Work Text:
Childe—no, he was Ajax for now—had been given a month off by the Tsaritsa herself. With no plans to speak of and with Lumine off to some other region, he decided on staying with his family for the duration of that month. No Fatui agents or Harbingers came bearing significant news, so he thought that maybe he could really relax.
That was until Teucer barged into the house, squealing with delight. At first, Ajax thought his little brother was being chased, but then the boy started screaming, “Ms. Nice Lady! Ms. Nice Lady!”
Lumine, in all her bundled-up glory, stepped through their door. The poor girl was being dragged by the arm with the child in front of her, her cheeks red from the chill. Ajax suspected it might’ve been a different reason when he locked eyes with hers.
“Teucer, I don’t think—I’m not supposed to be here,” she stammered, gently pulling her arm back from the boy. The reaction was immediate; Teucer’s expression turned crestfallen before turning to Ajax.
“Big brother! Ms. Nice Lady is here! Please tell her to stay,” he said, pouting at his brother and donning the best puppy-eyes he could muster.
Ajax had long since been immune to Teucer’s pout, but he couldn’t help but approach the dumbfounded girl near the doorway. “Now, now. We don’t know what the Traveler needs here, right? Why don’t we ask her first?”
He leaned closer to ask her to humor him, just like last time, but Lumine beat him to it. “Thank you, Teucer. I don’t want to impose, though. I’ll be sure to visit you before I leave instead.”
“You aren’t eem-posing! Stay with us!” Teucer cried out, testing the new word on his tongue. If this continued any longer, the other siblings would come home to a very upset Teucer, and Ajax couldn’t have that. Before anything else could happen, he stepped in.
“I doubt there would be any free rooms at the inns with this incoming snowstorm, yeah?” he pointed out. The wind wasn’t even picking up that much, and the snowfall was bearable. However, his knowledge of Snezhnaya’s weather ran deeper than Lumine’s. He hoped it would be enough to fool her.
Paimon popped out of her starry little space, hands on her hips as she exclaimed, "Hey, it's Mr. More-Mora-Than-Sense! This means more free food!"
"No, Paimon, this is his house," Lumine replied, looking more worried than before. "Also, Childe, the snow looks relatively calmer than the snowstorms I've encountered in Dragonspine. I'll be fine on my own."
He tried, at least.
Teucer perked up at the new name Lumine gave him, his eyes widening. "Woah! Big brother, you have a nickname from Ms. Nice Lady! Although, why is it 'Childe'? Are you a kid inside too?"
A strangled noise escaped Ajax's throat before he smiled. "Haha, you know me best! Actually, Ms. Lumine and I have to talk about something. Go warm up by the fireplace."
“Okay!”
The kid bounded to the warm spot in the room with the same energy, cuddling with the pile of blankets left behind by Ajax. Paimon slipped back into her space and left both of them alone. Ajax tilted his head, gesturing for her to follow him into one of the empty rooms in the house. He was supposed to be alone with Teucer, and for that, he was grateful.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Lumine mused once the door was shut. “I thought you would be stationed somewhere else since you didn’t greet me once I sneaked into Snezhnaya.”
“You sneaked into—okay. That’s fine,” he exhaled. “I’m on a leave of some sorts. A special concession from the Tsaritsa when she heard about the incident with Teucer at the Northland Bank.”
“Pretty nice of her to do that,” she hummed. “Teucer found me not too far from here. The woods are… safe here in Morepesok.”
“Funny you could say that,” Ajax smiled bitterly. He had purged the woods of the monsters there, allowing Teucer to wander around without the risk of falling into the Abyss like he did. The boy had a penchant for exploration. His family was against it at first, seeing what it did to their third son, but then the woods became quiet. “So, what brings you here? I assume it’s not to sightsee.”
“You’re right about that. I need an audience with the Tsaritsa,” she responded, hugging herself with her arms. “The Zapolyarny Palace is too heavily-guarded, though. I’m exploring the region while thinking of something.”
“Ah, I thought you’d be asking me for help, ojou-chan,” he teased. Lumine’s brows furrowed.
“I won’t let you come to that decision,” she murmured, her gaze softening.
Ajax felt his heart beat a little faster. Even in her personal quest to find her sibling, she never once failed to be thoughtful. When he betrayed her and broke her trust in him, she was still kind to him.
When she watched him take care of Teucer, he knew that he might’ve recovered some of that trust back. Keyword: some. It wasn’t enough for both of them, and that pained him more than he liked to admit. Her being here might give him more opportunities to mend their relationship, though, and—
Is this what the metaphorical lightbulb felt like?
“Still, staying here is much cheaper than staying at an inn, right?” Ajax said, a smile creeping onto his face as he formulated a plan. Lumine raised an eyebrow, becoming rapidly suspicious of him. “You did help Teucer, so this is just my way of repaying you.”
His family knew about her, too. Ajax may have slipped more about her than he needed, and it came back to bite him in the ass when Teucer told her about it. But in this situation, it was going to save him some time from having to introduce her to them.
“I can’t argue with that,” she said. “Do you even have a spare room?”
“Ah, about that—”
“Teucer! Where’s Ajax?”
The father of the house had finally arrived, probably along with the rest of the family. He expected them to come home after a few more hours, but life was just full of surprises today. Pulling Lumine closer to him, he murmured, “Lumine? I’ll let you in on something: just call me Ajax in front of them, please?”
And with that, he kicked the door open. Ajax didn’t miss her little jump. “I’m here, Mama, Papa. We’ve got a guest too.”
“Yeah! It’s Ms. Nice Lady from big brother’s letters!” Teucer helpfully provided. His parents looked at each other, their smiles widening into grins.
“Oh! Ajax finally brought his girlfriend home! Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
What.
“Haha, that’s not...“ Ajax glanced back at Lumine. Her face was unreadable, but something was simmering in those golden eyes of hers. “Actually, Lumine just happened to visit Snezhnaya! Can’t say I wasn’t surprised either, but I’m happy she’s here.”
“Yes, Teucer just happened to bring me here,” she responded. The smile she wore looked a little too strained. “It’s very nice to meet you, but I don’t want to intrude like this.”
“Nonsense! Any person who can rein in our Ajax is very much welcome to stay here,” his mother said, cooing as she held Lumine’s hands. “Unless you’re booked at another inn, of course. Oh! Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“Would you like to stay forever?” Teucer added.
“About that, Mama. Lumine was actually looking for a place to spend the night, and…”
“Stay with us! Stay with us!” the little boy exclaimed. Bless Teucer for being the shameless one here. Lumine’s face burned as Ajax nervously chuckled, unsure of how his parents would react. His father frowned, but his mother couldn’t be any happier.
“Honey, I’m sure they’ve missed being apart for so long. Why don’t we let Lumine stay with Ajax in his room?” his mother said with a very genuine, very totally-wholesome grin. His father grunted, assuming a thinking stance as he nodded.
“Ajax sure is a man now…”
Lumine looked absolutely embarrassed, and he was sure his own visage mimicked hers. She cleared her throat. “Oh. Um. Thank you for your hospitality.”
Peals of laughter resounded from outside, revealing Anthon with Tonia wrapped around his neck, hanging like a baby koala. The two siblings immediately took notice of Lumine and straightened their postures, eyes glittering with awe. “Blonde hair, gold eyes, white clothes, super pretty... it’s Ms. Lumine! Ajax always writes about you!”
In his defense, he only called Lumine ‘pretty’ in his letters once. Or twice. Or too many times to count.
“Yeah! She totally fits the description!” Tonia reinforced, clapping excitedly. “By the way, when’s dinner gonna be ready? Wasn’t big brother Ajax assigned to cook tonight? Will you cook Ms. Lumine’s favorite food?”
“I’ll help,” Lumine interjected. “It’s the least I can do for staying here.”
“You’re such a sweetheart too,” the mother said, patting her shoulder as she steered her into the kitchen. Ajax followed, trailing behind them with his head hung in shame. His siblings had single-handedly exposed him to Lumine, and at the worst time too.
Having been cornered into sleeping with him (in a wholesome, platonic way) while being labeled as his girlfriend (not very platonic) should’ve been enough for her to teleport to one of the waypoints in Snezhnaya, but she was still here. Archons, she even offered to cook.
His mother had left them alone in the kitchen, presumably to calm down his siblings. “So,” she started, looking amused as she prepared the ingredients. “To your family. I’m your very pretty girlfriend with blonde hair, gold eyes, and white clothes. One that has spent too much time away from you.”
“Give it a rest, ojou-chan,” he groaned. “How long were you planning to stay in Snezhnaya, anyway?”
“Obviously until I find the Tsaritsa,” Lumine answered. “But for your sake, I’ll leave tomorrow morning. I need to get used to the terrain and weather here, after all.”
“... I’ll just sleep on the floor.”
“Thank you for your offer, but I don’t really want to kick you out of your own bed right now. Plus, you’re on your month off, right?” she asked, adorable doe eyes looking up at him. Her thoughtfulness wasn’t something he deserved. “Just enjoy your stay here.”
“You really are too kind,” he hummed, placing the vegetables she cut into the stew. Even when he was smiling, his eyes twinkled with a murderous glint. “But next time, try not to sleep in the same room as other men. They won’t be as nice as me.”
She playfully swatted him on the arm. “Does that make you jealous, Ajax?”
He would be lying if he said that didn’t have an effect on him. A shiver traveled down his spine, reacting to the way his real name rolled off her tongue so smoothly. Ajax shifted closer to her, pulling her body next to his as they engaged in a staredown.
“As your boyfriend,” he quipped. “I think I should be.”
The blush that spread across her cheeks was the best one he had seen yet.