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Childe had known Lumine even before the golden-eyed girl took a single step into Liyue’s land. The Fatui’s connection spread vast even to the corner of Teyvat, and the foreigner’s arrival in Mondstadt had been pretty momentous it immediately drawn their attention toward her person. After all, it wasn’t a common sight to see someone bravely fend off dragon’s attack in the so called City of Freedom and survived without any visible injuries.
Due to lack of contact and sight, Snezhnaya’s diplomats in the city didn’t quite managed to gain much information aside from basic insight regarding Lumine; a traveler from another world who was looking for her missing brother. Her floating elf companion was called Paimon and there seemed to be nothing out of ordinary about her.
When Lumine arrived in Liyue Harbor, it was followed by yet another notable event—the murder of Rex Lapis during Rite of Descension. She was caught in the middle of the mess and the Milleliths marked her as a suspect because of the foreign origin and suspicious behavior amid the ritual. As they chased after her, Childe smoothly slipped to interfere and ever since then Lumine had never been far from his sight.
The golden-eyed girl trusted him to a certain degree but she was always wary around him—rightfully so when Childe himself admitted to being a Fatui and airily told her he was some sort of a bad guy. He was well-aware Lumine caught the barely concealed truth within his voice.
Good.
Interacting with Lumine came easier than he thought it would be. There was noteworthy personality he caught on after a couple of runs with her: the younger girl was unfazed most of the time and handled whatever things being thrown at her with fine poise. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was a traveler—very likely used to face even most bizarre situation or event during her journey. She also never hesitate to lend a hand for those who need it, which was probably another reason why Lumine received Honorary Knight title in Mondstadt.
Most of his interactions with the golden-eyed girl had been nothing but pleasant. Childe might approached her in the first place due to his mission, but he genuinely liked talking to her. A perilous attachment—one he unable to resist. Lumine had always responded nicely whenever he set bait of teasing banter and if he enjoyed pink hue adorned her cheek a little too much, well that was on him and him only. It was a nice break from the usual dull routine he had ever since being stationed in the city.
Lately though, he had begun to desire more.
As one of the members of Adventurers’ Guild, Lumine received daily commissions which Childe impulsively decided to tag along. When Paimon suspiciously asked the reason, he smiled and shrugged his shoulders—he just wanted to help since he had nothing better to do. It would be good to have another eye watching her back, no? The golden-eyed girl just gave him an odd look before her feature softened ever so slightly and agreed to have his company.
The other agents might think he did this to gain more information about the traveler, but truly, it was nothing more than a selfish wish to spend more time with Lumine. Besides, Childe had never been a strict follower of proper protocol in the organization, so there was no reason for him to do it now.
Witnessing breathtaking sight of Lumine taking down monsters swiftly and efficiently while doing quests was a pretty good bonus.
(One time, he felt something fluttered in his stomach as he watched that slender figure dancing amid towering mass of treasure hoarders, proceeded to beaten them to the ground. Childe decided to note this for another occasion.)
But apparently, merely spending time together wasn’t enough for him. In the true vision of human nature, Childe greedily wanted more.
On a fine afternoon in Liyue Harbor, he had successfully persuaded Lumine to join him for a tea. Curiously, the chipper-elf guide was nowhere in sight and when he inquired the golden-eyed girl about this, she admitted Paimon was tagging along with Xiangling today since her chef friend was planning to create yet another masterpiece recipe and Paimon enthusiastically offered herself as the food tester. Childe hummed lightly, inwardly pleased having Lumine’s sole presence for the moment.
He sipped his tea slowly. It was excellent, but he was far more interested in paying attention to his companion who was seated in front of him, looking ethereal as sunset bathed her petite form and made her golden locks glowed. Casually, he put his cup down and grasped Lumine’s hands, carefully gauging the girl’s reaction. Lumine merely titled her head, eyebrows raised but didn’t say anything. Then he linked their hands together, noting how much thinner and smaller her fingers were compared to his. They were also oddly soft for someone who wield blade in battle and climbed mountain peaks daily as weird choice of sport. When he swiped his thumbs over the pale skin, it felt like he was caressing velvet.
The owner of the hands were looking at him in curiosity now, with prettiest golden eyes that never fail to take his breath away ever since their first meeting. Bringing the hands close to his lips, Childe allowed himself to kiss the unblemished palm, noting slight twitch of warm skin accompanied by sharp inhale. The tug of withdrawal he had anticipated didn’t come, and so he dared to take a peek between his orange bangs at Lumine to see what kind of expression she made.
Oh. Oh.
Lumine’s eyes were wide open, looking not unlike a startled rabbit. There was enticing blush covered her cheeks, deeper than the pink hue he usually caught whenever he teased her.
It looked good on her.