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She's standing by the ocean again. The sea breeze gently ruffles her hair as the waves wash over the shore, closing her eyes as it ebbs and flows.
He walks over to her. "Thinking about anything?"
Lumine glances up at him. "Us, mostly."
"Hm? Like what?"
"Well..." She toes a boot in the sand, making a slight indentation. "What now?"
He blinks. "I... I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"Be with you." It's simple. No more needs to be said. And yet he's taken aback. He knew she cared about him, even after all he'd done to her... but she says it like it's the easiest thing in the world.
He lets out a small laugh. "That's easier said than done, Lumine."
"I know. But I want to try."
"You still want to try? After... after everything?" She rolls her eyes in a teasing manner, getting up on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear. He bends down and lets her voice wash over him like the waves over sand.
"I care about you, dumbass. I... I always have. I know this won't be easy, I'm not a child and I realize the potential for it to all blow up in our faces." She squeezes his hand. "But you're worth it. You... I love you. I don't know if it needed to be said, but I'm saying it now. I love you, Childe, or Tartaglia, or whatever your real name is. I don't need to know your name to know my true feelings towards you." She turns around to look at the sea, letting him wrap her arms around her.
"Maybe... maybe this is a huge mistake. Maybe we'll be forced to battle each other to the death again, and maybe one of us won't survive. Maybe I'm being incredibly stupid." She turns her head to look at him, warm amber piercing his glassy gaze. "And if that's the case, then I'll go down being stupid with you. I'm not the self-sacrificial type. I never have been. But I love you, and I'm going to keep loving you until the day I die." Lumine puts her hand on his cheek, brushing the wetness aside. I didn't realize I was crying...
"I... I feel the same way, Lumine." He buries his face in her hair, willing his breathing to slow down to a more reasonable pace. "But what about our titles? I'm a Harbinger, and you're a Knight."
"We're also smart, resourceful people who wouldn't be Harbingers or Knights if we weren't. We'll figure something out."
He laughs. "What, you defeat me once a week in a battle for the fate of Liyue and we kiss afterwards behind the scenes?"
"Well, think about it this way. You have a job to do. And I have mine. And we do our jobs as well as we can. No one can fault us if we're actively working against each other, hmm?"
"So we're still on opposite sides?" He can't see Lumine's face, but he instinctively knows she's smiling.
"You told me you loved battle, Childe. So battle me. I'm sure it'll be more exciting than the fights you're used to."
He smiles in return. "A battle of wits and will with a pretty girl who also happens to be romantically entangled with me? I can't wait."
They stand together, his arms around hers, staring out into the ocean. It seems calm at last.
--
"Does he make you happy?"
"Hmm?"
Zhongli peers over at her from his bowl of jewelry soup. "I asked if he makes you happy. Childe. Tartaglia. Whatever his name is."
She smiles. "Yes, he makes me very happy. Why?"
"Just wondering. After all, he could betray you someday. I've seen many relationships like yours come and go, defeated in an instant of selfishness."
Lumine raises an eyebrow. "Selfish, unlike your actions when you retired?"
He blushes--a rare sight. "I... you have a point. Although you know as well as I do that the people of Liyue needed to be tested if they were going to survive past my passing."
"The people of Liyue--especially Ningguang--would have probably been a lot happier to survive with the Jade Chamber intact."
"...Quite possibly."
"But I won't dodge your thought." Lumine looks the ex-archon dead in the eyes. "I do understand that if he were to betray me, he would achieve massive honor in Snezhnaya, including but not limited to the favor of the Tsaritsa. But I doubt he will do that."
"Why is that? Do you have any proof?"
"When I was holding Childe in the Golden House as he was dying, he seemed legitimately unhappy that he betrayed me. There was no regret he didn't kill me, or finish his mission, or the hundred and one other things he, as a Harbinger, probably should have been thinking. And I... I realized that he truly cared about me. He told me, as he was dying, that he loved me. I looked into his eyes and I did not doubt it for a second."
"Lumine..." He puts a hand on hers as a tear trickles down her cheek.
"I wanted to doubt him. I wanted to pretend that he never loved me, that it was all a facade and he was using me and he'd die cursing me for ruining his plans. And I couldn't believe it because there he was, looking at me with an expression of pure love and care. I think... I think he was truly happy he would die instead of me."
"And then you saved him." He phrases it as a statement, rather than a question. She smiles.
"No. He saved himself. I saved his life, yes. But he needed to take the steps himself to becoming a better person, for me, and for himself."
Zhongli gives her a deadpan stare. "You think that an assassin and general of a part of the deadliest army in Teyvat has become a better person?"
"I'm not saying he is a better person, I'm saying he's taking the steps to becoming one."
"And what happens when he has to choose between you and the Tsaritsa's orders again?"
"I'll tell him to do his job. And I'll win."
"And if you don't?"
Lumine looks off into the distance at the bay. The sea sparkles in the late autumn dusk. "Then I'll come back, and try again. And again, and again, and again. As long as I need to. As long as it takes. I won't leave him again, now that we've finally found each other."
He stirs his tea in a desultory fashion. "Well, far be it from me to stop young love. I am just a mortal now after all. There's nothing I'm really able to say."
Her mouth quirks with a hint of a smile. "Besides everything you've already said?"
Zhongli closes his eyes. "Yes... besides that." He checks his pocket watch. "Well, the hour is late. Bodies don't prepare their funeral rites themselves, you know. I must be going."
"You must be paying, as well."
He sighs. "50/50?"
"How about since I've paid the last 3 times, including the tip, you pay this time?" A beleaguered expression comes over his face as if he's gone to war and come back in the time it took her to ask him that.
"...I suppose that is fair."
"I suppose it is!" Lumine says merrily. Zhongli gives her a tired look. She picks her pack up, slinging it onto a shoulder. "This was fun! I'll miss our meals together when I eventually have to leave Liyue."
"Is he waiting for you at home?"
"Yes. He's probably made dinner, and I need to pick up Paimon from Xiangling... I also need to buy some chili oil from her, since he won't put enough spice in. He'd never admit to it though."
"You really love each other, don't you?"
She looks behind her as she leaves the restaurant. "I think we always will, if I'm being honest." A small smile plays around Zhongli's mouth as she leaves.
"Guizhong... I wonder what you would have thought of them? Would they have reminded you of us?" He whispers to himself, walking down the steps. "I hope wherever you are, you're happy."
--
"So you're dating Mister Moneybags now?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
Paimon furrows her brows as they walk through one of Liyue's many bustling street markets. Even after a massive storm caused by an elder god, the merchants still pack the sidewalks with their stalls. It's comforting to know that not much has changed despite the battle. "You're... hate-dating him. Fight-flirting?"
Lumine laughs. "Just regular dating. You know, like a normal boyfriend and girlfriend."
Paimon shoots her a look. "Paimon doesn't think most normal couples show up once a week to beat each other up unless they have serious issues."
"It's fun! You should really come to one of our sparring sessions."
"Paimon would rather get thrown off a cliff by a mitachurl."
"That actually happened to him last week! Well, I was the mitachurl in that scenario."
"You two are so weird..."
Lumine picks up a mango, turning it around in her hand as she examines it for bruises. "Maybe so. But I like our dynamic. He makes me happy. Isn't that what life is all about?"
"Your relationship would make Paimon a lot happier if he wasn't a Harbinger... but Paimon is happy that you're happy. You smile more when you're around him."
Lumine gives her a smile. "Thank you for understanding, Paimon. I know you want to be cautious, and I appreciate your looking out for me. I'm glad I have you as my friend."
Paimon's cheeks redden. "Paimon--Paimon never said she was worried for you! Paimon just wants the free food! Now hurry up and finish shopping, Childe promised to make Paimon some sticky honey roast when we got home!"
Lumine laughs. "Alright, alright. I'm making you chop the carrots though."
"What! No fair! Carrots are disgusting!"
"Think about it--if you chop the carrots, they can't possibly be that bad, right?"
Paimon thinks about it for a second, eyes narrowing. "Hmm... Paimon thinks you may be onto something. Fine! Paimon'll chop the best, most delicious carrots you've ever had in your life!"
"I wouldn't doubt it for the world." And laughing together, they walk down the lantern-lit street.
--
"I'm home!" Lumine calls, walking into the kitchen. Childe turns around to see her put her bags on the kitchen table. He gives her a smile.
"Paimon's been advising me how to make this 'sticky sweet roast' you both love so much."
Paimon looks up from where she's chopping carrots. "Honey roast! Honey! Not sweet!"
"Fine, fine. 'Delicious honey roast'. Is that better?"
"Childe, stop annoying her."
Paimon sticks her tongue out at him. He has to steel himself to hold back a laugh he knows she won't appreciate. "Ah, alright. I'm sorry, Paimon. I mean sticky honey roast. Is that better?"
"Yes! Now quit wasting time, or Lumine's gonna put everything away and we still won't be done!"
Lumine laughs. "I can help, if you want. It's really no trouble--"
"No! We're making you dinner, and there's nothing you can do about it! Now go stay in your room until we finish!" She laughs, letting Paimon push her out.
When they finish, it's a sight to behold. The succulent meat sits on a large dish in a bed of glazed carrots, with mashed potatoes and sweet corn on the side. A wooden bowl of salad completes the meal. "Do you like it?" Paimon asks hopefully, looking up at Lumine.
"I... I love it. Thank you. I don't know what to say, I'm--" She pulls them both into a tight hug. Childe strokes her hair, and Paimon gives her a little pat on the shoulder. "Well," she says, mouth watering, "Shall we dig in?" Paimon cheers, diving straight for the roast.
After dinner, Paimon heads to the cat bed filled with blankets and doll pillows Lumine purchased for her. "That was amazing! Definitely the best carrots Paimon has ever had. Paimon should really eat more of her own cooking..." She falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow. Lumine giggles as she and Childe go into her room.
"So," Childe asks after they get into bed, "What now?"
"I have to head somewhere called 'Dragonspine Mountain'. Apparently that's the way I'll need to go if I want to get into Inazuma."
"Inazuma? ...If you see a kid there who doesn't look like he belongs, watch out."
"A child?"
"Someone who looks like a child, anyway."
"I'll keep that in mind... Thank you."
He smiles as he holds her. "Considering Inazuma, I think you'll need all the help you can get."
"Considering your track record regarding completed missions, I think I might need to help you out when you arrive there."
"Hm? And what makes you think I'll be there, Lumine?"
"I'll be in trouble."
"And you'll need me to save you?"
"No... I mean you'll bring it with you when you arrive. My plans going awry is just your calling card. I've learned to accept it, honestly."
He scoffs dramatically, turning away in mock hurt. "Sounds like someone who doesn't want me to be in Inazuma."
She laughs. "I'd say it sounds more like someone who wants to see what kind of antics you get up to in another land."
"Hmm... you may be right, Lumine."
"We'll just have to see what comes next, won't we?"
He smiles as she snuggles in closer to his chest. "I can't wait to see it with you."
-- The End --