Chapter Text
Today felt special.
Lumine was finally turning 16, and though she didn't like celebrating her birthday too much, it felt special. Maybe because it's the day girls are considered adults? Her so-called 'sweet sixteen'? It just felt different from her other birthdays.
Groggily, she grabbed around her bedside table to shut the alarm that somehow didn't seem extremely annoying, drank some water that somehow wasn't disgustingly sweet, got into the bathroom and turned on the lights that somehow didn't instantly blind her, and took a shower in the water that was somehow just the right temperature. And although most people would be glad to start off the day so well, their birthday no less, Lumine couldn't help but think that this might be some kind of bad omen. After hearing that luck came in waves, that after good events, bad things would follow to balance it out, Lumine always became paranoid that good events were just preparing her for something bad that was to come.
Pushing the dark thoughts to the back of her head, Lumine made her way down the stairs, only to be crushed in a rib-breaking hug the moment she stepped foot in the living room.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUMINE!"
"Oh my GOD, Aether, are you trying to KILL me?" she quipped breathlessly, taking note of Beidou tiredly watching them from the dining table.
"Hahaha, sorry. I was just excited,” he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Sighing, Beidou got up and threw an arm over Lumine’s shoulder, flashing her a brilliant smile. “Happy birthday, kiddo! Make sure to have lots of fun today,” she said enthusiastically. “Thanks, aunt Beidou!” Lumine replied, giving a kind smile of her own.
Beidou wasn’t their mom, nor was she their real aunt. Aether and Lumine’s biological parents died in a car accident when they were only 8, and Beidou, being close friends with their parents, took them in without any hesitation. They were really grateful to her, especially when she spared no expense when raising them, even if she was doing it single-handedly.
“Anyways, LOOK AT THE CAKE I GOT YOU!" Aether exclaimed, drawing Lumine out of her thoughts by making a show with his hands.
Lumine shook her head fondly and turned to look at the cake, only to feel her smile drop instantly. In front of her was a beautiful chocolate cake, coated in glistening, perfectly shiny ganache, elegant designs all over the multiple tiers, and a cherry to top it all off. Such a cake would've made her overjoyed, but she couldn't bring herself to feel happy about it as of now. The reason for that was probably because the cake was about 5 feet tall.
"Aether... Do you call this a CAKE?" She asked incredulously.
"What's wrong with it? Looks nice to me." He said, not understanding what was the problem.
"What's WRONG with it?! IT'S NEARLY AS TALL AS ME! How in the WORLD do you expect us to eat all of this?!"
"Hmm... dunno. Didn't think about that part." He said sheepishly.
All Lumine and Beidou could do were sigh and shake their heads. "Thanks a lot for the cake though, Ae. It looks amazing." She could never stay mad at him for too long, it's not like he had bad intentions anyways. "Anything for you," he said, smiling boyishly at her.
“Oh yeah, and I forgot about something," Beidou added thoughtfully, successfully changing the topic.
"Hm?" The siblings said at the same time.
"Meet Xiao, your fiance. He’s going to be staying with us," She said, gesturing to a man behind the twins.
They both jumped at the realization of another in the room. "How long have you been there?! I swear I couldn't tell anyone else was here!" Aether yelled. "Wait wait wait, and you said FIANCE?!" Lumine screamed, panicking.
Who has an arranged marriage in this day and age?! It’s the 21st century, not the 1800s! And he’s going to be staying with us? What kind of shojo manga plot is this?!
“You met him when you were younger. Do you not remember? Your grandpa picked him to marry you,” Beidou said, ignoring the distress of the siblings. “I don’t remember… But more importantly! Do you think it’s just okay to decide these kinds of things without talking to me about it?! This is MARRIAGE, not a trip to the grocery shop!” Lumine quipped at Beidou, knowing just how rude she was being, but honestly, she couldn’t bring herself to care at this point.
Changing the focus, Aether turned to Xiao, giving him a judgemental look. “Hey, you. You’ve been silent this whole time, are you really just gonna let this happen?”. Xiao looked a bit surprised to be spoken to, thinking a bit before saying “...Well I grew up with everyone telling me I’m going to be married to Lumine,” as if the current situation was completely normal. “So you’re just going with it because the people around you told you to?!” Lumine snapped, but his expression didn’t waver. She stared at him a bit longer, before running up the stairs and back into her room, slamming the door behind her and slumping down on the floor.
Breathe Lumine. Ok.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her fried nerves. Thinking about what happened, she realized that neither Beidou nor Xiao Deserved any of what she said. The arranged marriage was the work of her grandpa, not Beidou, and whatever he said was always law in her family.
Not to mention, it’s not like Xiao had a choice either…
She thought back to what he said.
“...Well I grew up with everyone telling me I’m going to be married to Lumine.”
I feel kind of bad for him. At least I had some sort of freedom before this, he was just… trapped. And I yelled at him too.. Great start to the relationship with your fiance, Lumine.
Feeling guilt creeping up and forming tears in her eyes, she took a few more deep breaths before plopping down on her bed, scrolling through social media to get her mind off of things.
A good 10 minutes had passed before she heard the doorbell ring, and she groaned as she realized she had to go back downstairs and face everyone again. It wasn’t like Aether or Beidou couldn’t open it, it’s just that Lumine happened to be the one who did almost all of the chores in the house. Beidou was usually busy working, and relaxed on her days off, while Aether was completely hopeless in the kitchen. His forte was more in academics, being the student council president, and having nearly perfect grades in all his subjects. Lucky him.
Checking how she looked in the mirror one last time, Lumine went down the stairs and opened the door, only to see… No one? Confused, she looked around and didn’t see any sign of a person, but just when she was about to close the door, a tiny voice spoke up.
“Hello.”
Eyes widening, Lumine looked down to see a small girl, probably around 6 years old, with long lilac hair tied back in a braid, and gorgeous yet spacey ruby eyes.
The girl looked up at Lumine in question, blinking a few times, making Lumine realize they had a guest.
“Oh! Sorry, uh, Hi! Please come in,” She said, embarrassed.
The little girl bowed slightly, and slowly walked inside, Lumine shutting the door behind her and motioning for the girl to enter the living room, while Lumine got some refreshments for her and Xiao.
Lumine entered the living room with a glass of milk, a glass of water, and 2 slices of cake, only to see a very focused Aether staring at the little girl, who was seated on the off-white sofa next to Xiao, looking like she’d doze off any second. Lumine could practically see the sparkles in Aether’s eyes, after all, he had a soft spot for cute girls. Not in a weird way though. She hopes.
Lumine sets the glasses and cakes in front of them, avoiding making eye contact with Xiao, as the girl seemingly wakes up from her daze, bowing her head slightly as a thank you and oh my god, why was she so cute?
“Hello, I’m big brother Xiao’s younger sister… My name is Qiqi,” the girl said.
Lumine felt her eyes widen at the mention of Xiao’s name, but motioned for Qiqi to continue. “...I’m going to be staying here. Please take good care of me.”
Ignoring Aethers squeal, Lumine smiled at the girl, effectively hiding her internal panic.
“The more the merrier, right? But what do we do about the rooms..” Beidou trailed off, highly underestimating the situation at hand.
Sighing, Lumine watched as Qiqi slowly ate her cake, before asking how old she was.
“Uh… I’m 6… I think…” You think? Lumine thought, confused. “Sorry. I forget a lot of things,” Qiqi said, face looking down, and suddenly Lumine felt like a villain. “Don’t worry about it, you’re very well behaved compared to most other kids your age. I hope you enjoy your stay here,” Lumine said, giving Qiqi a gentle smile, before picking up the plates and glasses and walking back to the kitchen.
When Lumine walked back to the living room, Aether was yelling at Xiao. Man. The poor guy really can’t get a break. “I’m the one giving my super super super adorable sister Lumine, yet you always remain like a statue! Shouldn’t you be begging at her feet for her to marry you?!” Man. Poor me really can’t get a break. “Aether, calm down. What are you going on about? You’re scaring them, they’re our guests,” Lumine said, trying to stuff some reason into his brain.
Qiqi looked at Aether, then said “He was just born that way. Sorry,” she said, apologizing sincerely, while Xiao still looked extremely confused. “How can I just let this go?! How can you be…”
What is this… What is all of this… It was a completely normal morning, but out of nowhere I now have a fiance and a sister-in-law?! To top it all off, they’re going to be staying with us… All the food plans I made for this week have gone down the drain… I’m the one who cooks, we don’t even have enough stock to feed 2 more people! What am I gonna do...
“AHHHH!” Lumine screamed, holding her head in her hands. Everyone stopped and looked at her. “Lumine blew up!” Aether said, watching, as Lumine stood there in ominous silence.
“...Lumine?” She suddenly looked up. “I need to go shopping for more food!” Oh. So that’s what it was about. The 3 released the breath they didn’t realise they were holding, as Lumine hurriedly put on her coat and scarf, running out the door.
Lumine started walking, recollecting what she needed to buy. “We need more soy sauce, detergent, obviously all the usual vegetables… I think we’re running low on cinnamon… Oh! And th- AH!” She suddenly yelled, as she slipped on the snowy pavement, losing her balance.
She closed her eyes and braced herself for the fall that… never came? She opened her eyes and looked up, seeing striking amber eyes and dark, green streaked hair. “...Xiao?”