Chapter Text
Lumine retched into the soft green grass as her heart raced. The sounds of ruins collapsing behind her had faded to a dull roar.
She had seen him. Aether was here. She was mere feet from him, able to speak to him. And yet…and yet, he disappeared, taking Dainsleif with him.
So close, so close, and he slipped from her fingers. No, worse, he had pulled his hand away from her, backing away from her as she tried to reach him.
She didn’t even have time to wallow in her grief as the ruins threatened to cave in around them.
Which brought her to that moment, on her knees, trembling like a leaf a typhoon. Paimon floated nearby, watching her with palpable concern.
“Lumi?”
She waved dismissively before wiping bile and spit from her lips and standing. The axis of her world had tilted.
Her brother, her sweet twin brother, was with the Abyss. The same Abyss that caused so much suffering in Teyvat. The bright innocence in his eye had been subsumed by cold practicality.
He was a Prince, the Abyss’s Prince.
Where did that leave her? She fought her way through 3 continents, only to find that Aether didn’t want to be found in the first place. The Unknown God had done more that separate them physically, but it was as if Aether had become an entirely different person.
Lumine trudged towards the nearest road, ignoring Paimon’s tentative questioning. Each step felt heavy, like walking through mud. She wanted to curl up into a ball and just lay there until…until…
She waved down an ox-pulled cart as soon as they appeared around the bend.
The rider, a middle-aged woman, stared down at her with mild suspicion. While Lumine certainly didn’t look like the miscreants and bandits that hid around the area, it made sense to be cautious.
“Where are you heading?” Lumine asked.
The woman cocked a brow and answered, “Liyue Harbor.”
A small miracle, at least. “Can we hitch a ride? I can pay.”
The woman stared at her for a few moments before jerking her head towards the cart.
“Go ahead.”
Lumine clambered onto the back of the cart and leaned against a sack of wheat, the closest thing she could find to a pillow. She was used to sleeping on the ground, so she wasn’t picky.
Paimon gave her another concerned look before disappearing into her little pocket dimension.
“Do you have anything to drink back here?” Lumine called out.
The woman glanced back after a long moment, long enough that Lumine wasn’t sure if she had heard her or not.
“There a bottle of liquor back there, worth about 10,000 Mora.”
Lumine was quick to find it—a dark glass bottle with gold embossed on the label. Dawn Winery, of course. Jackpot. She uncorked the liquor and took a swig. It burned all the way down, but there was a tinge of sweetness that made the next drink easier. “I’ll pay you back,” she called out.
Lumine rummaged through her pack and pulled out enough Mora to cover two bottles of liquor and left it in the woman’s belongings. It was a good thing Paimon wasn’t around, or she would have complained at the loss of Mora.
Another swig. Liyue’s countryside slowly crawled by. Winter had slowly given way to spring, but the flowers hadn’t bloomed just yet. It was still cold and wet and miserable and Lumine could only just wallow in it.
On the way back from Mondstadt, Zhongli had insisted that they hitch a ride on their way back. They had walked long enough, especially after running errands for the hillichurls in exchange for using their enormous cooking pot.
The first merchant who accepted had barely enough room for the two of them. Lumine had pressed her body against Zhongli’s so they could fit. He had wrapped an arm around her and used his coat to shield her from the rain that blew in. She had relished every moment of it, how the rocking of the cart would press her close to him.
She gritted her teeth against the longing, the phantom touch. Inazuma hadn’t done enough to wipe her mind of those memories, washed her mouth of the longing. Perhaps, after Sumeru, she would be able to leave that ghost behind.
By the time they had arrived at the outskirts of Liyue Harbor, the bottle of liquor was half empty and Lumine was thoroughly drunk. Her tongue felt too heavy in her mouth and her limbs felt heavy.
“Alright, we’re here,” the merchant woman said with a sigh.
Lumine nodded, but now it felt like she was moving underwater. Maybe the bottle was a little more than half empty. She wasn’t exactly in the state of mind to count.
“Thank you,” she said, “I left Mora in your bag. For the liquor and the ride.”
Lumine eased herself out of the cart and onto the ground. It took her a moment to gain her footing, as she didn’t want to immediately collapse in a drunken stupor on the ground.
“Lumi?”
Paimon floated into view as soon as she tried to walk deeper into the city. Much to her own chagrin, Lumine was no lightweight. She could put one foot in front of the other, for the most part. She could string a sentence together.
“Paimon is worried. After what happened with your brother…Paimon has never seen you like this.”
Lumine smiled mirthlessly. Any other day, Paimon’s concern would move her to make better decisions. Now, Lumine only felt guilty that she needed to see her in such a state.
Mustering what effort she could, Lumine said, “Paimon, just leave me alone, please. Go to Wanmin Restaurant and hang out with Xiangling. I’ll be fine.”
Her eyes blinked sluggishly, enough to miss the hurt expression on Paimon’s face before she winked out of existence.
Shoulders sagging, Lumine started walking further into the city. She felt like a marionette, walking right foot forward, then left, then right again. Her head felt too heavy for her shoulders, her movements too jerky and unnatural.
To have the illustrious Traveler wandering around drunk was going to create unwelcome gossip, but she didn’t care. It was better than being stone cold sober and thinking about how Aether had rejected her. He could have come with her. They would have figured something out together, like they had dozens and hundreds of times before.
He hadn’t…he wouldn’t. That hurt the most of all. That rejection alone was enough to almost stop her heart.
She wanted to be sick. She wanted to walk into the ocean and feel nothing at all. Go another round with Osial.
“Lumine?”
She kept walking forward, hoping that the voice was a drunken hallucination. If it was who she thought it was, she didn’t know how to handle it.
At the Northland Bank, she had been injured but at least she had her faculties about her. She couldn’t say the same this time. Drunk, probably looking like a mess. How embarrassing.
“Lumine, are you okay?”
There was a strong hand on her shoulder and the smell of jasmine tea and incense filled her nose.
No, no. She could feel her throat closing. Her eyes burned. Her body felt like water, like sand about to be blown away by a stiff wind.
It wasn’t an impossible thing. Lumine had passed him by at least six times—not that she was counting—since she had returned from Mondstadt, chasing ghosts with Dainsleif. He had kept a respectful distance, offering greetings that were too warm and kind, more than what she deserved. It only made sense that he would come across her now.
“Lumine?”
She looked up to see Zhongli. His face was soft and open with concern. His hand skimmed down her shoulder to grip her elbow.
They had sat under the Statue of the Seven, when she told him her memory of the Unknown God and how she lost her brother. He had held her arm when the loneliness had threatened to overcome her, and he had whispered words of encouragement, that a woman like her would be able to find her brother and bring him home.
What a joke.
“Lumine?”
Lumine swayed and her lower lip trembled.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
Zhongli stepped closer, half a step, under she could feel his breath brushing over the top of her head. He felt like safe shelter and she hated it. She wished that he had been with her when she went with Dainsleif to the ruin, though the presence of an Archon would not have kept Aether with her. If anything, it would have driven him away faster.
Tears coursed down her cheeks and Zhongli lifted his gloved hand to delicately, so, so delicately wipe them away.
She shattered, closing the distance between them to wrap her arms around his waist and bury her face against his expensive coat.
She started crying, horrible, shuddering sobs. It felt like a dam being released and she couldn’t stop. All of the hardships, all of the worrying about her brother, wondering where he was, wondering if he was still alive…all for nothing.
“He—he left me. He wouldn’t give up his mission, not even for me,” she hiccupped.
His arms were around her immediately, pressing her close. He tucked her against his side, his coat like a shield around her as he led her forward. She clutched onto him, keeping one foot in front of the other as he led her somewhere. She didn’t care, as long where he took her it was private.
“Hold on,” Zhongli said.
If she wasn’t such a mess, she would have rolled her eyes at the unnecessary command. After all, she had her arms around him like he was the only harbor in a storm. He could have led her to the end of the world and she would have blindly followed.
The distinct feeling of entering an Adeptus abode tugged at her gut.
Earth and floral scents filled her nose, purer than anything one could find in Liyue Harbor. She didn’t have time to look around or wonder where she was. Blinded by tears, Zhongli was her guide.
Grass turned to wood under her feet and she had enough presence of mind to toe off her shoes. Distantly, she could feel the heat of a furnace melt away the chill that had carved a place into her bones.
He guided her further until something soft hit her knees. She pulled away from where she kept her face pressed against his chest to see that they were in a bedroom.
A hysteric laugh burst from her lips.
“Come, have some rest.”
Zhongli eased her to lie down on the bed and tucked the covers over her. Lumine’s head lolled on the pillows. The silk was cool and sinfully soft against her cheek. She supposed for the god among adepti, he would have the finest furnishings for his abode. Not that she had much time to mull over it. Her head felt too heavy, eyes puffy and tired.
“Zhongli?” she slurred. Even the act of speaking felt like an enormous task, each syllable forced out between her teeth.
He shushed her gently and pulled the blankets up to her neck.
“Sleep. Call me if you need anything,” he replied, his voice all warmth and understanding.
Lumine nodded.
“Okay.”
He turned towards the door and she was asleep before he stepped out of view.
Lumine awoke from her sleep with crusty eyes and a pounding head. Her throat felt raw from crying.
The last time she had felt this hungover was the celebration after her final showdown against Ei, marking the end of the Vision Hunt Decree. Kazuha was sloppy-drunk within the hour and found a comfy spot draped over Lumine’s shoulder while Beidou plied her with shots.
There had been music and food and liquor until the wee hours of the morning. Lumine distantly remembered doing an impression of Yun Jin’s performance, her imitation of her singing surprisingly clear, in front of the campfire.
She had awoken in Thoma’s bed in Komore Teahouse, which also held an equally-inebriated Thoma and Ayaka. They had landed like a pile of exhausted puppies, bent on terrorizing Taroumaru as hungover zombies.
This…was different. Lonelier, though more comfortable. At least, she hadn’t spent the whole night with a foot digging into her side.
She turned on her side, hissing when her head throbbed in protest. Cursing softly, she turned back onto her back and raked a hand through her hair.
Birdsong drifted in from a nearby window and the butter-yellow light from the abode shone through the slatted shades. Being the lord of the adepti must have its perks. She hadn’t been able to get her own teapot abode to anything of this caliber. Not that she had time to work on it anyway, much to Tubby’s dismay.
There was a faint knock at the door and Lumine felt her heart jump to her throat.
Right. Zhongli. She was in his abode and she really ought to not be so shocked to hear him knocking on the door to his own bedroom.
“Come in,” she called out softly.
The door slowly swung open and Zhongli stepped into the room, carrying a tray.
“Good morning, Lumine,” he greeted.
She blushed. He seemed so casual, as if it was a normal thing for the Traveler to fling herself into his arms in the middle of Liyue Harbor and kick him out of his bed for the night.
“Good morning, Zhongli. Ah, sorry to be such an inconvenience.”
“Not at all,” Zhongli murmured, endlessly patient. She supposed that a man who lived for millennia would be used to being patient.
He set the tray in her lap. Everything about it spoke of elegance: the lacquered wood, the delicate porcelain.
“I made you some bamboo shoot soup and some medicinal tea to soothe your headache.”
Lumine nodded, feeling another wave of tears threatening to overflow. It wasn’t often that she was given such hospitality without having to do some task or another first.
“I can leave, if you would prefer?”
Lumine’s gaze snapped to his face, realizing that she had been staring at the tray in front of her in mute thought for way too long, not acknowledging him.
“You can stay,” she replied softly.
If Zhongli was surprised, he didn’t show it. He sat next to her.
She sipped the tea, perfectly brewed as usual, which kept her from commenting on the fact that he had shed his elegant coat and vest, leaving him in a loose white shirt and dark slacks. There was something terribly soft about how he crossed his bare feet at the ankle, the picture of easy relaxation.
The soup was also perfect. It was earthy and warm, and the bamboo pieces had a pleasant bite to them.
Zhongli simply sat there, uncharacteristically quiet. When they had traveled together, he would tell her about the recipes that he would make for them. He always had a story. Back then, she thought it was simply due to an eidetic memory. Now, she knew better.
“Did you have this pot going before I got here? From what I remember, you need to keep this cooking for a long time to soften the bamboo.”
Zhongli startled a little. Perhaps he was surprised that she had remembered such a tidbit. Little did he know, she remembered all the little facts that he had told her during their adventures together, for good or ill.
“Ah, yes. Well, I started it as soon as you went to sleep. I used some adeptal devices to cheat the cooking time.”
Lumine hummed as he fell silent again. She finished the soup and the last of the tea. Whatever medicine was the in the tea dulled her headache and she felt quite warm and sated. It was as if nothing had happened.
Then, her mind drifted to her brother, looking into his face and seeing a stranger staring back at her, and immediately the mood soured like milk curdling. Aether…something was wrong with Aether. The brother she knew would have never sided with the Abyss, not if he knew what sort of pain they had wrought over Teyvat.
If he had known…if she had enough time to tell him, he would surely know to join her. She had to find him and find the truth of the Unknown God that had torn them apart.
“Allow me to draw you a bath.”
Lumine stiffened, suddenly mortified. She had spent hours wandering through swamps and ruins before she returned to Liyue. It was easy to forget, but when surrounded by silk and fine cotton, she was starkly aware of how dirty and greasy she probably was.
“Oh, stars. I’m sure I am dirtying your bed,” she mumbled.
Despite her embarrassment, it was a good distraction from thoughts of her brother.
Zhongli shook his head. Again, another frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Not at all. I am, among many things, talented at cleaning things. Do not worry yourself over it.”
Lumine nodded. She wrung her hands together, not sure what to do with them now that she was finished with the tea and soup.
“Okay. I would appreciate a bath a little later.”
Zhongli grabbed the tray and lifted it off of her lap.
Lumine wrung her hands as soon as the tray was out of the way and she had nothing else to do with them. It was either wring her hands until the joints popped or rip out every stitch in the silk duvet until the whole thing came apart.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you, all the way back in Northland Bank. It was uncalled for.”
His mouth twisted. “I thoroughly deserved it.”
Lumine shook her head. Of course, he would try to deflect. “You had your reasons for giving up your Gnosis. You did this for Liyue. I shouldn’t have been angry with you about that.”
Already, she could see the benefits. Human and adepti had come together to defeat Osial and the union between the two was slowly coming together without needing to rely on Rex Lapis. It wasn’t for nothing.
The betrayal still stung, but it had faded.
“I should have been more honest with you.”
Lumine shrugged. “I don’t think I would have helped if you had, honestly.”
If he had told her, once word of Signora and another Gnosis came to her ears, there would have been no stopping her in trying to stop whatever plan Zhongli had.
Zhongli raised a brow. “I think we could have found a solution to our mutual benefit.”
Lumine worried her bottom lip between her teeth. He wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t worth thinking about the what-ifs.
“We can start over, if you’d like.”
Lumine nodded with a small smile. “I’d like that.”
She pushed the blankets off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“Okay, show me to the bath. I have been bathing in lakes and streams for too long, and would appreciate something a bit more sophisticated.”
Zhongli nodded before leading her to the other side of the house. Now that she wasn’t blinded by tears and alcohol, she could fully appreciate his home.
Everything was very tastefully decorated, dripping in finery. The rug in one hallway looked like it cost enough Mora to feed a small family for a month. Tubby the teapot spirit had tried to drill her on the principles of feng shui and color coordinating, with little luck. Zhongli made it all look effortless.
Zhongli led her to a pair of gilded doors and pushed them open. Immediately, the smell of soaps filled her nose.
This was the largest of the rooms she had seen. The ceilings were high, with enough lamps to fill the room with a soft, relaxing glow. The pool—really, a small pond—sat in the middle of the room, like a hot water spring had been carved out of the mountain and transported there.
“Adepti magic?” Lumine asked.
Zhongli chuckled. “Yes. I had gained some inspiration from Inazuma and their onsens.”
She hummed. There was even a little caddy full of towels, as if this was a place meant for many to meet and enjoy a nice soak. Perhaps, this was a remnant when more adepti walked the earth and joined their lord at his residence.
“I shall leave you to it?”
“No…you can stay if you’d like. We can still—ah—talk?”
Lumine immediately felt her cheeks heat up, but Zhongli was blushing too, so she didn’t feel too embarrassed.
“If you wish, Lumine.”
He moved towards a nearby screen, which would block his view of the spring.
“I shall stand here, then. To give you privacy.”
Lumine nodded dumbly before stepping closer to the edge of the pool. She took a furtive glance over her shoulder before quickly stripping down.
She couldn’t help the little grunt of pleasure once she stepped into the warm water. It was fairly deep, the waterline up to her waist.
“It’s nice!” she called out, immediately wincing at how stupid of an observation it was. She could’ve commented on the feat of adeptal power, how the water was crisp and clean and didn’t smell like most thermal springs did.
Nice.
Zhongli didn’t seem to judge her for it. Instead, he said, “I’m glad. It has been many years since someone other than myself has enjoyed the waters. It is certainly a pleasure after a long day’s work.”
Her eyes shot again to the innocuous screen. Now, that was a mental picture Lumine didn’t need. Zhongli, naked, swimming languidly in the water.
She busied herself with pouring soap over her hands and lathering. She dug her fingers into her hair, scrubbing, before dunking her head into the water to wash away the soap and dirt.
“I’m going to smell like you when I’m done here,” Lumine mused.
Zhongli made a choking noise and Lumine clapped her hand over her mouth. Archons and stars, she didn’t mishear that. She wanted to hear it again.
She took in a shaky breath. This entire thing felt like a strange farce, like they were dancing around something that was completely obvious. How did Baizhu put it? Ignoring the Sumpter Beast in the room?
“Zhongli?”
Her heart was pounding, but she had to take a chance.
“Yes?”
There was something thick in his reply that sent a frission of heat and hope down her spine. He wasn’t nearly a good an actor as he pretended to be. Perhaps her presence in his home was enough to chip away at those stony defenses.
“Come out here. It is hard to have a conversation when you are all the way over there.”
Silence hung in the air for what felt like a century, before Zhongli stepped out from behind the screen. If he was nervous, he didn’t show it.
Lumine watched him approach. She kept her head slow to the surface of the water, so the bubbles from the soap and the rippling water hid her modesty. It would do her no good to panic and throw her naked body at him in a fit of desperation.
He sat by the edge of the spring, dipping his feet into the water. Lumine crept closer, and his eyes did not leave her face, though she knew that he wanted to move his attention elsewhere.
“I hope this isn’t too forward,” she murmured.
“Not at all, Lumine.”
Lumine couldn’t suppress a shiver at the sound of her name of his lips. Zhongli stiffened ever so slightly. His bright amber eyes were darker than usual and she knew it wasn’t a trick of the light.
She moved closer and Zhongli leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees. Lumine stopped as soon as she was close enough to touch him. He watched her with a small smile on his lips. Now, his eyes flitted between her face and where the water just barely covered her breasts.
Lumine blushed.
Another step closer, and he was looking down at her. Lumine could feel her heart in her throat.
They just watched each other, until Lumine pushed up.
Her lips crashed against his, inelegant and messy. He tasted like tea, like spice.
She landed between his legs, one hand fisting his shirt and the other pressed on his thigh to keep her upright. Zhongli was shock-still for half a beat, before he threaded his fingers through her damp hair.
Water soaked into his nice clothes, neither of them cared. He pulled her closer, his free arm wrapping around her back, and she smiled into his mouth.
It only seemed appropriate that their first kiss would be there, water soaking them.
Cleanse, and start anew.