Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Like the sun, she stood out in the crowd of colors too vibrant for his tastes. If those other women thought they were getting his attention, their outfits certainly did the job although for the wrong reasons.

Unfortunately for him, he was in the middle of a conversation with one of them and cannot approach the woman in gold even though he desperately wants to. Though on the bright side, it seems that the lady in question has yet to leave her spot on the buffet table.

Standing right beside her was a man with similar clothing as hers, both of them donning a golden attire accentuated by a train of red roses following the woman’s gown and a single rose of the same color on the man’s pocket.

“Mr. Zhongli, it is an honor to be here!”

Another guest he barely recognizes. With the amount of people he meets each and every day, he figures it must be a miracle if he remembers someone other than his subordinates and of course his very small circle of friends. He lets out an inaudible sigh before turning to respond with the usual phrases he’s been giving out to everyone since the party started.

It takes him almost half an hour to finally finish speaking with his guests so as to not seem like a rude host. This is exactly why he prefers private parties wherein only the people he actually knows are the guests he has to acknowledge. This isn’t as hard as it sounds because not only does he have a few friends but also these said friends are entrepreneurs like himself therefore have their own choice of temporary accommodation so he need not worry much for them.

Now that he realizes it, however, he hasn’t spoken to all of his guests yet. He hasn’t greeted the duo in gold yet. Shifting his gaze to where he last saw them, he isn’t surprised to not find them there anymore. It has taken him longer than he would have liked, after all. So now the question is where those two would be.

He steps into the spot where the lady used to be and noted that the tray that used to display quesadillas was now empty. Before he could call for service, one of them quickly walks in from the kitchen and stops to replace the empty tray with a new one filled with servings of the delicious dish. Zhongli was about to leave to find his remaining guests when a flash of gold appears before his very eyes.
To add to his surprise, this golden one speaks with such excitement.

“Lumine, come here quick!”

Zhongli was sure his eyes didn’t betray him when he spots the two that he’s been searching for walk right in front of him and eye the food before them. They looked even more ethereal up close, he figures. Now that he’s got a good look on them, he belatedly notes the specks of glitter on the lady’s eyelids and the certain sparkle in the young man’s irises when she hurried towards where they were.
“I’m glad to see that you two are enjoying the party.”

Surprise finds its way in their expressions as the duo looks up at him and the girl known as Lumine had her cheeks flush a rosy hue almost like the shade of red on her gown’s train. Zhongli had to hold himself back from making a comment to prolong that color on her face. The lad beside Lumine recovers from the slight shock and bows to introduce himself and finally Zhongli knows what to call them. Aether, the yellow-haired man, and his twin sister, Lumine, were the son and daughter of a couturier Zhongli keeps in contact with for certain shows he is invited to. Lumine thanks him shyly for inviting them and apologizes for the absence of their parent who was originally the one to arrive. The host nodded as he listened to the soft voice of Lumine, the girl he has compared to the sun, while she continued to talk about her guardian thinking that Zhongli was interested in that in the slightest.

In truth, however, all Zhongli wanted to hear was her voice. Perhaps if the sun did have one, would it sound like this? His gaze shifts on to her older brother, who proudly smiles at his sister conversing with someone else. Was this spark of sunshine too shy to speak to anyone, he wonders.

Once she is done talking, Aether perks up at the sound of the orchestra and reaches for his sister’s gloved hand. Zhongli could only watch as the two leave him as quick as they had appeared before him just a while ago.

“You could save these for them,” The all-too-familiar voice sings, as a green haired man approaches him with an empty plate. He places a few of the quesadillas on it and hands them over to Zhongli, the white snake loosely wrapped around his neck gazing up at him. “Wouldn’t want you to run out of opportunities to converse.” After saying this, Zhongli’s doctor Baizhu leaves to line up for the champagne tower.

Either this doctor knows too much or I am being too obvious. Deciding to just ignore his friend and the snake companion, Zhongli watches his sunshine dance with her brother and holds on to the plate. For now, he would only observe her. Hopefully later on she could allow him a few moments to have a quick chat.

Lumine’s smile could be seen from where he was standing, though he wishes he could see it up close. Aether happily spins her around before slowing down to a waltz as the music reaches to an end. The lighting softens, and the host sees the twins hug. Such a scenery, he notes, almost like a renaissance painting.

Seeing the twins’ intimacy makes him curious, however. Do they not spend much time together that simple actions such as hugging—which he assumes should be a normal thing for family—are something they cannot do more often as they should?

Then again, he’s not one to pry. He’s got a long way to go after all before even being considered close enough to question this.

He gathers enough courage to walk to them as the song ends, topaz orbs eyeing the plate before looking back at him. Zhongli chuckles at their reaction. Maybe the two really liked food, he muses and makes a mental note to list down restaurants he could bring his sunshine to if she ever decides to take an interest in him. Which of course would only happen if he strikes a move today. There’s no telling that she’ll accept if she barely knows him, after all.

“For you,” He smiles.

Lumine blinks before smiling brightly and accepting the plate from him.

“Thank you, Mr. Zhongli!”

Could you say that again so I can record it? Thank the heavens she couldn’t hear his thoughts. “You’re welcome, Miss Lumine.”
I should have listened to Chief Executive Officer Kaeya when he talked about things like this. Like his other friend Chief Executive Officer Diluc, Zhongli cared not about the stories regarding Kaeya’s relationships that the eye-patched man told them of and now it was starting to bite him back for it. He was unsure of how to start a conversation that would interest Lumine. Could he gain her attention with a few trivia? It was all he knew.

With his ‘unlimited high society knowledge powers’, as the public liked to claim, it almost sounded like he was some sort of bourgeoisie parasite whose only utility lies in providing quaint pieces of trivia on demand.

“Mr. Zhongli,” Aether starts. The young man could feel like the host had a lot to say and nothing to say at the same time and he supposes his sister had no idea about it, therefore he could spark up a conversation for all three of them. “If you’d allow me to be so bold, I’d like to share some of Lumine’s work with you. This gown,” He gestures to Lumine, “and this suit were all her design.”

Another pleasant surprise. It must be his lucky day. He notes the contrast of his mood at the start of the party as opposed to now and mentally chuckles at himself. Aether watches as Zhongli looks at each and every feature of their outfits and feels even prouder for his beloved little sister.

She had worked hard on this despite being told that making fake roses out of scratch would never look as stunning as the real thing. Looking at them now, all scattered on her train only made her look lovelier. Not only that, but just before they left for the party a few hours ago, Lumine walked up to him and placed one of the roses she made and pinned it on his suit, smiling and saying that they (he thinks she meant both them and the two pieces she made) were a pair and should look like one.

Zhongli saw the moment Aether’s eyes softened and felt that he could relate to the young man’s feelings. However, instead of a platonic admiration for this lady that reminded him of the rays of sunlight, he wanted something more of a romantic sense. That is, if she was willing to talk to him until he had the courage to ask to see her again.

Clearing his throat, he speaks before thinking, something he’s rarely ever done. He supposed, since he truly did like her work, he would say something good at the very least so as to not make it seem like he wasn’t interested or didn’t want to see more of the pieces she made.

“To say that I am impressed is an understatement; you are truly remarkable and you’ll have to forgive me for not finding the words to describe my amazement.” Zhongli worries his stiffness in speaking would end the conversation there, but Lumine thinks his praise—or rather, Zhongli thinks, his lack of praise—is too much for her to accept.

“Thank you, Mr. Zhongli, I really appreciate it but I don’t think it’s that amazing. I think I’ve got a long way to go before I could be as good as my mother or even Aether.”

“No, I mean it.” The taller man urges. “I sometimes have appointments with your mother for a custom suit. Her designs are just to my liking, but your designs bring out the beauty of the wearer.”

She blushes once more. “You’re too kind, Mr. Zhongli.”

“It’s just Zhongli, Miss Lumine.”

“Then,” Lumine looks down at the plate in her hands before showing him a bright smile. “You have to call me Lumine if I should call you just Zhongli.”

Your name is fitting of your aura, beautiful Lumine. “Of course, Lumine. I am fine with that condition.”

Her eyes sparkle at his confirmation, and he wonders if it is possible to get blinded by her brightness. With her long blond hair and the flowing golden gown wrapped around her pale skin, she was the epitome of a goddess, sculpted in gold and marble. Accents in red decorated her figure, and at that moment, Zhongli was once again staring at his sunshine in the middle of all the other colors.

Be it vibrant or bland, they all didn’t compare to gold. All their colors looked like nothing next to hers.