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“My liege, it has been a while.”
“Xingqiu!”
The moment Lumine turned around and saw the younger navy-blue haired boy, she made a mad dash towards him and tackled him into a hug, nearly sending the two crashing into the ground. She had been very excited to see the boy for the first time in ages. Lumine hadn’t had the chance to see the boy during her trip back to Liyue nearly a month ago, so it had been quite a while since they last met each other.
“It’s great seeing you again too,” Xingqiu laughed as he hugged the girl back. “What brings you to Fontaine?”
“Ajax had business here,” Lumine answered in the simplest way she could as she let the boy go.
Xingqiu nodded in understanding.
Even though it had been closely connected to the Fatui organization, the Northern Bank had actually been quite corruption-free. If it hadn’t been, there was no way that the Hydro Archon would have allowed for them to create a branch here, in Fontaine of all places, in the first place. However, it didn’t mean that the bank had a few secrets of its own.
Xingqiu understood that Lumine didn’t want to divulge too much of the bank’s private matters. After all, even the Feiyun Commerce Guild that he himself was a part of, had its own secrets. Lumine never pried him for more information so he, in turn, would respect her wishes as well.
“How about you? Are you here for matters related to your novel?” Lumine asked, quickly trying to switch the subject.
“Not quite. I’m also here to secure some stock for chocolate. It’s Valentine's day soon, after all.”
“Valorant...Times day???”
Xingqiu gawked.
Ajax was tired.
After the war had ended, he had been left in charge of everything related to the Northern Bank, much to his dismay.
He didn’t understand why he was the one given this job, considering his personality. It wasn’t a secret that he wasn’t really the most patient out of all his colleagues. He was quite violent if anything, physical jobs fit him much more than formal business matters like these. That was why he always took on the debt collecting jobs personally and threw all other matters at his assistant, Ekaterina. Hell, even Lumine could do better than him when it came to the non-violent matters.
However, it didn’t mean that he disliked his job...it gave him quite the pay. With the money he earned, he was able to keep everybody happy. He had been able to support his family since a very young age thanks to his job, and he was very thankful for that. It was also what allowed him to afford the overly expensive piece jewelry that now sat on Lumine’s left ring finger.
It’s just that as of recent, the job forced him to be many places at once.
He had nothing against traveling. Rather, he loved to travel. Both him and Lumine. However, this kind of traveling was...different. What the two wanted to do was have an adventure around the world with each other, fighting and exploring every region they could step foot on. Not being stuck in an office taking part in meetings all day long.
He rarely got time to spare and was often forced to leave Lumine to her own devices. He had told her numerous times that she could stay in Snezhnaya and just wait until he returned with his family, but she had adamantly refused. She claimed that she would much rather be by his side at all times. How could she be so damn precious?
“Make sure to report to the Tsarita on how the meeting went,” he ordered the bank employee that had been in charge of assisting him during his stay at Fontaine.
“Understood! And what shall I do about your dinner plans?”
Ajax narrowed his eyes dangerously at the assistant. “I assume you have the best of the restaurants reserved for us?”
“Y-yes sir! I have reserved a table for two at Le Tribunal!”
Ajax whistled, impressed.
Le Tribunal was the restaurant of Fontaine. To even get a chance to eat at the place, people had to reserve up to months in advance. The food there was quite expensive, but according to the people who had gone there before, it was well worth its price.
He was unsure as to how the assistant had been able to get a reservation there in such a short notice, but it didn’t matter to him. He was happy. He only wanted to give the Lumine the best of everything, and a dinner at Le Tribunal was one of it. It wasn’t as if money was ever a worry for him anyways.
He smiled.
Lumine had been pretty upset as of recent about not getting to spend enough time with him too. He hoped that this would cheer the girl up and act as a good Valentine’s Day gift for her.
Wait.
He blinked.
Did she even know what Valentine’s Day was?
“...Lumi?”
“...”
“Why are you…”
“Don’t.”
“But…”
“ I said don’t. ”
Ajax had no idea how to feel.
While he was working, he had expected Lumine to be browsing the market area with the bag of money he had given her earlier that day, or even catching up with the friends she had made during her previous trip here. However, he was unsure if any of those activities would result in her being in this...state.
To put it simply, she looked like she had just come out of a battle with a ruin hunter.
A difficult one too.
Her hair was sticking out everywhere and there were patches of...was that dirt or dried blood?
“I...made a dinner reservation at Le Tribunal but…” did you want to wash up first?
Lumine nodded, understanding the words he left unsaid, and walked past him to get to her luggage bag. As soon as she found her new change of clothes, she seemed to come to some sort of realization as she suddenly whipped her head back towards the ginger.
“Did you...need something?” Ajax asked as the girl marched back to where he stood.
Instead of making any immediate, verbal answers, Lumine took the object she had been holding in her hand and roughly pushed it into his chest, looking down and mumbling something under her breath.
“Uh...Could you say that again, girlie? I couldn’t hear you,” Ajax cautiously asked again as he curiously looked down at the blonde girl.
“...I said...Happy Valorant Times Day!!!” Lumine huffed out before she ran to the bathroom and slammed it closed.
Confused as to what had just happened, Ajax stood still and blinked at the door that the girl had disappeared into. What was wrong with her? Had he done something wrong? Had something happened to her while he was at work? Did he need to go kill someone? He didn’t miss the way her face glowed red for some unknown reason when she had ran away but…
“And what in the hell is Valorant’s Day…?” Ajax whispered to himself before looking down at the small box that she had shoved to him just now.
The box seemed to be very hastily wrapped with a ribbon, not something that was professionally wrapped for sure. It also had the same smudges all over it as she had on her clothes earlier. Had Lumine killed a Hilichurl and offered it’s heart to him as some strange ritual of some sort? Was she trying to curse him?
Curious, Ajax hesitantly unwrapped the ribbons and slowly opened the lid of the box.
“Wha-”
Inside of the box was a number of...deformed blobs?
He cautiously picked one up and squinted at it.
It was sticky...and melted in his hands?
He brought the ‘blob’ up to his nose and sniffed it.
“...Chocolate?”
There was no mistaking it. Regardless of how strange it looked, Ajax would never mistake the smell of chocolate. He had become familiarized with the smell of it over time due to his mother always making it with his siblings every Valentine’s Day. But why had Lumine given him a bunch of strange looking choc…
Valorant Times Day.
Valentine’s Day .
The girl who didn’t even know what the damned holiday was called had just given him handmade chocolates .
With a straight face, Ajax calmly put the piece of chocolate back into the box and set it down on the counter next to him before staring at the bathroom door the girl had gone through a while ago.
“Lumine!!!”
“?!?!??!?!??! AJAX??? WHY ARE YOU HERE?! CAN’T YOU SEE I’M TRYING TO TAKE A SHOWER?! GET OUT!!!”
Lord, his fiancé was too damned cute for her own good.