvat, not when she gifted her a pair of wings, not when it was clear she cared .

“I’m not mad, it’s okay,” she replied quietly, “you were one of the few people who even bothered to try anything.” 

Immediately she flinched at her own words, not liking how they sounded so ungrateful, like they were required to help her even as she made neither a contract nor agreement of it’s requirement.

“Sorry, that’s not it…” she said, backtracking, “that’s not what I meant-”

“No, honey, don’t say that,” Lisa replied. Her voice had always been soothing, honey-like even, but instead of the teasing approach she often took with her, she had sounded as comforting as a mother or an older sister, “you did so much for us and this is the least we can do, isn’t it?”

“You’re leaving Mondstadt soon, right Lumine?” Kaeya added, cocking his hip as he smiled, “the precious sibling of our Honorary Knight… we have to keep an… eye out for any sightings, right?”

Lumine didn’t know if she was going to laugh or cry, and admittedly she would be humiliated to do so either way in public, so she forced her quivering lips to smile as she profusely thanked the trio of knights, Paimon making a mixture of comforting remarks towards the blonde and bickering with Kaeya, the bard quietly watching the scene with satisfaction.

 


 

Somehow they had ended up in her room again, and though it’s no alcohol she was proud to say he was happily downing a fresh bottle of apple juice, his glass placed right beside the little doll of… the one Venti resembled, she was sure of it now. He had walked through the door properly, escorted by a Kaeya who jokingly told her to keep her door open or else

The door thankfully remained closed, but apparently she had a curfew now, something she thought was more up Diluc’s alley than his, but it wasn’t like she had any late night plans in a domain or anything.

“The posters were handwritten by Lisa, her writing would be legible and she would know how to best put a description into words,” Venti explained, sipping on his drink, “and Kaeya, Amber, and I separated to distribute the posters. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cavalry Captain went to enlist a few men to assist him, too. Apparently they wanted you to consult with a certain Albedo, too, but he seemed to be away and...”

Lumine remained silent for the most part as her friend continued to talk, Paimon and Aeth sharing a spot on her lap as she watched her companion hug the doll to sleep.

“You didn’t have to do all of that for-”

“Just like you didn’t have to do anything for Mondstadt, for Dvalin and I,” the Anemo Archon replied, smiling down at her in the softest way she’d seen since the last time they had talked atop the hands of his statue, “besides, all I did was feed Amber the idea, it was the trio of Knights who put it into action.”

For a few seconds she remained silent, staring idly at anything but him, before coming to a decision.

“Is there anything I could give you?”

The gnosis, she thought to herself, but that was not something she could publicly promise so soon… but to herself, she would promise it. 

Venti laughed, holding up the little doll, “he’s enough for me. I’m sure the people of Mondstadt would be jealous once they find out you’ve personally crafted a plush doll for me.”

And they would think it was him, despite the slight difference in hair color and the wrong eye color, but the two of them would know better.

“The hat is detachable, just so you know.”

“Then I’ll make sure it won’t fly away, or get trampled on, or get dirtied or lost. I’ll watch over it properly.”

Lumine giggled, half-heartedly trying to quiet down as she felt Paimon stir again.

“You have the strangest way of saying things, but I guess that comes with being a bard,” Lumine shook her head, now looking at his face properly, “but thanks, Venti.”

“Get some rest now, my friend! You have another grand adventure ahead of you tomorrow, don’t you?”

Yes, though he wouldn’t know why, tomorrow was indeed a special day.

Notes:

Aside from being busy I actually ran out of ideas for this, but somewhere in between the 1.4 update I got an idea for it haha. How has your 1.4 experience been so far? Personally, infinitely better than 1.3! Less fetch quests, more meeting the characters (and taking too many pictures with them).

✦ It frustrates me how people keep piling up responsibilities on the traveler and we don't really get to know if anyone's making an active effort to help them other than the posters Amber put up. In my fantasies, people realize this and slowly start helping her more with that specifically.
✦ I've been thinking about rewriting a few parts of the previous chapters, mostly to do with grammar and consistency haha.

Chapter 10: in which she celebrates // 𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞

Summary:

It didn’t feel right to celebrate their birthday without him by her side, after all.

Notes:

Thank you for over 800 kudos! It's been a while, hasn't it? BTW this chapter is less plush and more Lumine appreciation + represents an end of an arc, mostly! After this, we move on to some Liyue charas!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Paimon was becoming pretty fishy, or so Lumine thought. The little fairy constantly wanted to hang out with a lot of people over the past week, be it the regular city folk wanting to spoil and baby her in place of the traveler, or hanging out with Amber or Klee, whose personalities meshed quite well with hers. Though it kind of worried the blonde, she was okay with it today of all days. If she couldn’t be with that one person today, then the next best thing would be to be alone.

It didn’t feel right to celebrate their birthday without him by her side, after all.

Still, she didn’t plan on just locking herself up in the room as she wept and moped. She’d done enough of that before, and besides, it’s only been one birthday, hasn’t it…? For herself, at least, who knew how many birthday celebrations she missed out on because she didn’t wake up fast enough. Five, fifty, five hundred? Did her brother find anyone to celebrate with, or did-

Lumine needed to cool down.

“I’ll be leaving for a bit,” she called out to an empty room, realizing for the first time how lonely it was to not have someone offer to tag along with her or wish her luck.

Her planned, peaceful day didn’t involve fighting any monsters, be it hilichurls or abyss mages, but thankfully they weren’t the worst thing in the world. She was able to deal with the monster quickly enough, as usual. She just had to find a secluded enough spot where she could finally put down her bag, with her little plush doll keychains and all, and bring out a makeshift picnic blanket to have a meal all by herself.

For the second time that day, she thought it was a shame Paimon, or perhaps just any friend for that matter, wasn’t with her. While she hadn’t cooked up anything fresh, she did happen to have a hoarding problem so there was an abundance of meals she could whip up from her bag— from Sticky Honey Roast to Bolognese to pancakes for dessert. She even had some leftover apple cider and, courtesy of Kaeya, some bottled ice for emergency purposes… or drink cooling purposes. She could just ask him to make her some more, probably. 

“Time to prepare for the party,” she mumbled to herself somewhat pathetically. Thank the gods no one was around at this time of day, she would have looked like she got stood up at best and crazy for talking to herself at worst.

There was no one with her, but she found herself bringing out two plates, two goblets, and two sets of utensils. If Paimon were here, would she have brought out two or three?

“Let’s see… we have the pasta noodles to represent long life,” Lumine paused before chuckling, realizing how unnecessary that custom was, “not that we need it. Then we some soup, some salad, the main course of course, and… no candles, or cake even, because no one sells cake or any recipes here for some reason.”

Well, there were the aforementioned pancakes, but she classified flat cakes and non-flat cakes as two different entities. Oh the things she would do right now for some of her beloved strawberry shortcake, or even her brother’s preferred chocolate cake.

Well, she didn’t have much of a choice, she told herself, lifting the plate of stacked pancakes closer to her, closing her eyes if only to visualize that she was holding an actual birthday cake, imagined her face slightly warming from the heat emitted from the candles, pretended that she was celebrating somewhere else entirely. 

She found herself singing that silly little song they picked up from another world.

“Happy birthday, Aether,” she paused, pretending he was there to sing his part, “happy birthday to the twins, happy birthday to us.”

The song was followed by no clapping, no cheering, no hollering, merely silence. 

If Lumine left before the sun set, then a certain blond-haired prince appeared just after, descending from the hand of a ruin guard as he looked at the little display left behind for him. One plate, one goblet, one set of utensils. In usual sibling fashion she left him her leftovers, giving him the parts of the chicken she didn’t like but knew he preferred, leaving behind the vegetables she didn’t like in her salads for him to eat, even slicing the stack of pancakes in half instead of eating it piece by piece.

“Somehow, you never change,” he whispered quietly, sitting on the ground, savoring the taste of what he knew to be her cooking. Not enough time to finish it all, but just enough to get a bite of each dish. Temptation at its finest, and never had the urge to rush to her side been as large as this. 

As he picked up the cup, he clinked it with the air before taking a slow sip, and if she were here, he would chuckle at the fact that she was clearly denied any alcohol considering the apple cider he was drinking.

As he drank, he spotted something unusual out of the corner of his eye, something soft and made of stuffing and fabric, tied with a little yellow ribbon. 

“Or maybe you have changed. Since when did you get into something like this, hmmm?” gently, with her he was always gentle, he picked up the small doll, small enough to hide with his hands, clad in a white dress, his index tracing over the little details. 

His reverie was interrupted a minute later, the sound of an abyss mage approaching him making his eye twitch in irritation, but standing up to leave anyways. It was too early for his sister to see him again, after all. 

He only looked back once, clutching the doll within his fist as he whispered in a language no one but him and her would understand, “Happy birthday, Lumine.”

 


 

Lumine told her some time ago that she didn’t like bringing Paimon along to certain battles, particularly domains or when she went for a rematch with Dvalin or Andrius. Sure, she had her pocket dimension, but her traveler admitted being scared of Paimon getting hurt on accident, or Paimon seeing her get an injury that would last more than a few hours. So what exactly does Paimon do when Lumine’s busy fighting?

Lumine’s fan club was, of course, founded by the one and only Paimon. The reason? Why, the fairy was incredibly irritated that Lumine wasn’t getting voted number one strongest in Mondstadt, or wasn’t the most popular person! Sure, she was a rookie, but she was a powerful rookie! How annoying that even after everything, Lumine seemed to be either underestimated or completely used as an errand girl! 

Paimon couldn’t complain to Lumine, though, who seemed to care less about what social standing she had as long as it was good and respectable, so the little ball of temper kept to herself until she could no longer, venting out her bottled up frustrations to Amber, who fed her snacks and tried to assure her that people really did adore the traveler, they were just awfully quiet about it.

“But she is really popular, though? I mean most people you two talk to just so happen to have the decency to not talk about it to her face, unlike Barbara’s fans for example.”

Was that enough for Paimon? No, of course not. That’s when she decided to pitch the idea to the Outrider— “no, listen, Amber… as two of Lumine’s closest friends, we need to increase her popularity levels— stat!”

And so, “Fans of the Wonderful Lumine” or FOWL as Paimon enjoyed calling it, was formed.

It started out with just Amber, Klee, and Paimon, who each declared themselves Lumine’s best friends. Of course, Paimon knew the truth, she was clearly number one, but she could let anyone else be her number twos. 

Most of the time the three merely talked about how cool Lumine was, more often than not compromising of Paimon bragging about the traveler’s unusual ability to pick up skills or techniques quickly, or about how cute Lumine was, usually Amber relaying gossip she’d heard or how the blonde was a lot more expressive and easier to tease lately. It was just the three of them, but it didn’t stay that way for long, not when Sara overheard them talking in the middle of having lunch at The Good Hunter.

“There’s a Lumine fan club?” the woman questioned them.

“Yeah… it’s only the three of us right now, though,” Paimon would protest that admitting their low membership was bad, but Amber didn’t seem to think there was any harm in lying. As it turned out, talking about it would end up to be a good decision on their part.

“Ehem… so what would you say if me and a few other people join in?”

Klee, well, Klee honestly didn’t have much of a role there other than Jean deciding that having her go out with Amber from time to time would be better than leaving her unattended to go burn down a forest. Still, they let her color in Amber’s design for Lumine fan club membership badges… which don’t actually exist due to their lack of funds, but they have a few designs on hand sketched purely on a whim of excitement. One pin would look like a four sided star for the rookie members, and Lumine’s flower for the club officers.

“You know… we already have something special for the officers and the special members. We literally have the ultimate status symbol ,” Paimon pointed at Klee, or specifically what the young girl was playing with. Kikico.

Sometimes Amber still couldn’t believe she would be on the same wavelength as a floating child, but she nodded in agreement because truthfully, the biggest proof that Lumine liked your presence was the plush doll she made while thinking of you.

From there, the meetings naturally escalated from raving about Lumine to talking about how worried they all were. Wasn’t she tired? Even when she wasn’t doing commissions or looking for clues to find her brother she was doing errands for everyone else just for some spare mora. That’s when they, as a collective, made a plan to make things better for Lumine.

It started with discounts. As her reputation increased in the city, the city folk couldn’t help but lower the prices of their wares and produce, and don’t get Sara started on how she slightly makes her meal serving sizes larger than usual for her.

Then it led to leaving random weapons and artifacts for her to collect all over Mondstadt, like a little treasure hunt of sorts. Even with a better quality sword she still enjoyed collecting dull blades for some reason, and who were they to deny her of them? Speaking of treasure, a few adventurers offered to refill treasure chests in the city, Paimon could clearly recall the confusion and barely hidden twinkle in Lumine’s eyes as she tried to recall if it really was her first time collecting from certain chests.

Their once small group was a little larger now, and it was just about time all the other chosen ones , as Paimon would say, found out what was going on.

Razor… well, he disliked the idea of going to any meetings, but Klee said he was an honorary member purely because he also owned a plus, two actually , and that Lumine was his lupical. Fair enough.

Kaeya’s appearance was what caused a stir amongst them, though.

Apparently he didn’t even have to try that hard to infiltrate, because Klee herself brought him to the meeting place, Amber and Paimon pouting as he flexed his apparent closeness to Lumine, words tricky enough that no one was really sure how much of it was him teasing and misleading them.

“I’ve gotten her to blush a few times, you know.”

“As if we’d let our starlight fall to your clutches, bad man!”

Kaeya would only chuckle, raising his hands up and insisting that he enjoyed her presence just as much as the rest of them. His words didn’t seem to be a lie, so when people learned that even the Cavalry Captain himself was, so to say, a fan of Lumine, the already growing Fans of the Wonderful Lumine club gained even more members.

Paimon, as the founder, was relishing in her victory and Amber, as the president, was crying because just how was she supposed to deal with this attention? 

“Kaeya, please take responsibility for this! We can’t keep crowding around the Good Hunter or loiter around one of the fountains anymore!”

“Is that so? I do suppose I have a meeting place in mind!”

Diluc looked at the unusually large crowd that night at Angel’s Share and groaned. People from the Adventurer’s Guild drinking were commonplace, but just why were there so many Knights of Favonius gathered? Not just any regular knights too, the Outrider Amber, a certain annoyance, Lumine’s floating pixie, and… a child? What was Klee doing-

Oh, thankfully she was just playing around with some dolls. 

Too busy tending the bar, he didn’t bother approaching them at first, but quite frankly his head was starting to hurt at everything he managed to eavesdrop on. Sure, the tavern was supposed to be the center of information, but just what kind of information was he getting? Wasn’t everyone just praising Lumine? 

Right, he could no longer stand for this. 

“Tch, the knights are as pathetic as usual, leaving Miss Lumine to do all the work,” the redhead could see a few people visibly tense at his arrival, Kaeya amused but unsurprised, and Paimon slightly agitated. 

“We’re literally here so we can plan to do something nice for her!”

Planning, right. Well, they weren’t making any good progress based on what the ex-knight was able to hear, but he was going to give them the benefit of the doubt for Lumine’s sake.

“Hmm… the most reasonable day to do it would be on her birthday,” Kaeya said, and Diluc would have to begrudgingly agree with him, but there was one issue to that. As though reading his mind, the captain followed up with a question, “do you know when her birthday is?”

“Oh,” suddenly, the usually loud-mouthed fairy’s voice suddenly turned miniscule, and Diluc swore he had a bad feeling about whatever she was going to say, “it’s… this Friday.”

Amber chuckled nervously, toying with the bow on her head, “and, um, what day is it again today?”

No one dared answer but Diluc, who groaned again, this time much, much more audibly, “Wednesday.”

 


 

For Paimon, it was surprising to find Lumine fast asleep before dinner time. Her traveler was a night owl after all, so the fairy never really had to worry about things such as waking up a sleeping blonde for dinner. There was only so much her tiny fists and feet could do to rouse the sleeping beauty awake.

She was just going to lightly pat, not a slap just a pat, her best friend’s cheeks, wondering if it would be a good idea to sprinkle some water, until she realized Lumine’s face was already slightly damp.

“Oh no, no no, no, Lumi ,” Paimon was quick to descend on the bed, wiping off the wetness to the best of her abilities, “Lumi, don’t cry. Paimon will cry too!”

She would, she really would, “is it because you think Paimon forgot about your birthday? Paimon didn’t forget, promise! Paimon was just planning!” she went ahead and practically spilled the beans, but she didn’t care. Her Lumine was sad, and if Lumine was sad, then it was up to her to cheer up her companion, right?

A few beats passed before the blonde finally opened her eyes, slightly red from the mixture of sleep and something else.

“I’m not upset with you, Paimon,” she promised, murmuring quietly, “I was just thinking.” 

Before Paimon could inquire any further, like about the fact that the Outlander was awake all this time, Lumine shook her head at the fairy, a small smile popping up on her lips that, as far as Paimon could tell, was genuine, so she let it slide.

“So what’s this about a plan? Why didn’t you let me know about it?” Paimon huffed at the question, like the answer wasn’t obvious enough already.

“Because it was supposed to be a surprise! Of course, I went and spoiled it already, but… but at least I got to greet you first, right?”

The blonde laughed, nodding her head in appreciation, “of course, who else would take that spot from you? I’m happy you were the first one to greet me,” and she really did mean it— who else but her favorite floating toddler in all of Teyvat, “but don’t let this distract you from answering, alright? Why is there a plan?”

“Ehehe, well,” Paimon laughed awkwardly, scratching her hair, “could you… could you at least pretend to be surprised when you see it in person?”

 


 

Paimon shouldn’t have worried. Hearing about something was a lot different than getting to see it in person, and getting to see the already rowdy Angel’s Share get even rowdier upon her arrival was… for a lack of a better word, truly something else.

She allowed herself to be tackled by Amber, the Outrider’s words barely registering in her ears as she took in the decorations— predominantly white, yellow, and blue. Klee, ever the lovely child, even brought out some confetti, albeit she was incredibly alarmed when she brought out something that looked like one of her bombs.

Paimon’s tiny little hand moved up, her golden eyes following the motion, leading her to look at a white banner, taking a few seconds to fully register the words written in common teyvat.

“Happy Birthday… Lumine,” not traveler, not Honorary Knight, but Lumine . Somehow, being called by her name never ceased to make her feel… just, feel .

Her heart was beating so fast she wondered if it was actually her whole body shaking, as though the ground she stood on was the quaking earth. Had she been given a Geo vision prematurely?

“So this is what it’s like,” Paimon giggled at her as Amber let go to offer her a handkerchief. She must have looked confused considering the brunette giggled, placing the cloth on her free hand.

“You’re crying.”

“I’m not,” the blonde insisted, though it was a mystery whether she really didn’t think she was crying or whether it was for her own pride. There was no way she was going to admit she cried twice in one day, and in public no less.

… no, it was definitely for her own self-preservation, but she was going to deny it to death anyway, “there’s just… something in my eye, thanks Amber.” 

Her two closest friends were cackling by now, Klee audibly worrying if the confetti got into her eyes as everyone else within hearing vicinity laughed, or at least tried to hide their laughter from her.

“Lumine, are you really gonna keep us waiting?” Kaeya approached her, sliding a fancy goblet in her other hand with a wink… or was it a blink? Discreetly she sniffed it, using the Captain’s body in front of her as a shield from Diluc’s sight. No way, was this actually…?

“Everyone’s just dying to celebrate their dear Lumine’s birthday. We’re still in disbelief you never told us when it was going to be, you know,” the blue haired man said, leading her away from the entrance by the shoulder, “you really thought we were going to let you leave for Liyue just like that?”

“I was going to say goodbye,” she really was! Just because she had no obligations to stay didn’t mean she was so heartless to leave without saying goodbye to her friends, “by the way, I can drink this, right?”

Kaeya laughed, gesturing to her to hurry up and try it before Diluc got to either one of them and so she did, swirling the opaque cup by the stem before quickly downing it in one go. Oh, whatever this was, it was good. Something akin to a sparkling drink, similar yet a distinct difference to white wine.

“Death after noon, my favorite,” he murmured into the blonde’s ear, “if you like it, I’ll give you the rest of the bottle as a birthday gift.” 

As though sensing an unwanted presence, the Cavalry Captain quickly distanced himself from her, taking the empty cup from her, “I’ll be taking this, I’ll get some more apple cider for you, birthday girl, while a certain young master wants to see you.”

Right, apple cider. Well, she hoped that Diluc, who was clearly made to have overheard that, believed she was actually given apple cider… maybe he would believe her more than him, or maybe she should just try not to mention it at all and leave Diluc to wonder about what Kaeya let her drink? That sounded kind of fun.

“Hi Diluc,” Lumine said, “thank you for allowing a party to be held here. Seeing all these knights… you sure it’s okay with you?”

The redhead scoffed, taking a moment to glare at a group of them from a distance before looking back at her with a softer gaze, “they’re inefficient at their job, but at the very least they’ll make for an excellent cleanup crew later.”

Ah yes, the noble gentleman’s sense of humor.

“Still, thank you for helping make it possible. I remember you all doing the same thing for Jean as well, and I suppose I never realized,” or perhaps she had just forgotten, “that something like that would feel nice once in a while.”

Her and her brother used to attend celebrations held in their honor, usually after doing some significant task, but those were always out of respect and gratitude, and while that wasn’t lost tonight it was clear to her that the people behind it possessed feelings beyond just that. 

“You haven’t even received your presents, eaten anything, yet you’re already this grateful? I’m sure your… ugh, fan club , would be happy if you let yourself get spoiled by them more.”

“Fan club?”

“You… don’t know...”

“Don’t know what? Well, anyway, I’m already happy with something meaningful like this. You don’t have to scold me about that too, Kaeya does it enough.”

“Does he now?” Lumine knew bringing his estranged brother up was the right choice, considering he didn’t seem as willing to scold her anymore, at least for the night, “I suppose it doesn’t matter as long as you accept my birthday gift for you later, Miss Lumine.”

Miss Lumine? We already moved past that, right? Do I have to start calling you Master Diluc again?”

The redhead let out a huff of air, and then… was Diluc smiling? She blinked, and suddenly it was gone, much to her disappointment. It would have been nice if she had some kind of photography contraption right now, she could easily capture that expression of his! 

She could think of a few other moments she could capture too, the food she and Paimon ate, the time Amber took her gliding, her playdates with Klee, hunting with Razor, drinks at the tavern with Kaeya, coffee with Jean, and late nights at the palm of Mondstadt City’s archon statue with Venti.

At least that way she wouldn’t feel too upset about leaving, even if it was just a region away.

“You really didn’t have to get me a gift, but I’ll definitely accept it,” the blonde said, returning the smile he momentarily gave her before locking eyes with a certain bard, who looked like he was waiting for her to approach him, even as he played merry tunes for atmosphere’s sake.

“Go,” Diluc insisted, returning to his position behind the counter as people began approaching him for orders, “I’ll come find you later.”

He didn’t need to tell her twice, walking away from the bartender only to be pulled in by Venti, twirling her around with a giggle briefly before plopping her down on a chair, sidling up next to her as his fingers idly plucked the strings on his lyre.

“Happy birthday dear traveler! I hope you don’t mind celebrating with Mondstadt traditions instead of your own,” the Archon said, sliding up an apple… pie or cake, either one seemed likely, in front of her on the table, 

“though perhaps we share some similarities? Someone once told me you're supposed to eat a cake on your birthday... Tada! Here's your birthday cake — it's apple flavored! And here's a spoon. The cake didn't rise properly in the oven, that's why it looks more akin to an apple pie... Ugh, baking is really quite… Lumine, are you laughing?”

“Definitely not,” though she tried to stabilize her voice, her shoulders were shaking, so it was quite clear to anyone that she was laughing. Still, the aroma of the apple pie-cake was quite wonderful, and there was something cute about a tiny little candle stuck there in the middle.

“I don’t mind. When in Mondstadt, do what they do, right?” more like her and Aether just had a habit of stealing the traditions they liked, and Mondo wasn’t so unique in that regard, “do I get to make a wish upon blowing the candle?”

“Ehhhh, is it such a common custom? Yeah! As soon as we finish singing, we all say our wishes out loud, and nope no backing out! Everyone will be shouting it together anyway so if it’s personal, no one will notice!”

On second thought, she preferred the whole never speaking your wishes out loud or else it won’t come true thing, but it was hard to just not go along with the flow with everyone clapping and boisterously singing for her. Well, Venti never mentioned the loudness of her wish was equivalent to how likely it was to come true so…

Amidst everyone’s the noise of everyone’s prayers and well wishes, she whispered her wish, 

“that we will be reunited soon.”

Notes:

Again, sorry for months of no updates! I haven't found the time to update this series sob sob. Funny how I end up writing about Lumine's birthday during Venti's birthday, but it is what it is!

✦ I wanted a scene that implied Lumine's been in Mondstadt for quite some time, as well as a scene where it talked about their separation again, therefore birthday!
✦ What gifts did Lumine get? I'll bring them up in future chapters, but it shouldn't be hard to guess for some characters.
✦ Lumine likes strawberry shortcake bc the CN livestreams always have her eat that.

Chapter 11: in which she has a sleepover // 𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠

Summary:

“Lumi is lonely in Liyue, right?”

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sometimes Paimon worried for Lumine. Well, not just sometimes, more like all the time! Though she was far from being fully open with people, a part of her companion wondered if Lumine would ever be, the two of them became friends with a lot of people in Mondstadt, so surely that was a start, right?

Then came Liyue, and though the matters of who assassinated Rex Lapis, the Fatui’s involvement, and Osial all came to a close, Paimon could just tell Lumine had remained mostly closed off— her smile polite yet her gaze blank as she helped the millelith put up missing person posters all over the city. 

The problem was that Lumine had barely gotten to know anyone during her stay in Liyue, so no one really knew there was something off about her at first glance. No one except Paimon, but there was only so much cuddling against her during the cold nights sleeping outside that the floating being could do to quench Lumine’s loneliness. 

Lumine’s Fan Club was all the way back in Mondstadt, but the traveler insisted she stay in Liyue a little longer to get some clues on how to get to Inazuma, as well as properly explore more of the nation now that she wasn’t a wanted person running on a deadline. Who did Lumine know enough that it wouldn’t be awkward trying to get close to them?

They spent a lot of time around Mr. Zhongli and Childe, but Lumine seemed to be avoiding the both of them, not out of anger or spite but to give the former some space and to wrap her head around everything that happened… well, okay, maybe she was avoiding Childe with a little bit of irritation. Paimon didn’t like him one bit, except maybe for his mora, so she was fine not seeing him any time soon!

There was Xiao, he did save Lumi after all, so Paimon liked him! Although… no, Paimon couldn’t see Mr. Adeptus wanting to socialize.

Paimon scratched her head trying to figure out what to do, her Lumi needed a break, camping outside and distracting herself by doing commissions and quests was not helping AT ALL!

“Paimon don’t scratch your head so much, I just finished brushing your hair for you,” speak or… uh, think of the devil and she will appear and sit beside you on the ground, “what are you thinking about in that little brain of yours?”

Okay Paimon, quick, think of an excuse! Something Lumine would believe!

“Lumiiii,” the fairy whined, “I think I’m still hungry!”

The blonde laughed, and Paimon let a sigh of relief out that the excuse was bought. Of course, Paimon always had room in her stomachs! 

“Fine, fine, you’re getting spoiled, aren’t you?” Lumine could act like she was annoyed all she wanted, but Paimon knew she was enjoying it, “you can have some dessert, but you’re gonna have to wait until dinner for more!”

And just like that, Paimon’s little lie earned herself a bottle of apple cider, so no regrets at all! That still didn’t give her any plan ABCs, though.

“Hmm… should I cook something, or do we eat out? I’m running out of recipes…”

Like a torch lighting up, Paimon suddenly had a bright idea, as expected of Paimon!

“Lumi, can we eat at Wanmin later? Pretty please? Chef Mao said he was going to include some new items in the menu, Paimon wants to try them all!”

 


 

In a case of bad timing, Xiangling was usually out and about whenever she and her floating friend decided to dine in or get take out, or so her father said, so it was quite a surprise to see the young chef in the restaurant. A pleasant surprise, of course, considering their few interactions have all been joyful and rather stress-free… except for that one time with the iced boar, but that's besides the point.

Plus, Xiangling kind of reminded her of Amber… an Amber who was way better at cooking, no offense to the Outrider, but the similarities were there— the friendly disposition, the pyro vision, to even the little mascot they had (just how did Guoba and Baron Bunny even function? Was Guoba some kind of toy as well or an actual animal?)— 

By no means was the traveler close to Wanmin’s head chef, but as loud and energetic as Xiangling could be, the mistaken familiarity was soothing.

“Lumine! Paimon! My favorite customers!” the girl strolled up to them with a bright smile, one she was able to return easily enough.

“Paimon bets you say that to all your customers!” her companion said with a huff, causing Xiangling to giggle as she shook her head.

“Of course not! Just to you two… and Xingqiu… and Chongyun, and Xinyan, and Beidou— have you met them before by the way? I’m sure you’d love them!”

“Just Xingqiu so far,” Lumine said. She would admit that she hadn’t really had the time to get to know anyone, partially because she was on the run and looking for the adepti half the time, and the other half because she was busy turning Liyue upside down in the off chance her brother was somewhere out there, “but I know about Chongyun and Beidou.”

“Ooh, Miss Beidou is the cool pirate everyone likes, right?” 

Xiangling nodded at Paimon, “yup! Captain of the Crux Fleet! Sometimes I go sailing with her and she always gets us the best seafood! Hey, speaking of, we have some new dishes today! Chili Crab with Garlic Noodles, Shrimp and Brocolli Stir Fry, Steamed Fish on Soft Tofu with Black Beans, and then there’s other appetizers like-”

“We’re getting them all!” Paimon said out loud before Lumine could even choose between the main courses, “and appetizers too!”

The blonde merely laughed, pushing her wallet to the back of her mind, promising herself she’d just make it up by doing an extra commission or two, “fine, as long as I have the crabs all to myself!”

“You eat crab every other day!”

“And who slurps slime concentrate after meals again?”

Taking short glances between the two companions, Xiangling let out a little laugh, alerting the both of them to stop bickering and return to the topic at hand— the meals they were going to order.

“Oh, sorry Xiangling, is it too much to order everything new? We can totally settle just for one dish each-”

“No, no, that’s not it all!” the Liyuean said, waving her free hand around the air, “just thinking of how well you feed- er, take care of Paimon is all! It kind of reminds me of Guoba and I!”

Speaking of the… creature, pet thing, she had suddenly taken notice of Guoba, who seemed to enjoy just prancing around the restaurant looking cute, like an oversized puppy (or undersized panda) looking around to beg for food from your own plate.

Actually, Lumine was sure she’d seen some customers slip in portions of their meal to feed Guoba. Would Paimon be jealous if she did the same?

“A friend said something similar about Paimon and I, actually,” the traveler said, once again being reminded of her dear friend back in Mondstadt, “food is our love language.”

“Mine too! Hee hee, obviously, since I’m a chef!” Xiangling said with another laugh, her eyes sparkling with interest, “and because I love cooking, I’ll pour all my love into your meals, okay? I’ll be right back!”

As soon as she watched her brown and gold clad figure retreat into the kitchen, Lumine turned to Paimon with an expectant gaze, “so… what do we do while waiting?”

 


 

There were several things the blonde could have done, from reading one of her numerous books, to talking to her companion, to a multitude of other things that did not involve spending any money. Instead, Lumine found herself being roused awake, the wonderful smell of food making her blink her eyes slowly, once, and then twice, only just then registering the tiny pats on the head Paimon had been giving her.

“Wakey-wakey! Hurry up or I’ll eat everything by myself!”

“I’m up, I’m up… don’t touch the crabs,” Lumine grumbled with a yawn, ignoring the pain in her neck and back in favor of turning to their puzzled waitress with a sheepish grin, “sorry about that Xiangling, I was a little sleepy.”

She could see Paimon rolling her eyes, muttering about what an understatement that was.

“This might be the first time I’ve seen someone fall asleep at a restaurant! Did I take that long to serve you two?” Thankfully the Liyuean didn’t look the least bit offended, merely amused at the sight of her.

“Not at all! As expected of a great master chef, all of these look appetizing , so worth the wait! I was just especially tired today.”

“Oh no, are you okay?”

Right, now that Xiangling was expecting an answer, what kind of response would come off as reasonable and respectable enough? Something that wouldn’t cause too much worry to such a sweet girl.

“Haha, it’s nothing I’m not used to, commissions can be quite tiring-”

“Especially for travelers like us,” Paimon interrupted, “it’s soooo hard sleeping outside all the time … especially when the weather can’t be controlled and it gets rainy or windy, and Liyue has sooo much rocks to climb-”

Oh, she knows what Paimon’s up to. Months of living with her, she knows when her friend tries to look a little cuter than usual, her tiny fists resting against her cheeks as if to squish them, her voice sounding even more babylike as she tried to sound pitiful and, by extension make Lumine sound a little bit pitiful as well.

Sure it was no Knights of Favonius spare bedroom, and she would often stop walking just to stretch her arms and back, but neither Liyue nor Teyvat were her first times camping out either so it wasn’t like she was so against a little rain— and Paimon shouldn’t be either, considering the little fairy always escaped to her own microuniverse whenever the weather got bad.

So the question was, why was Paimon trying to appeal to Xiangling’s good graces? More food, maybe?

Well, there was no point in trying to deny whatever Paimon said, by the look on their chef’s face she had fallen for it hook, line and sinker so she might as well just… eat the crabs and watch Paimon’s performance.

“Really? Wow, I know some treasure hoarders and adventurers choose to set up tents in the wilderness but I didn’t think Lumine and Paimon would as well!”

Oh wow, the spice on the crab was so good…

“Right! Lumi’s too cool to be on the same level as some pesky treasure hoarders! Hello, she’s Mondstadt’s beloved Honorary Knight!”

“Right, right! And she helped save Liyue with the Adepti and the Liyue Qixing! Even though she’s a total outsider!”

“Paimon knew you would get it, Xiangling!”

The garlic noodles as well… who knew it would make such a nice pairing with her beloved seafood? Xianling was a genius.

“I mean, it’s also cool that you two can just camp outside like that all over Liyue! I go on excursions too when I’m looking for inspiration or new ingredients, but my dad worries and I have to help with the restaurant so I usually end up going back home.”

“It is cool! Lumi and Paimon get to stargaze alot! It’s not as cool when it rains, though.”

Oh, Guoba was approaching her. Ahhh, how cute. Like a giant plush doll. The crabs were hers but since Paimon was so busy chatting up Xiangling, surely Paimon wouldn’t notice a piece or two of her food ending up in Guoba’s stomach, right?

“Raining like it is now, you mean?”

Lumine and Paimon turned to the nearest window at the same time to confirm that, yes, though it was a mere drizzle right now, by the color of the sky it looked like it would keep raining for at least a few more hours. Oddly enough she noticed that Paimon looked oddly excited, which was strange considering her companion had a tendency to complain when she was forced to retreat into her own little world instead of sleeping next to Lumine.

Is this how parents feel when they complain about their child going distant all of a sudden?

“Paimon, go eat up,” Lumine said, “before the rain catches up to us later.”

“Ehhh? Are you sure?” Xiangling said with a concerned look on her face, “do you need to rush to get a room at an inn or something? I can quickly pack all of these up for you, then you can just heat it up and eat it in your rooms if you want?”

However before Lumine could say anything, Paimon had taken a quick look outside again before shaking her head, “nope! Unless it’s an actual storm there’s an actual storm with thunder and lightning there’s no way Lumine would spend money on an inn!”

“Inns can be quite expensive… or never have any free rooms,” the blonde interjected, not wanting Xiangling to get the wrong idea, “and I always make sure Paimon doesn’t get wet,” because she goes back to her own pocket dimension, “and I’m already used to bad weathers from my years of travelling, so-”

“Sigh,” Paimon said, ever the dramatic one, “life was so much easier in Mondstadt. If only we could get somewhere to stay for the night, for free!

The waitress’ expression lit up like a campfire, as though she had arrived to the most brilliant idea, “yes! I got it! What if we had a sleepover at my place?”

Ah, so this was Paimon’s plan all along.

 


 

“Paimon, I’m not mad at you,” Lumine began softly, but definitely unwilling to let go of the topic, “but I still want to know why you did what you did. I know you probably miss sleeping in an actual room instead of outside, but I,” she took a quick look at the door to see if the other girl was still outside the bedroom before continuing, “I just feel a little bad for inconveniencing Xiangling like this.”

“The weather-”

Lumine looked at Paimon, who was never the best at hiding her thoughts anyway, and knew that wasn’t the complete truth, and Paimon knew that too by the way she immediately stopped.

For a few beats her friend stayed silent, simply chewing on the early midnight snacks Xiangling made for them, before finally speaking up.

“Lumi is lonely in Liyue, right?”

The traveler fell silent, not knowing what to say to that. To say that she wasn’t, that she was too busy solving the problems of the people of Liyue and getting involved in their national crisis, would be a lie. Even when she was busy, even with Paimon by her side making her feel better, it would be difficult to deny she was lonely.

“I always feel lonely without Aether,” she finally said. It was difficult talking about him to anyone else, but she trusted her companion enough to know that even if she rattled on about anything and everything, she would keep all the personal details of her and her brother a secret.

“But you were less lonely before, right?” Paimon said, “because of Amber and the other knights, and Diluc and Razor and Venti.”

Oh, now Lumine understood. When did her emergency food become so perceptive? 

With a quiet laugh, the blonde messed up Paimon’s hair, “my silly little mascot-”

“Hey! Paimon’s not-”

“Your Lumi will do her best to make friends in Liyue too, okay? So you don’t have to try and rush it anymore, you hear me?”

Before the floating being could respond, Xiangling had burst into the room clad in her bright yellow pajamas with Guoba in tow, the Liyuean holding a bundle of blankets and pillows as the… orange panda? creature waved hello excitedly.

“I’m back!” with a bright smile she plopped down on the floor beside the duo, before turning to look at Lumine.

“Lumine! There’s a tear in your nightshirt!” she looked down, quickly spotting a tiny tear on her right sleeve. Huh, maybe she tore it against a stray branch or the sharp edge of a rock or something, “I have a sewing kit if you need to fix it!”

“No need, I have my own sewing kit as well,” with the outstretch of her palm a box appeared out of thin air, and without a second glance Lumine took off the lid to search for a thread that matched the color of her shirt.

“Is no one going to talk about how that box just appeared out of thin air? ” Xiangling said incredulously, followed by a short laugh from Paimon and a random noise from Guoba. Probably not, considering Paimon was already used to her doing that, and Guoba not being able to speak.

“Paimon does that too, all the time actually,” Lumine pointed out, bringing out a spool of light blue thread and a needle, “and so do you with… well, I guess it’s weird because I don’t have a vision.”

“Paimon thinks it’s more because it’s a sewing kit instead of a weapon or book or something,” the fairy said, moving closer towards her as if to judge Lumine’s color choices, “you really should get more clothes though. You can’t just keep wearing your usual dress and the clothes you picked up somewhere!”

Lumine shrugged, like she didn’t think it was that big of a deal she wore one thing and one thing only. No one’s ever really questioned it, and she figured people liked it enough because it made her recognizable even from a distance.

Xiangling seemed to agree with Paimon though, if she were to judge by the vehement nod of her head. 

“Ooh, if it wasn’t so late I would have dragged you to a seamstress right now! Not… that I know that many, especially one that would suit your tastes,” the Liyuean paused momentarily before a noticeable smirk appeared, an expression Lumine never would have thought would match Xiangling. Why was she suddenly laughing?

“Um, Xiang-”

“Hee hee, don’t mind me! I was just thinking of something for next time!” wiping the mischievous look off her face, the girl infront of her took admiring the traveler’s quick handiwork. “Huh, you’re pretty good!”

Before Lumine could say anything, Paimon, filled with her overflowing, misplaced confidence, let out a haughty laugh.

“Of course! Lumine is an expert toy maker, after all!”

“It’s…” for a second she thought about denying it altogether, but considering Lulu and Monnie were hanging off her backpack… “not exactly a toy. Similar but I doubt you’d have much fun playing with it.”

Unless you were Klee or Paimon, who seemed to derive an odd amount of joy using the dolls for roleplaying purposes. Now that she thought about it, what did the others do with theirs? She knew Amber had Amby displayed next to some Baron Bunnies, and Razor… he would be able to find Rara somehow with his keen sense of smell even if he had lost it, but what of Kaeya, or Diluc, and…

Yeah, she didn’t want to think about what the mysterious Albedo thought of her shoddy work. Though she was a little proud to say she’d improved since then, a part of her still couldnt forget about the clumsy stitching she used to have.

“Ahhhh, how have I not noticed before? This is so adorable!” Xiangling gushed, arm extended to squish the mini Paimon with her fingers; Lumine didn’t bother restraining her laughter as Paimon silently gloated— her likeness was being complimented, after all!

“She means the doll, not you!” the blonde teased, laughing a little louder as the fairy stuck her tongue out in rebuttal.

“Hey! Paimon takes offense to that!”

Awww , my poor baby, did you get your feelings hurt?” she continued to coo, even as her white haired companion floated upwards to stomp on air— counterproductive, really, then again the traveler didn’t think Paimon’s feet stomping the floor would have made that much noise either. If 

“I was just joking!” she threw her hands up in surrender, before turning to look at Xiangling who had moved past admiring her doll-making skills to feeding Guoba some snacks. 

“You know… Guoba’s cute, Guoba would make for a cute—”

Paimon would soon laugh in retaliation at how Lumine couldn’t even finish her hypothetical statement, not when the dark-haired girl gasped, stars in her eyes as she nodded enthusiastically, agreeing with her not-suggestion.

Lumine was perfectly aware of her inability to say no, especially to someone as sweet as Xiangling, so really, she didn’t have much of a choice, did she?

 


 

“Do girls usually do these kinds of things when they have a sleepover?” Lumine asked the girl across from her, who was focused on her own project as well, only looking up to either make eye contact with the blonde, or look at the sleeping Guoba and Paimon with a fond smile.

“Girls will do anything at a sleepover! Don’t tell my dad, but there was that one time me and Xinyan...” Xiangling prattled on about something about Xinyan holding an impromptu night concert as a distraction while the former went to discreetly harvest ingredients; Lumine was sure something about the passive mentions of trespassing was on the verge of being illegal, not that she knew much about Liyue laws nor was she the most… lawful of people, but all she could do was giggle in bemusement as she flipped between focusing on her current sewing project and watching Xiangling talk animatedly.

“I’m no lawyer but I can pinpoint at least three different laws you might have broken,” the blonde said, a small laugh spilling from her lips, “but that soup at least tasted good so who cares, right?”

Duh! If the ingredients weren’t so rare I’d whip one up for you right now! Ooh, we could totally harvest some ingredients tomorrow morning and make breakfast together, too!”

“So sleepovers aren’t just for committing crimes, it’s for cooking too...”

It was meant to be a joke, but Xiangling took one look at the traveler and realized something, “have you never had a sleepover before?”

Considering her brother always made it a point to either share a room with her or to have separate rooms for the sake of safety… unless Paimon counted, it was a definite no.

Lumine yelped as Xiangling practically jumped her, honestly more startled at the needle possibly pricking her friend than anything else. 

“Ahhh, you should have told me! This would have been more fun if there were more of us! Well, there’s always next time! Now I have to make sure your first is really good ! Hmm… we’re already making dolls, so when we finish we should-”

Lumine must have made a face because her chef friend started giggling, shaking her head, “no we’re not going ingredient hunting in the middle of the night! Not with this weather!”

So if there wasn’t a downpour outside they would have?

“I know girls like to talk about love. I haven’t really thought about it, but unless you-”

“Nope, no boys, no girls, no one I’m really interested in that way ,” Lumine wondered if she should be sad about the fact that she never really had the time to think about romance, even in other worlds. Many of her friends were pleasing to the eye but truthfully it wouldn’t be fair to pursue anything when all she could think about was reuniting with her brother.

Besides, half the people she knew didn’t have Paimon’s seal of approval, if the silly nicknames were anything to go by.

“That’s surprising, I’m sure you have a lot of admirers!” Xiangling said, “reminds me of the rumors about the Tianquan! Everyone said she probably had a secret lover, or lovers , but I wonder if a woman like her even has time for that.”

“Really? I guess baseless gossip exists even in Liyue, huh,” somehow, that one similarity between Mondstadt and Liyue gave her comfort. She supposed a bard’s influence was bound to carry on even in the winds of other nations.

“Lady Ningguang, huh, I guess she’s kind of like our Acting Grand Master when it comes to popularity,” maybe even more so considering the worst she’s ever heard about Jean was if she ever planned on getting married or if she was the strongest knight out there— definitely no hidden lover type rumors.

“Mhmm, but don’t say what I told you in public! I’d tell you to keep a low profile and not attract her attention but… that seems impossible now, huh… well, that means she probably thinks highly of you, right?”

“We’ve only spoken a few times,” Lumine said, recalling how the Tianquan’s last words were if she really was sure about her choice of reward, “so I don’t really know how she thinks of me. Actually, aside from you I wouldn’t really know much of anyone.”

For a few moments she thought of Childe… Tartaglia, whatever name he really went by, and Zhongli, but considering one was a Fatui Harbinger who she never had proper closure with and the other was a retired Archon with numerous secrets hidden behind contracts… yeah, maybe she didn’t really know them that well.

“Then I should just tell you about them! Liyue has so many lovely people, after all!” Xiangling said excitedly, and with her arms up in the air for a few seconds, Lumine caught a glimpse of what she was making— with no surprise, it was in the shape of Guoba’s face.

“Go for it,” and so Xiangling did, from people she thought highly of like Zhongli, who was apparently a surprisingly fussy eater, to Xingqiu, Chongyun, Xinyan, and Captain Beidou, who she all seemed to treat as her friends, to others who she seemed to have complicated opinions on like Doctor Baizhu and Zhongli’s boss, Hu Tao. When the topic of Diona, the bartender from Mondstadt she had yet to meet, Lumine couldn’t stop herself from talking about her friends too.

It was inevitable, really, how she found herself gushing about them in a way she could never do straight to their faces due to sheer embarrassment. If Kaeya ever heard her say she thought he was cool or worse, even the slightest bit reliable, she would simply never show her face again because the Seven knew that piece of information would make its way to the ears of Diluc and all the other knights . What would be worse, Kaeya with a shit-eating grin or Diluc looking disappointed?

Still, Paimon was right— she had been pushing away the thoughts of her allies back in Mondstadt, and now that she got the chance to talk about them she suddenly had an endless amount of words to say.

“I have an idea, maybe I can teach you some recipes tonight,” Xiangling interrupted herself with a yawn, sheepishly correcting herself afterwards, “or maybe tomorrow, then you can bring a bit of Liyue back with you to Mondstadt!”

“I’d love that,” and briefly, like she had a tendency to when she ate her meals, she wondered if her brother ever tasted the dishes in Liyue. When they reunited, she’d cook all the new things she learned for him, too.

In a dozen or so minutes only Lumine was left awake, Xiangling having dozed off as soon as she finished her palm sized plush of Guoba’s face. Instinctively she fixed the blankets over her sleeping body, like she tended to do as she tucked Paimon to bed, before continuing her own work, willing herself to finish it before she ended her night.

 


 

Morning came, and Xiangling’s father woke the four up to call them to breakfast, or rather Guoba and Paimon woke to the heavenly smell of Chef Mao’s food and generously took the time to wake the two sleeping girls instead of gobbling all the food up for themselves.

“Thank you for letting me stay the night, and to your dad, too,” Lumine said graciously, retrieving last night’s project from her bag, “I made this for you… well, maybe for Guoba too.”

Lumine! This is so cute, this is me, right?” with starry eyes, Xiangling received the small plush in her free hand. She had difficulty replicating her friend’s hair, opting to simplify the braided style into simple cut curves, but the hue and the eyebrow shape was enough to give it away.

“Paimon really likes the doll I made of myself, who knows why she’s so attached when the real deal is always beside her,” the blonde joked, knowing her little fairy was out of hearing range, “I thought Guoba, if he’s interested in things aside from food, might like one of you, too. You can even find a ribbon to hang it around him if you want!”

Xiangling seemed to be busy thinking about what to say or do, so Lumine found herself quickly adding, "and I usually... well, me and Paimon usually name the dolls I make but I've honestly been a bit unsure about what to name her. I was thinking Maomao but I wasn't sure if you'd like it so maybe Lili? Umm... Xiangling?"

She expected a few responses from the girl, but none of them were her rushing back to her room. “Hold on! Let me get something!” she heard her shout, and within seconds footsteps were heard once more as Xiangling plopped her work from last night onto the table.

“You should keep this with you, then!”

“Oh, you really don’t have to-”

“Silly, I can always make more if I wanted! I already have the real Guoba with me too!” Xiangling said with a giggle, turning to her waiting companion who was clearly asking for seconds, “treat it as a charm from both of us! May all your food be delicious from now on!”

Well, if she put it like that there was hardly any reason for Lumine to refuse, no matter if the charm worked or not.

As Xiangling busied herself making even more food, Paimon quickly floated towards Lumine with a knowing look on her face, “of course Xiangling’s the first to get one, Paimon isn’t surprised at all!”

“Because you planned this, that’s why you’re not surprised,” Lumine deadpanned, sighing as her lovely little parasite stole some food off her plate.

“Fufu, Paimonsh ish a geeniush!” she proclaimed in between bites, food still in her mouth as she talked, “sho who’sh next?”

Would there even be a next? She had a feeling that even if she did make up with Childe, he’d absolutely make fun of her for having such a childish hobby… Zhongli seemed out of the question, there was no way she’d have the guts to give a man with such high quality tastes something so low quality (then again Diluc did accept her gift, but she had a feeling Zhongli was even classier)... Xiao would likely scoff at anything that wasn’t Almond Tofu… there was Keqing, who she had talked to quite a lot in regards to the matter of the posters, among other things, but by no means were they close.

“Um,” Lumine chuckled, “we’ll see.”

Notes:

Hello! I have returned! I'm so sorry for the hiatus, as usual I've been busy with university so I haven't had time to write, even though my drafts keep growing and growing. Thank you so much for over a thousand kudos! I never could have expected a silly little series like this to gain much traction, especially since no ships are involved, but thank you for the support!

✦ This chapter has been less about just Xiangling and Lumine, though I do plan for Xiangling to appear again in other chapters! I wanted this to be more of an introduction to Liyue chapter, mostly setting the scene on how Lumine feels about Liyue and how she misses Mondstadt.
✦ I write each chapter based on the update timelines, so neither the Dragonspine update nor Lantern Rite has happened yet, which is why Lumine still doesn't know Albedo nor has she developed a friendship with Xiao.
✦ Xiangling's doll was difficult to give a name to. I went for Maomao first since that's Xiangling's family name, but Mao is usually associated with her dad. I don't really know how Chinese nicknames work, I did some research and it told me to repeat the last character of the given name but "Lingling" reminds me too much of TwoSetViolin, if anyone watches them, so I put Lili as the other choice instead. Hopefully I don't have as much trouble giving nicknames for the other Liyue characters oops.

Chapter 12: in which a toymaker befriends a toyseller // 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞

Summary:

“I’m a big brother too, you know,”

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

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.

Notes:

Hello! Thankfully this update only took me a few weeks instead of months. Again, thank you for the kudos and comments!
✦ Tartaglia is one of my favorite characters so I admit a lot of love went into this chapter. I think that Lumine and Childe make for a good friendship duo, bc despite being on different sides their perceptions of family serve as a stepping stone to reconciling from the past.
✦ Zhongli and Keqing are mentioned a good amount. This is because Childe's chapter takes place in the span of a month or maybe a little more, and in that same time frame she also spends time with Zhongli and Keqing, scenes of which will be seen in their chapters.
✦ I wanted to name the doll Tortang Talong :P

Chapter 13: in which she gets a history lesson // 𝐳𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢

Summary:

she knew that he had never been more human to her.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

It was always good to be wary around gods. This advice was not exclusive to the gods of Teyvat, but to every deity and higher being there may be across all universes. Sometimes gods were creators, sometimes they were rulers, but all the gods she knew had one thing in common— power that no ordinary human could contest. The concept of such divine beings were often the cause of debate, but Lumine could not place herself in either extreme end.

Perhaps if she had never met a god before the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, whom she had long resolved to kill with her own two hands, she could have fallen towards the slippery slope of loathing, getting herself killed along the way.

However, though she did not hate all the gods, she could not get herself to fully trust them either— in particular, the gods of Teyvat. She could befriend them, she could like them, after meeting Venti she knew it was quite impossible to hate him , not with how kindly he treated her and the little bits of info he had fed her, but it was just that— she knew so little of him, possibly as little of her he knew, that if she were to ever learn he was somehow involved with…

No, she did not want to think about it. It was an interesting development, she mused, how after allowing herself to feel less guilty of making friends she had already jumped the gun to hypothetical feelings of betrayal. A little hypocritical, too, knowing that she was an entity who hid practically everything of her past. Was friendship meant to be so complicated a matter as this?

Still, her feelings about Venti were relatively easier to comprehend than her feelings about Zhongli. Before the fight with Osial she found herself quite liking him— it was true she had wanted to leave Teyvat as soon as she reunited with her brother, but it was also true that the world she currently resided in was quite enchanting; Zhongli, with his deep, rich voice made for quite a wonderful storyteller and educator, and she found herself hanging onto every detail he’d tell about the customs and culture of Liyue.

After learning of his plan from the encounter with him, Tartaglia, and Signora she found herself… no, not quite disliking, but definitely conflicted. This feeling continued even as they ventured to Sal Terrae, where she learned more not only of Havria and the conflict of the gods, but of Zhongli himself.

She understood why he did what he did, even if she wondered if it was the absolute best approach, but the source of her apprehension had been less of the effects it would have on Liyue and more about his deal with the Tsaritsa, more about how a gnosis could be so easily given away, more about the idea of just how much he knew but could not tell her due to his contracts.

Still, just like how it was Venti she had befriended, not Barbatos, it would be Zhongli she would get to know, not Morax or Rex Lapis.

Admittedly she knew her intentions were not completely pure, knowing that she would try to pry as much as she could about the events that had happened while she had yet to awaken, about the gods and archons of this world. He probably knew that already, though, and would firmly set his boundaries on what he’d get her to discover herself.

It was with that line of thought that she found herself approaching the funeral consultant. 

“Miss Lumine, to what do I owe the pleasure of your presence to?”

“I’ve been hoping to ask for a favor, honestly,” Lumine said, holding tight to a pile of books between her arms, “I found… er, acquired some history books and a few of them have some Liyuean passages I don’t understand, so I was hoping you could possibly explain them to me?”

When the brunet didn’t respond as fast as expected, simply humming in thought as he had a tendency to do, she found it appropriate to slip in the fact that it was less a favor and more of an exchange.

“I’ll pay for our meals if you accept!” 

At last, Zhongli let out an amused chuckle, “I was simply thinking of where to put you in my schedule, but with a generous offer such as yours, who would I be to refuse?” the former archon’s expression looked as if it had stayed the same at first glance, but she was able to catch onto the small curve of his mouth.

Ah, this old man would be quite troublesome as well, wouldn’t he?

 


 

Lumine, and Aether for that matter, had never attended a school or academy before. A formal education would require time and commitment and, while it was true the two of them had loads of time, neither of them had enough patience to stick around for more than a few sessions attended sporadically.

She knew how lessons worked, though, having picked up skills from multiple mentors in the past, so it was a given she came prepared in meeting Zhongli, even if it would be an informal lecture given over a bowl of noodles.

“It’s quite flattering that you’d want to take notes from me, even with this setting,” the brunet was eyeing the notebook in her hand. She had difficulty reading his face, wondering if he was teasing her or if he was genuinely flattered.

“A good adventurer should always take down notes,” she replied, taking her seat in front of him, “mere strength isn’t enough, not when knowledge holds just as much importance.”

“That’s a good mindset to have,” he nodded, and if she were to assume based on his age and the things she had already read about him, he was likely agreeing based on experience. 

“I do wonder why you bought a few of these books, though.”

Lumine furrowed her eyebrows, “are they inaccurate? Offensive?”

“Though there are most definitely inaccuracies, that’s excusable as it’s impossible to fully retell every detail of history perfectly. None of these are slanderous as well, though I’m sure those would have made for quite the interesting read. Rather, I’m curious as to why you have in your possession books in Liyuean when you barely know a word of it.”

“Oh. I didn’t exactly purchase them,” the traveler had the decency to blush, coughing as she failed to continue her statement. There was no way she was admitting she had a tendency to pick up not only every fruit or flower but books too, but if she tried to lie Zhongli could probably figure her out in seconds. She was just going to let him make his own assumptions, maybe he’ll think kindly of her and assume they were merely gifts from kind citizens of the nation.

“I see,” he smiled as he picked up his tea cup and sipped on it, maintaining eye contact with her. Oh, he most definitely knew.

Still, he seemed to have mercy on her as he picked up the book with the green cover, skimming through the pages briefly before setting it back down, deciding he didn’t need it to tell the story after all.

“Yes, this is quite an interesting tale. Years ago, at Liyue’s foundation, monsters and gods still ruled the seas…in fear the forebears lived, and fought the sea with all they could muster. As spring turned to fall and back again for many an eon, a behemoth arose that dominated the seas. Even the Geo Archon's Geo Whale could not triumph against it.”

“Sea monsters… whale…” Lumine inwardly groaned. Sure, her and Tartaglia were toeing the line between rivalry and friendship, but she couldn’t help but be frustrated at the events from before. Sure, she did send him flying once or twice, and sure, she did make it very annoying fighting her with her geo domes, but wasn’t throwing a whale above her too much? She was soaking like a wet dog once that fight was over!

Zhongli looked at her questioningly, and Lumine wouldn’t be surprised if he figured out why her face was a little scrunched up, but he continued, “The people of Liyue called it "Baqiu," a beast without rival even in the deepest depths of the ocean abyss. Its enormous waves would wash away entire settlements. So the Geo Archon fashioned a black kite by hand with jade and stones.”

It was a little funny having the Geo Archon refer to himself in third person, but she was interested in something else he had said.

“So aside from structures and the land itself, what else is Rex Lapis adept at?” she wasn’t too sure if the Geo Whale was quite so literally a living animal made out of geo, but she could assume it was quite large and took some talent to create, “weapon creation? Cuisine? Fine arts?”

“All of those, of course. Morax has walked these lands for many years,” he replied with a hum, “there are existing records of activities he has pursued in his past time, and even weapons and artifacts of his creation. Perhaps I could show you some time?”

“I’d love that! Honestly, I’m probably the envy of historians right now, you’re more reliable than books these days,” Lumine remarked, knowing she’d still have him translate those books for her regardless.

She was no stranger to artifacts. She had garnered a good amount from Mondstadt herself, and even gifted some of her loot to her friends (and Paimon, who just loved sparkly things), but weapons were much rarer to come by. Sure, she had probably brought dozens of dull blades to Wagner for repurposing, and she kept at least one of every weapon for collecting’s sake, but there were only really three swords she bothered using, and if she were honest, none of them really worked as well as her old sword did. Maybe she’d try to get a better sword? Zhongli would probably give her some ideas on what materials or cut to ask for.

Now that she thought about it… where would Zhongli put his belongings? Last time she checked, Venti, verifiably a god himself, was… well…

“Zhongli… do you have a house?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Venti.”

“Ah.”

 


 

Zhongli’s residence was no Golden House or Dawn Winery in terms of size, not that she could see at least, but it was incredibly eloquent in the way only Zhongli could be— there was clear thought behind each placement and choice of interior design, and she wouldn’t be surprised if the positioning of each item held relevancy to Liyuean culture too. If she weren’t an outlander, maybe she’d find herself pointing to a vase and going, “is that a historical artifact from 2000 years ago? In a funeral parlor consultant’s living room?

Actually, maybe it was a good thing she chose to leave Paimon with Xiangling today. Less chances of accidentally breaking something incredibly valuable, and ever since the Holy Lyre der Himmel, she’s had enough of broken artifacts.

Lumine picked up her teacup, her very expensive looking teacup, and drank her tea, her very expensive tea, out of it.

“Did people really see the Geo Archon in all those different forms?”

“While it’s not wrong that I’ve taken different forms in the past, some of these are most inaccurate— that is to say, fiction passed off as fact. There is only really one form accurately passed down in art throughout the years.”

She nodded in understanding. Of course, if your archon descended every year for the Rite of Descension, you’d probably get a good gist of the details, too.

“I’m not surprised. With the vast amount of Rex Lapis merchandise and artworks-”

“Ahh, I didn’t quite say they were perfect depictions, Miss Lumine,” the brunet interjected, “just that they were close. That’s not to say that it’s impossible, either— an old friend of mine has managed to do it.” Zhongli turned to look north of the living room, Lumine’s eyes following suit.

“You’re free to look closer. The tea, and I as well, will still be here.”

She had known it was a handscroll painting from a far, one that was supposedly the most accurate painting of his half-dragon, half-lin form, but it was upon stepping closer that she could truly appreciate the finer details. Amidst clouds and mists and whirlpools, amongst rocky mountains and fire, Morax soared the skies lonesome, the paper spattered with drops of ink and delicate calligraphy telling a story she couldn’t quite understand. Regardless, she found herself mesmerized by the creature Zhongli was known to take the form of— she hadn’t taken a good look before, too busy being a suspect of a planned death. She wondered if the painter could’ve known that, to the people of Liyue, that Morax’s final moments were not soaring the sky, but falling from it.

Zhongli doesn’t ask for her impressions, and Lumine doesn’t give any either. She only stood for a few seconds, perhaps a minute, longer, taking in the details, before returning to their tea time.

 


 

Due to the kindness of the Mao family, the traveler and her fairy companion had been granted a place of stay in the young chef’s bedroom. She still slept outside most of the time, the comfort of the stars in the sky incomparable to bland ceilings and candlelight, but colder nights called for warmer spaces, and inns were just a bad idea with her current financial status. Her wealth tended to fluctuate depending on whether Paimon wanted to eat out or eat something she cooked, but her meetings with Zhongli were taking a toll on her wallet.

Again, her fault for offering in the first place, but put against the God of Contracts, she was sure to keep her word— bound by a divine power or otherwise. 

“Oooh, Lumine, whatcha doing?” Xiangling asked, peering over her shoulders, “oh, and I brought us some midnight snacks! Is ickle wickle baby Paimon still awake?”

Xianglinggg! Paimon is not a baby!” said her toddler-sized companion, irritated, but not irritated enough to ignore the plate of peanut puffs on the table. 

“Awww, baby is up past her bedtime!” Lumine cooed, “did big sis Lumi and big sis Xiangling wake you up?”

“Look, little Guoba is sleeping! What a good baby! Why can’t Paimon be like that?”

With puffed up cheeks, Paimon huffed at the two of them, “Lumi’s so mean to Paimon lately… wahhh…”

“Just me? Xiangling started it!”

“Poor baby, Paimon can have Lumine’s share of snacks then!” 

Now just what was this about? Since when was Xiangling on Paimon’s side? Was leaving Paimon alone to serve as the youngest Mao’s taste tester a mistake after all? She always thought that Paimon would be the last being on Teyvat to betray her, and yet here she was.

“Thank you Xiangling… see, Lumi, this is why you draw like a baby! ” Before the traveler could cover the paper in defense, like what was the relation even how dare she insult the hand that feeds her , the young chef took a second look at her sketch… and giggled. She could still recall Amber’s laughter from when she tried to draw Andrius, and now here it was again.

“It’s just a first draft,” she explained hastily, despite no one really asking. 

“Don’t mind Paimon, I think it’s cute! I’m sure Morax is smiling down at you right now.”

“Benevolent Rex Lapis, connoisseur of the arts that he is, I’m sure he’d be chuckling right now too,” Paimon didn’t even bother hiding her laughter, not that Xiangling would know just why it was so funny to her companion. Surely it wasn’t too bad for a first try? A half-dragon, half-lin creature was so much more difficult to draw than the head of a giant wolf she used to see on a weekly basis.

“Why were you drawing our archon anyway?” 

Right, perhaps that would be strange. To them, she was just a traveler, not even a scholar of some sort, so there was no reason for her to be devout to a dead god. At most, she was just the suspected murderer who was cleared of suspicions. The link between them should have ended there. 

Catching Paimon’s eye, she shook her head. 

“I was reading some books about the history of Rex Lapis, so I guess thinking about him so much just gave me the urge to.”

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that she had spent a lot of time thinking about the Geo Archon, or perhaps just the gods in general, but in contrast to what Paimon seemed to think, she wasn’t actually planning on giving him a plush or some other token of the sort— rather, it hadn’t really crossed her mind. It wasn’t that she didn’t think they had formed a friendship, nor was she completely against the idea, but she just wasn’t feeling up to it, not with the evident distance between the two of them.

If she were to dissect the reason why, it was probably because she still didn’t really understand him yet. It was different with Venti, who despite being divine seemed just as human as Jean or Diluc or Kaeya, albeit an incredibly extraordinary, talented, alcoholic human. Even when he revealed himself as an archon, somehow things didn’t feel different for her at all. Maybe he wasn’t easy to read, maybe he was confusing, maybe she knew even less about his past than the Geo Archon’s— it didn’t matter, not when at the end of the day, he was still the Venti she did a heist for in Favonius Cathedral.

She knew Zhongli as a human before an archon, too, but it was different with him. Despite the fact that there was nothing meanspirited about his deception, it was difficult to see him as the not-a-god-anymore Zhongli, not with the way he carried himself— calm demeanor, profound knowledge, innate strength—

hypocrite as she may be, but perhaps it was because he still wasn’t quite human that she couldn’t understand him, couldn’t distinguish him from the majestic creature and the Statues of the Seven. It was easy to understand humans, but difficult to understand gods.

 


 

Lumine was more of a listener than a talker, though she would attribute this to the fact that Paimon talked enough for the both of them. Still, when she talked, she talked , and it might have been one of the few instances she had spoken more than 5 sentences in a row without interjection. Lumine, the talker, and Zhongli, the listener. Funnily enough, it was Zhongli that had brought this on, asking her about Paimon.

She loved and adored Paimon with her very being, she easily expressed as much to Zhongli knowing her little fairy was sleeping in her realm—the consequences of staying up to gossip and eat peanut puffs, truly— but, in the most affectionate way possible, she had began talking about Paimon’s extreme appetite. 

“It makes you wonder if she somehow has… what, six stomachs in there? Of course, cooking isn’t much of an issue for me, though I also try not to overcook in case I deplete resources too quickly before nature could recover— meat and fish in particular. Still, that means buying meals in restaurants or stalls. The food tastes great, don’t get me wrong, but if a normal duo got two main courses, Paimon and I end up with five when the bill arrives. Just last month, we had spent 300,000 mora on food! My money pouch is… lighter than usual.”

Zhongli, in his patience to wait for her to finish talking, finally asked, “are our meals together not contributing to that cost?”

Despite the impoliteness of agreeing, she agreed anyway, knowing there wasn’t really a point to beating around the bush with him, “well they are , but I don’t mind— you’ve taught me a lot about Liyue, even things most people probably wouldn’t know, so it’s only fair.”

“Even if the deal was more in my favor than yours?” He didn't seem surprised, but he did seem curious, knowing he’d revealed nothing crucial to her search, and yet she continued to indulge him. 

“If you really feel it was unfair, then feel free to make up for it,” she said with a smile, “an ornate vase, perhaps? Or a jade necklace? A golden hairpin?”

She was joking, what would she even do with an ornate vase anyway, but Zhongli had begun to look contemplative and she had begun to backtrack. 

“Or nothing at all! No, not nothing, a meal would be best, of course. Homecooked, even, I think I’m getting tired of restaurants and tea houses.”

“I see… in that case, I suppose a change of pace could be good for us. Instead of lunch, should we have dinner instead? A homecooked meal sounds pleasant. How does Wednesday sound?”

Lumine breathed a sigh of relief. Dinner, dinner would be good. 

 


 

Unexpectedly the dinner for three, Paimon included, had become a dinner for four, Childe included. It was odd, whether she stood beside the tiny pixie, or the supposedly dead Archon of Liyue, or the 11th Fatui Harbinger, but to be in said archon’s house cooking food together was just about the oddest thing nobody would ever see.

“If you won’t fight me, will you at least fight me through a cooking contest?” Lumine couldn’t help but laugh as Zhongli ignored Childe. “Now, comrade, don’t think you’re getting out of this too! A while ago you said you were a competent chef, so you better prove that!”

“And you’re the judge of a competent chef?”

“Nope! But we have someone who is,” simultaneously the two of them turned back to look at Paimon, who was clearly more excited for the meal than all three of them combined.

“Are you really just gonna float around watching us?” she asked amusedly, “you can help me stir the pot while I work on the chicken thighs.”

“But Paimon is a baby .”

“So now you’re suddenly a baby? When you don’t feel like doing work?” she rolled her eyes as Paimon giggled, leaving her space beside Lumine and moving next to Tartaglia, probably wanting to see if she could get a taste test out of him.

“Now what’s this with Paimon? The secret of your relationship… is she actually your child or something? I always thought you were younger than me, but…” now she knew the man was joking, but there was just something about his concerned expression that was just too well played that irked her.

“I’m not a mom!” so maybe she was a little… concerned about the matters of her age, being called old in particular, but couldn’t she have been… who knows, a big sister? “I’m still too young-” 

“Miss Lumine,” her shoulders jerked upwards slightly. Despite it being his own kitchen, he had been mostly quiet thus far, listening to the two of them and humming here and there, so who could blame her for being a little startled at Zhongli’s sudden interference.

“The broth’s been boiling for a while, I think you can add your ingredients now,” she smiled sheepishly in return, thanking him before turning to her little station again. Six cloves smashed garlic, three slices of ginger, chicken thighs cut into small, bite-sized pieces, some dried up herbs and spices for flavor’s sake, and then it would be another… ten, perhaps fifteen minutes before she’d add the other ingredients. With time to spare, she ended up doing the same thing as Paimon— peering over the other two’s dishes to figure out what they were making.

“It feels a little bit like we’re having a birthday celebration, doesn’t it?” Childe said, “you know, isn’t it weird how we kind of know each other’s secrets, some of them anyway, but we don’t even know each other’s birthdays? Mine’s on the twentieth of July.”

“On the thirty-first of December.”

“Mine… actually passed a little recently?” 

Tartaglia seemed to pause his actions, turning to look at her incredulously, “don’t tell me it was a few days ago or something? And you didn’t tell us?”

“No! Recent as in… maybe a week before the Rite of Descension?” Now that she thought about it for more than a minute, maybe something that happened a few months ago wasn’t very recent after all.

“Damn, we missed it completely then. So how old are you now?” 

“Now I know you’re not that much of a gentleman, but have you ever heard of the phrase, never ask a woman her age?” Lumine retorted. Even if she hadn't lost count, there was no way she was telling him, “but I am old enough to drink alcohol… will you give me some? It can be your belated birthday gift to me!”

“What, the Mondo wines not to your taste? How about some Snezhnayan Fire-Water?” Fire-Water, huh. She was kind of curious what Diluc’s detested drink tasted like.

“Now Miss Lumine, you best be careful. I understand the temptation of indulgence, but I would not want you to end up like a certain old friend from Mondstadt.”

Oh poor, poor Venti. He wasn’t even here to retaliate, maybe she would do it for him?

“Speaking of old , isn’t Zhongli’s age more interesting anyway?” the aforementioned archon threw her a knowing look, before sighing. Better they discuss his age than hers, by her standards.

“Thousands of years old. Now, Childe, hand me that knife if you’re not planning on using it. Miss Lumine, the mortar and pestle please,” just like that, the conversation had shifted back into cooking, “and Childe, mind your potatoes. If the two of you plan on competing, shouldn’t you both be paying more attention to your dishes?”

Honestly she wanted to blame the Harbinger, but knowing him he would just blame her back, then they were back to being scolded by Zhongli, so all she could do was laugh apologetically and turn back to her soup.




“It’s getting late, comrade. Are you really not heading out yet?” Lumine looked down, a snoring Paimon laying her head on her lap. Little imp really went all out and ate herself to exhaustion.

“I’ll let her sleep a little longer,” she caught Childe’s eye and smiled, “I’d tell you to get home safely, but we both know that’s useless.”

“And I would have offered to walk you back to Xiangling’s place, but we both know-”

“It would be useless?”

“No, that I’m too much of a bad guy for that.”

She rolled her eyes, flexing her fingers outwards as she let a small gust of wind graze him, “just give up, I’m never seeing you as my cool, mysterious enemy. See you Sunday.”

Upon Tartaglia’s exit, she found Zhongli staring at her across the corridor. At some point she just figured the archon always looked like he was thinking deeply, but this time it looked like he was thinking of what to say to her.

“I haven’t told you any stories today, have I?”

“No, but unless you want me to leave already, we have time to talk,” Lumine looked back down at her lap again, “quietly, that is.”

“Then perhaps, while we’re here, I could show you a few other artifacts in my possession,” taking up his offer, she gently laid Paimon down on a pillow before following suit, walking away from the living room and right outside his quarters. Lumine dared not enter, but it didn’t seem as if Zhongli was planning on staying long inside either way. In the span of a few seconds he had grabbed a cloth-wrapped item, and led her back into the dining area.

“Miss Lumine, do you know how humans eventually learned to become immortal?”

“How?”

“It is through art,” Zhongli explained, “it is fascinating how art and immortality have become so closely linked together. It is through creation that humans become immortal— not their bodies, but their emotions, their souls. In the same vein, it is only through creation that an immortal stays immortal. Without creation, there is nothing to keep them immortal, whether they continue to walk the lands or perish into dust, if no one remembers, they are mortal.”

Zhongli , she had wanted to ask him, why are you telling me this? Her mouth could not bring itself to so much as whisper, only watching as the archon carefully unwrapped the artifact, revealing a sword so beautiful, masterfully carved from the purest of jades she had ever seen.

“This sword hewn from jade… despite the constant wear and tear of age, the jade edge, so bathed in blood, still retained a polished sheen as if brand-new. The blood was washed away in the rain of a thousand years,” Zhongli’s fingers grazed the blade, gaze solemn as he looked down at it, “yet the thoughts and grudges that gathered about it could not be so easily eliminated.”

“Miss Lumine, what do you think the jade represents in our culture?”

She drew closer to the blade as well, not daring to touch, simply eyeing the elegance of its cut, the regality of its color, “goodness, I suppose… and beauty.”

“Beauty?”

“The beauty of life.”

“That’s a good answer,” Zhongli replied, a small and brief smile on his lips, “a… friend of mine believed similarly. Nephrite, she claimed, had the soul of the Bishui's gentle heart, and will in time cleanse itself of the remnant grudges within, but, who would ease the agony that the jade itself feels for having becoming an instrument of slaughter? Compassionate, and yet…”

From the corner of her eye she watched him sigh to himself, momentarily at a loss on how to continue, before moving ahead with his story.

“This precious sword, carved as it once was to be given as a gift… jade once cut for love of peace and luxury. Peace , oh the pure agony the jade must have felt,” he chuckled lowly, a wry expression betraying the lack of humor, “when wine vessels are filled with blood, and when tender feelings are ripped asunder by cold ambition and reduced to dust on the wind, gifts ungiven and bonds unspoken will become sharp blades with which to cleave erstwhile friends.”

Minutes must have passed since Zhongli had stopped talking, and still Lumine could not get herself to utter a single word, her thoughts itself incoherent, but she knew that he had never been more human to her. 

“Lumine,” she found herself holding her breath, “would you like to hold it?”

Her gloved hands flexed at her sides, yet neither one moved an inch closer to the blade, “I don’t think I could,” she replied honestly, “it looks too heavy for me.”

The man nodded, covering the sword with cloth once more, “it had been.”

 


 

Lumine’s presence spoke of divinity. The presence was weak, tainted by Teyvat herself, but it was well within his realm to detect even the slightest abnormalities, and it was significant enough to have noticed it upon first meeting.

A divine being parading around as though she were human, that seemed familiar. Was it by choice?

On the surface they might have been similar— an inherent strength, even with his gnosis gone, even with hers restrained— intelligence, in his wisdom, in her perception— lives lived from long ago, that he cannot forget, that she wanted to return to.

The key difference, however, was not in appearance; neither was it in skill, nor in power or fame. It was in purpose.

Archons protected their lands, fought for their people, did everything to protect that which they were responsible for, that which they owned. Not all gods abided by this, that much was clear, through misguided actions, their weakness, their corruption, but archons , at their core, held this purpose.

Lumine would appear the same at first glance, jade in her goodness, jade in the purity of her intentions, but it is in her visits, her questions, her hopeful glances, and wistful expressions that he learns the truth.

She protected the weak, fought for the people, helped the lands, but it was not her purpose, just fate diverting her course and making it so. It was that bit of selfishness that made her human. 

It is why, despite their similarities, he looks to her to learn from her humanity, how she has adjusted so well, integrating herself with the people as if she’s been one of them for years, even learning their culture and customs from him.

“Why is it that, once you finally get a break, rather than taking a rest, you instead come to me? Is it that you want to hear one of my stories?” he asked her. It did not bother him as she made for pleasant company, especially over tea, but even the adepti tired after a long day of arduous tasks. 

“Because you are my friend,” Lumine replied without hesitation, “it’s plain and simple.”

“Is that really the case?” he looked to his right, and though she had not been looking at him he could tell it was not a lie.

“Not always,” Lumine admitted, “but today it is.”

Zhongli let out a short hum, “I believe I understand what it is you mean to say. If I’m correct, you have no desire for any book translations or history lessons from me tonight.”

“I think I’ve learned a lot already. As a traveler, there should be some things I should figure out for myself, and maybe I’ll even have some stories to tell you in turn.”

“That would only be fair,” he agreed easily, “though if you wish to continue asking things within the scope of our contract, or even matters falling outside of it, you can still approach me for discussion.”

“Thank you,” Lumine replied with a smile, and he was glad to know she seemed to enjoy their discussions just as much as he did, “but enough of that. Let’s do something tonight. Zhongli, what are your hobbies?”

“I enjoy partaking in walks through the city — just like we are now. I find it very calming.”

The blonde nodded in agreement, “it is. I think the harbor will be one of the places I’ll miss most when I eventually have to leave Liyue.”

Leaving Liyue… as of now, there were still no known ways for an outlander such as herself to get into Inazuma, which would mean that the traveler was planning to return to Mondstadt some time soon.

“When do you plan on leaving? Please let me know beforehand. I will need adequate time to prepare a parting gift for you.”

He had expected her to refuse, both out of politeness and knowing her nature, but the look on her face told him she was actually considering it. 

“A week from now? I can go back and forth from Mondstadt to Liyue without issue, so it’s not like I’ll be gone completely. Do you know how much of a fuss Childe will make if I don’t fight with him once a week? He’ll definitely pester you for a spar more than usual.”

Oh, he could imagine.

“I’m not against the idea, though. But, only if you let me prepare a present for you as well,” Lumine stopped in her tracks, “though that would make it more like an exchange, wouldn’t it?”

“A trade, then,” one of surprise, and Zhongli wondered if the transaction would be fair at all. Then again, he supposed it wouldn’t matter too much in this one instance. The worth of their gifts would come in the form of thought, and neither of them were very thoughtless individuals, “I agree to these terms.”

“Good! Then… is it okay if I give you yours early?”

It was rare for Zhongli to get caught off-guard, but Lumine had been able to do it, eyes narrowed as opposed to widened as he comprehended what had led to the situation, “had you planned this for tonight?”

“Not at all,” Lumine said with a laugh, for once being the one to lead him somewhere in the city, bringing him to sit down beside her, “actually, I was planning on giving this to you for no real reason other than, well, that I think of you as a friend. You just so happened to bring up something I could use as an excuse, so a trade wasn’t necessary in the first place. You don’t actually have to get me anything, by the way.”

“I’m not going back on my word,” he said, adamant in his decision despite no formal contract being made, “I suppose this is not all too bad, either. I will be able to properly prepare a gift of equal value.”

“I’m curious what this will value for, then,” with those words, she procured what he presumed to be the gift, a cloth laid atop it so he couldn’t make out the shape of the item on her lap, “I’m telling you this in advance, but even if you asked me what led to this decision, I don’t think I’d be able to explain.”

“Which by that, what is it you want to say?”

“That this is just something I like doing, kind of like how your hobby of going on walks,” Lumine replied with a shrug, “at some point I just realized I valued your companionship more than I thought, and I wanted to let you know.”

Zhongli stayed quiet, mostly out of consideration for the traveler, who seemed to be torn between saying any more or just handing him the gift immediately. 

“Lumine,” he began, “you don’t have to explain yourself any further, I won’t be critiquing you. You letting me know to what extent you measure our friendship is more than enough for me to appreciate whatever it is you plan on giving me.”

That had not been a lie, for he knew beyond the gift, he would cherish the sentiment much more. 

“Thanks,” she let out a sigh of relief, before finally uncovering the gift, “his name is Rex, by the way.”

His?

“Paimon wanted something more… cute, like Rexy, or Momo, but even though you’re my friend, isn’t that a little… sacrilegious? I pray to the Statues of the Seven nearly every day, after all.”

He waited for Lumine to personally hand him the present, and though he had already seen what it was, upon holding it, or him as she had said, he still found it difficult to comprehend. 

He had seen many memorabilia of Morax throughout his lifetime. Literature, of course, were of the most common mementos, but paintings and sculptures were not exactly uncommon either, with smaller scaled statues being sold in the market as well, especially popular among the travelers and the devout during Liyue’s festivals. However, this was no item of worship, but instead a doll, not unlike what fathers and brothers would give their youngest kin. Moreover, this doll was not of Morax, not the forms he had been known for that is, but of him— not the god, but the funeral consultant.

Lumine had hinted she did not want him asking, that she would not be able to answer; although he could not understand much of the choice behind the craft, other than the implications of her being the one behind the creation, her reasons were more evident to him, and perhaps to her too, than she had made it out to be.

Ironically, despite the choice of name, it had not been Morax, but Zhongli.

In truth, he did not know what to do with the doll. He was far, far too old to find any entertainment in playing with it, though he figured the traveler did not think he would in the first place, nor was he planning on displaying it in his office for the public eye, knowing the overseer of the funeral parlor, and a certain Snezhnayan warrior would simply cause a ruckus about it. 

However, hiding it away with the rest of his artifacts and remaining belongings from the past, as if he was ashamed, as though he had failed to recognize her sincerity, was not a choice he could take either.

“I believe… I will have a difficult time finding something of equal value, but I will do the most I can to ensure this will be the fairest of trades.”

Regardless, he had an abundance of time to think of what to do. There were more important matters for him to deal with. The traveler had found a method to measure the weight of her emotions; it was time for him to find his.

Notes:

Hello! This is the longest chapter to date. It was meant to be longer, but I cut out a few scenes that I figured would be of better use in later chapters, including what Zhongli's gift to Lumine is. Anyway, some of my thoughts and other details below.

✦ The two stories Zhongli tells Lumine are the lore for Primordial Jade Spear and Jade Cutter. It was interesting how different they were, but it is the latter's lore that's most important to the chapter, as it is presumed to mention the death of Guizhong, Zhongli's dear friend. Plush is a fic where the plushes come second, and friendship comes first; to me, it was only a given to allude to Guizhong when writing about Zhongli's and friendship. In canon he refuses to even mention her name, so he does not mention it to Lumine, but even just alluding to someone he has lost was enough for Lumine to finally relate to him. It is when he talks about his time as Morax that Lumine actually sees Zhongli.

✦ The description for the Morax painting was paraphrased from the wiki for Nine Dragons (painting).
✦ Keqing's chapter, as mentioned it is intertwined with Childe's and Zhongli's chapters, but hers will probably be the lightest read of the three. No promises when it's getting posted, but thank you for your patience as usual!

Notes:

a series born out of three things
[ 1 ] that paimon plush i wanted to buy but don't have the budget for
[ 2 ] major lumine brainrot
[ 3 ] being stressed over uni and needing a break

𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: aether, paimon, amber, klee, razor, kaeya, diluc, jean, venti, lumine, xiangling, childe, zhongli
𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭: keqing
𝐮𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠: albedo

say hi on twitter, maybe?
main: @electrolumine
writing acc: @nocturnath

Series this work belongs to: