Chapter Text
LUMINE
After the night at the river, Lumine has never felt so content. It’s such a simple thing to be happy when she’s by Ayaka’s side, able to love her as freely and openly as she pleases. They slot into each other's lives with such effortless ease, like two matching puzzle pieces finally fitted into place. The two of them see each other more days than not, going on evening walks after work and staying for dinner around each other’s flats and picnicking in the bluebell woods and under the park’s cherry blossoms and every other date idea that they can think up between the two of them.
Lumine introduces Ayaka to Aether, which is initially rather nerve-wracking when Ayaka takes one look at him before turning back to Lumine and whispering frantically, “were he and I married?” However, after they sit Ayaka down and explain how once upon a time, her and Aether had been forced into an arranged marriage to unite their kingdoms, and Ayaka processes that jarring revelation, they get along like a house on fire. It’s a massive relief for Lumine. Other than Ayaka, her brother is the most important person in her life. She would’ve been upset if they hadn’t gotten along, but luckily their past close friendship has reignited.
A week later, Ayaka introduces Lumine and Aether formally to her brother and friends. By now, Lumine has run into Thoma and Ayato both when visiting the flower shop, but this time they all go out for drinks along with Ayaka’s friend Yoimiya who is a local engineer. None of them appear to have the same recollection of memories that Ayaka had from the past, but they still all get along as effortlessly as they had before. Lumine couldn’t be happier to finally have her family back together.
The first time Ayaka stays the night, Lumine kicks Aether out of the house (read: bribes him to stay over at a friend’s) so she and Ayaka can be alone. A few days earlier, Ayaka had been musing over some of Lumine’s freshly baked cookies about how much she wished she even remotely had Lumine’s baking skills. Thus, Lumine stocked up on ingredients for brownies, figuring they’re the best choice for a beginner to make something simple but still very tasty.
Ayaka turns out to be good at following instructions, even if baking doesn’t come naturally to her. They hook up Lumine’s phone to her speaker and put on a playlist that they made together, and soon the kitchen is filled with sounds of them giggling and singing along to the music. Lumine has no qualms about dancing around the kitchen and singing into a wooden spoon as her makeshift microphone. Ayaka takes a bit more coaxing to really go for it, at first just singing under her breath and laughing shyly when Lumine grabs her hands and twirls her around the room. Nevertheless, as they gradually get more tipsy on the bottle of wine they’re sharing as they bake and the kitchen descends into more and more of a mess, Ayaka sings along with Lumine with more gusto, bright eyed and joyful.
It’s a million times better than any grand ball that Lumine danced at in the past, stiffly following dance moves that they’d been learning since they were young children, keeping as much distance as possible between them and their partners with hands perched awkwardly upon waists and shoulders. Now, Lumine and Ayaka are allowed to be silly. They’re allowed to clutch each other close leaving floury handprints on their clothes, letting the music take them in whatever direction and movement they desire, uncaring if they aren’t perfect or proper. They’re allowed to be loud and unapologetic in their love.
After Ayaka slides the baking tray into the oven, Lumine sets a timer on her phone and sidles up to Ayaka.
“So.” Lumine shoots her a sly grin. “We have exactly,” – she glances down at her phone – “twenty four minutes and thirty four seconds to wait. Any ideas on what we could do to pass the time?”
Ayaka casts her gaze around the kitchen, surfaces covered in dirty baking utensils and patches of flour and sugar and melted chocolate. “We could clean up the kitchen? I’d hate to leave it in such a mess.”
Lumine’s expression falls into something akin to a pout. She leans further into Ayaka’s space, backing her up against the counter and bracketing her in with her arms. “You don’t think there’s a better way we could spend that time? Nothing at all?”
Ayaka purses her lips in a way that Lumine recognises as her trying to politely hold back a laugh. “Would I not be a terrible guest if I didn’t help clean up the mess that I contributed to making straight away?”
“Mm, I think you’d be a worse guest if you didn’t kiss me right now.”
“We can’t have that then. I would like to be invited back.”
Lumine can feel Ayaka smiling against her lips when she kisses her. As it turns out, when the timer goes off twenty four minutes and thirty four seconds later, they haven’t gotten any cleaning done at all, and Lumine has gained some rather fetching streaks of chocolate on her cheeks and in her hair.
They sleep together for the first time tonight as well. It’s nothing like the hurried, fumbled moment of passion that was the first time in their past lifetime, when they had to muffle each others’ cries and rush tender acts that Lumine would have so loved to draw out if they had more time. Instead, Lumine pushes Ayaka down against her pillows and takes her time wringing out every shiver and whimper and moan of pleasure from her. Every sound Ayaka makes is more beautiful than anything Lumine has heard in her many lives. And when Ayaka shudders to a climax, Lumine is certain that she could stay here forever, if it was possible, drawing out Ayaka’s ecstasy again and again and again. There’s no place she’d rather be.
Basking in the afterglow, they lay tangled together for a long while, naked and content with their legs hooked around each other’s and arms wrapped around their hips.
“I didn’t know it could be like this,” Ayaka confesses into the comfortable silence blanketing them. Lumine makes a questioning noise, inching her head back so she can see Ayaka’s face.
“What? The sex?”
Ayaka lets out a breathy giggle. “Well, yes, partly. But I never realised quite how wonderful this all is when you’re truly with the right person. Never have I felt so… cherished. Taken care of. When I’ve dated people before, it’s been nice enough, but I’ve always felt like something was missing. Like I was missing a piece of my heart and soul.” She smiles at Lumine bashfully. “I suppose I know why that is now.”
Suddenly unable to form words around the staggering emotion rising in her throat, Lumine responds by kissing Ayaka, long and slow and deeply devout.
When they eventually break apart, Ayaka doesn’t open her eyes immediately, and Lumine is blessed with the sweet sight of Ayaka letting out a contented sigh before her eyes flutter open and she gazes at Lumine, brimming with love and affection.
“I love you,” Lumine whispers, just because she can. And Ayaka can reply with the same words, easy as anything.
“And I love you.”
It takes several years, but eventually Lumine and Ayaka move into the little cottage in the countryside that they’d always dreamed of. They’d been living together for a long while before that in a cheap flat in town, but once they manage to save up enough money between them, they buy an idyllic cottage with a sprawling garden bursting with a floral rainbow. The garden is Ayaka’s pride and joy, its blooms always beautiful and well-tended. She can spend hours there some days, removing the weeds and pruning the more unruly bushes. Lumine, meanwhile, spends more time baking, watching Ayaka work out of the large windows above the kitchen counters and bringing her a cold drink and tasty treats when she’s finished.
Whilst they don’t have their own farm, there’s one just down the road where they volunteer together every other weekend, helping take care of the animals. They get another cat to join Estella and name her Luna to keep with the theme, then a year later adopt an adorable border collie puppy that they name Willow. Twice a month, they host family dinners with Ayato, Aether, Thoma and Yoimiya, the twins working together to cook a delicious meal for everyone. It’s the type of life that Lumine had spent countless years fantasising about, but was never quite sure that she’d be able to achieve. These days, the long lifetimes of loneliness remain tucked away at the back of her mind, making way for the happiness and family and love that fills and overflows her current life.
As the rising sun spills through the gaps in their curtains and warms their skin, Lumine pulls Ayaka closer to her body and kisses her cheek when she makes a drowsy noise, slowly stirring from the depths of sleep.
“Good morning, love,” Lumine murmurs as Ayaka’s eyes gradually blink open. Ayaka breaks into a soft smile, warm and content. Oh, this is worth every second that Lumine spent waiting.
“Good morning, darling.”