Archive of Our Own

Lumine carefully plucked the last icy mint from the cold Dragonspine floor. She'd spent the entire day there - picking mints. All because of Paimon. The little fairy wanted to test out a new recipe that she created. And it required frozen mints. Not just regular mints, but frozen mints. Mints that are only found in that horrid place, Dragonspine. Now, the question was, why wasn't Paimon here with Lumine, in the freezing cold weather, picking plants? That was because the fairy chickened out and made the excuse that she had to go get some other ingredients from the market instead. And since Lumine was a good friend, unlike some fairy , she decided to help out and collect them for her. Thankfully, the recipe only needed 10 frozen mints so they weren't too difficult. But, Paimon decided to make it even more difficult by saying that she needed the top quality ones. Top quality mints. Meaning, if the mint was tilted, bent over, or wilted, Paimon didn't want it. Picky fairy. But nonetheless, Lumine swallowed down her anger, and traveled to Dragonspine to pick them.

It was already evening when Lumine finished. The sky was just beginning to darken and the wind was slowly picking up. Who knew Dragonspine got colder during nighttime? That was just one more reason why it is the worst place in all of Teyvat. Zipping up her coat, Lumine put the last perfect mint into her inventory and started to head back to town. 

However, just as she walked a few meters, Lumine heard a rather weird sound just ahead of her. It sounded like... fighting? Curiosity getting the better of her, Lumine rushed forward to check it out. She peeked her head out from the side of the mountain. To her surprise, she saw the harbinger Childe . Fighting an abyss mage. A cryo one at that. He looked like he was struggling against it. Lumine furrowed her eyebrows. Childe? Struggling against a mage? Sure, abyss mages were annoying, but they weren't difficult to beat. Just breaking the shields is quite arduous. Oh. That's why Childe was having difficulty. He was a hydro user, against a cryo mage. Of course he couldn't break the shield easily!

But... should she help him? He was Childe after all, all he did was annoy and tease her. Lumine sighed. She'll help him - but he is definitely going to have to pay her back with something. Plus, she could use this opportunity to make fun of him too. 

As soon as she made the decision, Lumine came out from behind the side of the mountain and ran towards the abyss mage with her sword materializing in her hand. She slashed the shield just as an icicle narrowly missed Childe's head. Lumine kept on slashing and scraping her sword against the seemingly indestructible shield. She didn't even notice the surprised expression on the harbinger next to her. 

"L-Lumine? What are you doing here?" Childe asked with an astonished tone.

"Ask questions later, help me break this shield!" Lumine exclaimed as she slashed harder. Stubborn shield, it just won't break. Childe nodded and tried to help the traveler break it. Unfortunately, his efforts were mostly in vain as his blades were formed solely using hydro, an element that is practically useless against cryo enemies. Especially ones with cryo shields. An abyss mage being a prime example. Thankfully, with Lumine there, the two of them managed to break the stupid shield and kill the mage.

Sheathing her sword, Lumine stretched her arms and folded her arms across her chest. "So, wanna tell me why you, a harbinger with a hydro vision, is doing in Dragonspine?"

"I was just doing a quest and ran into a cryo mage. Well, no, not exactly, the quest mission was to obliterate the mage so I had no choice but to fight it." 

"Childe, you have a hydro vision! You should have at least done this quest with another person who has a different vision."

"Aww, were you worried about me? So sweet~" The harbinger teased.

Lumine held in the urge to smack him. "Idiot, I'm not even going to-" She was interrupted with a sneeze from Childe who quickly muttered an apology.

Lumine raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

Childe nodded. "Mhm, I'm fine." He mentally cursed himself for allowing a cough to escape his lips.

Lumine looked at him with a dubious look. "You don't look fine," she stated, matter-of-factly.

"Really, I'm fine! It's just a bit chilly here, that's all." Childe said. That was true. It was getting colder and colder by the minute.  "Oh, that reminds me, I know a small cabin around here, I'm gonna spend the night there. Are you going to head back to Mondstadt or...?"

Lumine opened her mouth to say 'yes' but then closed it. Would it be a good decision to leave Childe here alone? He looked like he was really sick. Even though Lumine would never admit it, she was actually worried about the guy. His face was flushed and he looked like he had a fever.

"Is your quest finished yet?" Lumine blurted out.

Childe blinked at her. Huh? "N-Not yet. I still have one last location to go to. Is something wrong?"

Lumine shook her head and looked away. "...I'm going to help you with it."

The harbinger stared at her. Did he hear that correctly? Childe opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. 

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Lumine snapped. "Is me providing you with my assistance that bizarre?"

"No no, it's just that... ever since that incident, I never thought that we would ever be helping each other out." Childe answered.

Oh right. That incident. The Liyue incident. The whole Morax/Rex Lapis/Zhongli gnosis incident. The one where Childe summoned a whale on Lumine. And as payback, Lumine punched him in the gut, hard . He probably still has a bruise today. Hehe.

Lumine sighed. "Don't worry about that, I already got my revenge on you for throwing a whale on me. You still have that bruise, right? I made sure to hit you hard."

Childe chuckled. "Yep, it's still there. Who knew a girl could hit that hard? I certainly didn't expect that out of you."

"Oh shut it. You totally deserved that one. You're lucky I didn't finish you off then, I could have easily gotten rid of you."

" I could have easily gotten rid of you,"  Childe mocked playfully. "Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? I'm pretty strong too if I do say so myself." The harbinger stifled a cough in between his words.

Lumine raised an eyebrow. "That certainly doesn't sound too convincing coming out of someone who's sick."

"I'm not-" Childe started but Lumine interrupted him.

"Save it. I don't want to hear any excuses. Let's go to the cabin, lead the way." 

" Let's?  You mean, you're coming too?" Childe asked with a completely oblivious tone.

"Yeah. What about it? I don't have anything else to do." Lumine came up with the bland excuse. Of course she had something to do - give the mints back to Paimon. But since the little fairy chose not to accompany her, she was going to have to wait a bit longer.

The harbinger stared at her but then he regained his composure. "...Okay then, follow me."

The two of them walked on a small trail covered in clean, white snow. At least that's what it felt like. It was already completely dark outside and Lumine could barely see where she was going. She had no choice but to hold onto Childe's scarf to avoid tripping over a rock - which she already did once. However, aside from tripping over rocks, the view above them was actually quite nice. Millions of bright stars shone throughout the night sky and the moon shone brightly, but not bright enough for Lumine to see where she was going.

But what made it special was the moonlight that shone on Childe. It made him look...beautiful. His sea blue eyes sparkled and his ginger hair was slightly covered in white snowflakes. It wasn't a weird sight, seeing Childe with his sparkling blue eyes, Lumine had seen him many times before, whether it was on a mission or just strolling in town. He looked and acted the same every time - signature ginger hair and annoying attitude.

But something about this time made Lumine stare in awe at him. His appearance didn't change, and neither did his attitude, but something felt different about him. He seemed more mature... in a way. If that was possible for Childe. 

"We're here!" Childe suddenly exclaimed, snapping Lumine out of her thoughts. 

The blond looked up at the cabin. It looked quite new, as if it was recently built. Did Childe build it himself? Lumine didn't think he had the skills to do that.

"Did you build this yourself?" She asked.

Childe nodded proudly, "Sure did! This place - Dragonspine, I think? - reminds me of my hometown, Snezhnaya, so I figured, why not? Plus, I wanted to test my building skills. It's been a while since I've built something. The last time I remember was when I built Teucer and Tonia a playhouse a few months ago." He said, smiling sadly at the cabin.

He must be thinking of his family. 

"They must have loved it, right? Considering how skilled you are at building." Lumine remarked.

"Yeah, they sure did. Teucer played in it every day. He made me promise that the next time I go visit, I would play with him."

"When...when was the last time you saw him?"

Childe's smile faltered. "It's been six months." He let out a sad chuckle. "Honestly I don't even know how tall he's grown now. Maybe one day he'll grow taller than me."

Lumine gazed at him sorrowfully. He misses them so much. Poor guy. He just wants to see his family. 

She opened her mouth to say something but then Childe changed the topic. "Let's go in, it's getting cold out here." He opened the door and walked in, Lumine following closely behind. 

The inside looked even better than the outside. Old, wooden furniture filled the room. There was a set of chairs, surrounding a larger table in the middle. Further near the back, there was a staircase leading to a second floor. Lumine guessed that was where the beds were. 

Childe walked to the base of the staircase and signaled Lumine to come over. The two of them walked up the stairs and onto the second floor.

There were 2 beds on each side of the room, a small nightstand in between. They also had matching blue beddings and pillows. To be honest, Lumine thought it was very cute. The style was her favorite and she really liked how the furniture was organized. Plus, on the bed to the left, there was a small whale plushie sitting on the pillow. It was so cute! Lumine couldn't help but stare at it. Looks like Childe has a cute side after all.

"Which bed do you want?" Childe asked.

Lumine immediately pointed to the one with the plushie, "That one please." 

The ginger chuckled. "I see you've taken a liking to it." 

Lumine was hugging and poking at the little whale, "It's so adorable! Where did you get it? Or did you make it?"

Childe shook his head. "No, I don't know how to make something like that. It was a gift from Tonia, my sister, for my birthday a few months ago. I managed to spare some time and go visit them and she gave it to me, as a little thing to remember her by."

"That's so sweet...you're really lucky to have such a good sister." Lumine added, suddenly thinking of her own brother. What was he doing now? Does he think of her from time to time? She sure missed him. Hopefully he feels the same way. It's been so long since they last saw each other... Ever since their little 'reunion' at the Abyss, she hadn't heard anything about him. Her question of why he was leading the Abyss still wasn't answered. Why was he doing that? Did he have a specific goal in mind? What does he-

"Lumine?"

Hearing her name being called, she immediately looked up. "Yeah?"

"Did you hear me? I was asking if you wanted anything to eat. It's a bit late but if you're hungry, I could figure something out."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm not really hungry." Lumine responded, but her growling stomach had other ideas. 

Childe raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that? I was going to feast on a nice Sticky Honey Roast but since you aren't hungry, I guess I'll have to eat it myself."

Lumine glared at him. "Since you already have plans, I suppose I'll eat something."

"Right, right." The harbinger chuckled as he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. Lumine followed him down in curiosity - she didn't think the man could cook.

Lumine watched as Childe pulled out something wrapped in aluminum foil. He brought it over to the mini stove and gently placed it on top while starting the fire inside.

After a few minutes, he turned the stove off and using an oven mitt, he brought it over to the table; along with two plates and utensils.

The whole cabin was filled with the delicious aroma of the dish and for a second Lumine feared that it would attract hilichurls.

"Did you make this yourself?" Lumine asked as she cut a piece of meat apart.

Childe nodded with his mouth full. "Yep, I made this as an extra earlier today. I just needed to heat it up."

"I see. It's actually not bad." Lumine acknowledged. "I didn't expect that you could cook."

"I'm a man of many talents, girlie." The harbinger winked. 

Lumine rolled her eyes and went back to eating. 

--

Once they were finished, Lumine helped out with the dishes. She can't make Childe do everything by himself. That way he would just have more reason to brag and tease her about it.

After the dishes were done, Lumine climbed into the bed while Childe did the same in the other. 

"Good night." He said, flicking the off switch on the lamp.

"Good night." Lumine mumbled, already falling asleep.

Lumine woke to the classic sound of birds chirping and singing their melodious 'wake-up' songs. While others found this peaceful as it reminded them of the beautiful nature, Lumine found it particularly annoying. She had heard it millions of times when she and Paimon slept outside. It was annoying, not peaceful. Chirp chirp this, chirp chirp that. Lumine almost turned the bird into fowl last time it kept chirping. However Paimon told her to keep her vicious side in and save the poor bird. She listened. But after Paimon left, she stuck it on a stick and ate it for breakfast. 

She stretched her arms after a good night's sleep and yawned loudly. Not very ladylike, but who was there to judge. Just that annoying ginger - not that he was allowed to say anything.

Lumine clumsily brushed her hair back with her hands and stepped out of the bed. To her surprise, she found Childe still sleeping in his bed. She carefully tiptoed towards him, not wanting to wake him. When she came up beside him, she saw the state he was in.

His hair was messy (even more than usual), his face was flushed and his cheeks were a tint of pink. Lumine was sure he had a fever without even having to check his temperature. But she did anyway, just in case. As soon as her hand made contact with his forehead, she immediately yanked it back, surprised at the heat radiating off. 

He definitely has a fever.

Lumine sighed. Didn't he say he was fine just yesterday? What an idiot... Now I have to take care of him.

She gently pulled his duvet up so that he could stay warm. Then, she walked downstairs and decided to make breakfast.

There definitely wasn't much, but she could manage. After a few minutes of debating which dish to cook, Lumine decided on an egg sandwich. She grabbed a pan, two eggs, and two pieces of bread. Thankfully, she knew how to make this dish as she cooked it for Paimon multiple times. 

Tapping the egg on the counter, Lumine poured its contents into the heated pan. The eggs sizzled against the heat, and Lumine carefully flipped them so they wouldn't burn. She preferred her eggs to be completely cooked. That meant no runny yolks. She couldn't stand the taste of slimy half raw eggs in her mouth. Lumine didn't know what Childe preferred, but since she was going out of her way to take care of him, he would have to deal with hard eggs. 

Once the eggs were fully cooked, Lumine sprinkled some pepper and salt; feeling like a master chef who's finishing up her final dish. She slid the egg in between two slices of bread and placed it on a plate. Just as she finished the second sandwich, she heard footsteps down the stairs.

It was Childe, of course, who stumbled down, rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Lumine?"

"Finally decided to wake up, huh, sleepy head? Here, I made breakfast. Hopefully you prefer your eggs fully cooked. Even if you don't, you're eating them anyway." She said, taking a seat at the table.

Instead of saying a clever remark like the usual Childe would, he just sat down and began to eat his food in silence. Lumine was definitely not used to this. 

"Hellooo," she said, dragging out the 'o'. 

"Hm?" Childe looked up.

"Hm?"  Lumine repeated, obviously annoyed

"What?" The harbinger replied, completely oblivious.

"Don't just stare at me! Say something!" Lumine blurted out.

Childe blinked at her. "Thanks for the meal?"

"Not that , dummy. Well I deserve that, but no, that's not what I want."

"Great cooking skills?"

"No."

"I love your cooking?"

"No."

"You cook better than Xiangling?"

"No! Come on, Childe, don't be so clueless, it's about you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Yes you! You're sick! Why did you deny it yesterday?"

"Ohh, that," he chuckled. "I didn't think you would be so worried, it's just a cold, Lumi,” he waved it off.

"Don't 'Lumi' me." She snapped, pulling his plate of food away. "You know you're sick, yet you still accepted this quest. I demand an explanation. You're not eating until you give me a valid reason."

Childe pouted. "Come on, Lumi, please? I'm hungry. Just let me eat~" He whined. 

"No."

He sighed, knowing he couldn’t win against her. "Fine, you're the boss, Lumi, I'll answer, okay?"

"I'm waiting."

"...It was an easy quest so I wanted to finish it up quickly." Childe answered, looking away.

"Uh no. That's not a valid excuse. Give me something better." Lumine crossed her arms across her chest.

"It gave really good rewards upon completion."

"You seriously expect me to believe that? You're like my main source of money, yet you still need to do commissions for some extra Mora?"

Childe laughed. "I'm your main source of money. Guess you depend on me more than I thought."

"I don't need you. It's just helpful to have a friend who never runs out of Mora."

"Oh? So I've officially been acknowledged as your friend?"

Maybe more than a friend...  

Lumine quickly shook her head. "No, quit trying to change the topic, Childe. Why did you accept the commission when you knew you were sick?"

"Ah, no escaping the question, huh."

"You got that right. Now hurry up, I don't have all day to wait for you to answer."

He sighed dramatically. "It's for work. Fatui business. I'm supposed to investigate three different locations in Dragonspine. Is that a valid answer in your standards, boss?"

"Maybe. At least it sounds more convincing than the rest. 'It gave good rewards', pfft! Now that's pathetic. I expected a better excuse."

Childe gave her the 'Seriously?' look. "Can I get my food back now?"

"Say 'please'."

He grumbled a ‘please’. 

"Good, here you go." Lumine said, handing the plate to Childe.

"What am I, a dog waiting to be fed?" Childe mumbled under his breath. 

"What was that?"

"The food is delicious!"

"It better is."

--

"You still have one last location right?" Lumine asked while scrubbing her plate.

Childe nodded. "Yep, it's north of here. Near Snow-Covered Path."

"What are you looking for there?"

"To be honest, I don't even know. All the information I was given was I had to investigate those 3 locations for anything suspicious. In the first one, I found nothing. In the second, there was the cryo abyss mage, which you also saw. I have no clue what I'll find in the third. It's a surprise, I guess."

"That's all you know? And they sent you here with that kind of information?"

"Mhm."

"What are you supposed to do with that? We don't even know what you're looking for."

Childe shrugged. "I'm used to it, many of the Fatui missions are like this. You aren't given any information but are expected to get results."

"Well yeah, but you gotta give me something to work with here. What do they mean by 'suspicious'? Are we looking for a specific monster? Or a suspicious person? A weird rock?"

"Woah there, girlie. You don't have to get so worked up. All we have to do is check the place out - scout around, look at anything weird. If there truly is nothing, then I'll report back that there is nothing. Done."

"Childe, I'm getting worked up because I'm the one going. Not you. Me. By myself. I have to know what I'm looking for!"

Childe's mouth jaw almost dropped to the floor. "What?! It's my commission! I'm the one who's-" The sudden outburst made him double over with coughs.

Lumine hurried over and rubbed his back gently. His coughing fit slowly died down and he took a few deep breaths.

"See what I mean now? You're sick, so you're not going." Lumine stated, giving him one last pat on the back.

"But only I know what's suspicious and what's not. If I don't go then you won't be able to find anything." He said, swallowing down a cough in between.

"Can't you just tell me?"

Childe shook his head. "It's not a thing that we're looking for. It's suspicious activity compared to the usual activity. I've been on multiple Dragonspine commissions lately so I have a good idea of what's weird and what's not."

Damnit. I haven't been to Dragonspine for weeks already, if not for Paimon's dish, then I wouldn't even be here right now. 

Lumine thought of every possible way that Childe wouldn't have to go. "What if you did the commission next week?"

"That won't work, deadline's tomorrow."

Lumine bit her bottom lip. "Does that mean you have to go today?"

Childe waved his hand. "It'll be fine, Lumi. I'll be fine. There's nothing to worry about. Plus, you're going with me. Nothing's gonna happen."

Lumine sighed. "Fine, it's not like I have a choice anyways. We're leaving now. Get it over with as fast as possible."

"Yes ma'am."

The two of them walked over to Snow-Covered Path. While it seemed like they were traveling a fair distance, it actually wasn't. Dragonspine wasn't a very large place to begin with and with the speed Lumine was walking at, it only took around 20 minutes to get there.

Lumine made sure to keep an eye on her partner during their walk. She internally winced each time Childe stumbled upon a tree root as it reminded her why she shouldn't have let him accompany her. But Lumine hesitantly swallowed down her worry and continued trudging through the snowy path.

Lumine wouldn't have known that they arrived if Childe didn't tell her. He was right - there was no way she could have completed the commission if not for him. Archons, she didn't even know where the place was.

Childe started to scout around the area and Lumine did too, on the opposite side. She looked around the land in front of her.

The area seemed perfectly normal, to the average person. But to someone experienced, like Childe, something was off. His battle instincts suddenly kicked in and his actions were full of caution.

Meanwhile, Lumine was blatantly shaking her leg around as some of the snow had gotten into her boot. Her foot tingled as the snow slid down even further because of the sudden action. She shrieked as the cold substance pricked her leg and moved back. Unfortunately, luck was not on Lumine's side and she backed into a tree. The snow from the tree's branches fell down her coat and down her neck. Lumine jumped around awkwardly in an attempt to get rid of the snow. 

Of course Childe had to notice and he laughed. At her. "Got snow down your back, girlie? Seems you aren't used to the cold."

"Oh shut up. You just got lucky there's no snow down your back. Want to know the feeling? I will gladly let you experience it." Lumine retorted, grabbing a handful of snow getting ready to throw it.

"H-Hey! I'm the sick man here, Lumi!" The harbinger said, backing away.

"Excuses!" She exclaimed, tossing the snow and watching it with a smirk as her partner failed to dodge it.

Childe yelped as the snowball conveniently made its way down his back.

"Seems you aren't used to the cold." Lumine mimicked from earlier, earning a grumble from the other man.

"Whatever. Let's just hurry on with the commission." 

"Ooh, someone's changing the subject, huh?" Lumine teased again, but went to investigate nonetheless. She wanted to leave the cold as soon as possible. Just the thought of Childe's warm cabin made her want to forget about the whole mission and just sit by the fireplace. 

She sighed and went back to digging through the snow. At least she can try her best to get it done faster, right?

--

"There's something here!" Lumine heard Childe exclaim. Finally, she thought as she lifted her head and jogged over to his spot. 

"What is it?"

"An underground cave. There's an entrance over here but it's covered with snow. I guess whoever hid something there really doesn't want anyone to find out," he said, pointing to the hidden entrance.

"Yeah... I wonder what's in there."

"That's why we're here, girlie - to check it out. Let's go!" He responded eagerly and jumped down into the underground cavern.

Lumine didn't even have a chance to protest against the idea. She grumbled and stepped down, following Childe's footsteps. Lumine made sure to keep a close eye on her partner as well as her own feet. She was no stranger to tripping.

Once she reached the bottom, Lumine carefully looked around the area. It was a large place, surprisingly. Lumine had expected a tight room where two people could barely fight in but... this was like a whole underground city.

She hadn't been to Dragonspine often to begin with, much less knew about secret underground entrances so everything was new to her.

Lumine heard a cough in the distance and then a sneeze. Childe, you idiot. 

She quickened her pace and walked faster to catch up to him. She found him examining a rather peculiar structure on the ground. 

"What's that?" She asked. 

Childe shrugged. "Not sure. It seems like a part of the Abyss though. It has the language they speak on it. See those symbols?"

Lumine nodded. "Yeah, I've seen a lot of them before during commissions. This counts as suspicious activity right?"

He chuckled. "If this isn't suspicious then I don't know what is."

"What's strange about it is not so much the symbols but rather where it's placed. To me this looks like... a button? I've never seen this before." Lumine added.

"That's true, I hate to admit it but I've never seen it either." Childe acknowledged. "We should press it."

"What?! Who knows what'll happen if we press it. We aren't prepared for anything-"

"There's only one way to find out!" Childe exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the mechanism. 

A second went by. And then another.

Lumine expected something a lot more than that. Like a whole flock of missiles fly towards them or a bomb detonating right beneath their feat.

She turned to Childe but before she could say a word, Lumine felt the ground vibrate beneath them. Then, a wiring sound filled the air and brown mechanical figures rose from their slumber.

Ruin guards.

Lumine's eyes widened as she counted a total of 3 as they stomped closer and closer. "Childe, we should really get out of-"

"No time for that - take the one to the right!" He instructed, forming his hydro blades and charging towards the two machines.

"But-" Lumine started. A ruin guard swung its arm towards her and she immediately jumped back, narrowly dodging what meant to be a deadly hit.

Looks like we're going to have to take them out.

Lumine quickly charged up her Palm Vortex and slashed at the ruin guard's core, attempting to paralyze it. However, the machine was not going to let her defeat it so easily. It threw another heavy punch at its target and jumped, preparing to squash Lumine as if she were a mere ant.

She quickly dodged to the side and got in a few other slashes. The ruin guard's HP was depleting, but not as fast as it normally would.

Are they infused with the power of the Abyss?  Lumine questioned as she dodged another strike. They sure are moving quicker than normal..!

She unleashed another Palm Vortex and by the time the skill ended, she already had her burst charged. Leaping into the air, Lumine summoned the power of anemo and released a swirling tornado, steadily reducing her opponent's HP.

Now there was only a quarter left to go. 

Lumine dodged and slashed furiously, slamming her sword against the strong machine. She was able to stab it's core and rendered it immobile.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lumine charged her elemental skill, dealing strong anemo damage. With one last slash, the ruin guard disintegrated, fading away into thin air.

Lumine took a deep breath and sheathed her sword. She glanced over to Childe to see how he was doing. 

He had already taken down one of the ruin guards but he was breathing heavily. Lumine could tell he was exhausted. His movements were starting to get sluggish as he clumsily stumbled to keep his balance. Doing so, he didn't notice an incoming strike from the machine's arm.

She ran towards him, his name escaping her lips in a shout as she tried to prevent the collision.

But it was too late. 

The ruin guard's arm swung up, and smacked into Childe with an alarming amount of force.

The harbinger was flung back into an icy wall as he lay, unmoving. A smear of blood was painted onto the side of the wall.

"CHILDE!" Lumine screamed, sprinting towards her now unconscious partner. However, just before she reached him, the ruin guard made a whirring noise, indicating a new flock of missiles that was directed right towards Childe.

Lumine threw herself in front of him as the machine fired and quickly summoned a geo construct to block the incoming fire.

Fortunately, the construct was strong enough to withstand the attack. But Lumine was furious at the ruin guard. Not only for injuring Childe but also herself too. One of the missiles missed the construct and inflicted a rather painful cut on Lumine's cheek.

She pulled her sword out hastily and charged at the machine. Lumine slashed with all her might and using her anemo powers, she engulfed the ruin guard in a tornado, successfully depleting all its HP and killing it for good.

But she didn't spend a single second to celebrate her successful defeat. Instead, Lumine immediately turned around and headed towards Childe.

She hesitantly kneeled down next to him, inspecting his wounds. 

He probably has a concussion, there's blood on his head. And his breathing sounds pained... did he break a few ribs? Shit, why didn't I pay attention to Barbara's medical lessons...

"Childe? Childe, wake up." Lumine gently tapped his face.

No reaction.

"Childe!" She tapped a little harder this time. "Wake up you idiot!"

A twitch. His finger twitched. And his eyes slowly opened wearily. "Lumi...?"

"Yes that's me. Keep your eyes open, alright? Don't fall asleep on me."

Childe hummed a response that Lumine couldn't quite make out. But she quickly got to work anyway.

Pulling off Childe's red scarf, she tied it tightly around his torso to stop the bleeding. He had a rather large gash that, Lumine guessed, was from a shard of ice. Thankfully, the cut wasn't too deep and didn't bleed as much as Lumine thought it would. However, she was more concerned with the concussion since she couldn't tell if it was a mild or severe one.

"Childe, you still with me?"

"Childe?"

Damnit, he was unconscious. 

Muttering about how Childe is an idiot, Lumine carefully lifted him onto her back, mindful of his lolling head and limp body, and walked to the nearest teleport waypoint to return to the cabin.

After Lumine (as carefully as she could) dragged Childe's unconscious ass up the stairs and onto the bed, she plopped down on the other bed, exhausted.

Childe you're such a big fat idiot. I told you not to rush in the cave but you just had to go. Now look what happened, huh? You're half dead and I'm completely beat. You better be done with that stupid commission of yours or else I'm going to find the Tsaritsa myself and shove an icicle up her ass.

Lumine sighed and decided to go downstairs to get a glass of water. Before going though, she looked over at Childe who was peacefully sleeping and made sure he was still alive and breathing. 

Just...wake up soon, dumbass.

With that, she walked downstairs and poured herself a glass of water. She got a glass for Childe too, for when he wakes up. 

Lumine decided to look around the cabin in the meantime. After all, she hadn't gotten a good look at everything before leaving for the commission. The only area she knew well was the kitchen, and there was much more this little cabin had to offer. Lumine was still surprised at how Childe was able to build all this by himself, perhaps he is a man of many talents...

No, he's just a dumb idiot who always gets injured, and forces me to look after him. Nothing special at all.

Lumine stepped over to the living room where there was a bookshelf, couch, and fireplace. 

He sure knows how to make it look like a real home. How does he even fit so much furniture in this cabin?

She took a seat on the couch in front of the warm fire and sighed. 

I definitely have feelings for him. No use keep denying it, Lumi. You know you like him so pull yourself together and face that fact.

The fire sizzled loudly, hot sparks rising and fading into the air.

Of all the people in Teyvat, the first one I fall for is Childe? Archons, I knew I was weird...

Lumine let out a tired sigh as she realized there was no escaping her feelings. 

Well, I guess I do like him, there's no point denying it now. But there's no way in hell I'm confessing- even if it's the last thing I do, I will make that ginger confess. 

As Lumine got up to go wash her glass, she noticed an open cabinet to her left. Curiosity got the better of her and she couldn’t help but peek into it.

Inside, she found a bunch of photos belonging to, Lumine guessed, Childe's family. She recognized Teucer instantly as she helped Childe 'babysit' him, but she didn't know anyone else. Childe only told her about Teucer, Anthon, and Tonia but there were definitely more people than three. She even saw a picture of a boy who looked older than Childe.

His older brother maybe? Man, I really don't know anything about his family. 

Lumine looked through the cabinet carefully and flipped through the different photos until one of them caught her eye. 

It was a picture of her.

Lumine furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember when the picture was taken. 

When did I take this...? Was it in- oh. That time. He still kept this..?

(Flashback)

Lumine was casually strolling around and looking for a place to eat when a certain harbinger suddenly appeared in front of her with his signature "Hey girlie~". Of course, Lumine ignored him and continued walking, but he certainly was a stubborn man. He followed her all the way until she finally snapped at him.

"What do you want?" She asked, folding her arms around her chest.

Childe smiled innocently, "I figured you wanted some accompaniment, so here I am."

Lumine raised an eyebrow, "I think it's you that wants to accompany, not me. I'm perfectly fine by myself, in fact, I'm actually enjoying it without your presence."

"Aww," Childe pouted dramatically. "I thought you liked spending time with me."

"And what gave you that idea?"

"You enjoyed it when I invited you to a restaurant and told you you could eat anything you want."

"That was because I was starving."

"Reeeally? Then what about the time you agreed to accompany me to find rare specialties?"

"I was bored and had nothing better to do."

"And the time where-"

Lumine's stomach growled loudly. She watched with horror as the harbinger's face turned into a mischievous grin.

"Oh ho ho, looks like somebody's hungry, huh?"

"I can find a place to eat by myself, now, if you'll excuse me." Lumine walked past him.

"Oh I'm sure you can find a place to eat...but will your current Mora balance allow it?"

Lumine stopped in her tracks. He got her there. Her current Mora balance was: 2. Very pathetic, but the truth. She hadn’t been doing commissions for a while and her savings slowly faded away until only 2 measly Mora remained.

“You know,” Childe added slyly. “I happen to have a lunch reservation for today. Starts in 5 minutes. Wanna join me?”

Lumine narrowed her eyes, still hesitant, but her stomach growled again and she finally gave in. “Fine. I’ll go, satisfied?”

“Very.” He smirked, and, taking her hand (which she bluntly refused but he insisted), he brought her to the restaurant. 

“Reservation for 12:45, under Tartaglia.”

The receptionist checked her papers and gave a quick nod. “Welcome Mr. Tartaglia, please come this way,” she motioned with her hand.

Lumine walked through the fancy restaurant in awe as she’s never been to a place like this before. Especially by herself. Her meals were always either cooked by hand or bought at Wanmin (with a discount, of course). Now, here she was, strolling casually through a high-class restaurant with Childe where only the richest of Liyuean dined. She felt rather proud and sophisticated, like she was Ningguang. 

Childe pulled out a chair for her dramatically and invited her to sit. Annoyed by his gentleman-wanna-be gestures, she rolled her eyes and took a seat in the other chair. 

“Childe, I came here for the food, not you, remember that. Don’t get carried away.”

The harbinger pouted, “I know, I know, no need to say it like that, girlie. You’re hurting my feelings~”

Lumine scoffed. “I’ll repeat it again, this is not a date. I’m simply here because you wouldn’t stop bugging me.”

Childe sighed exhilaratingly. “It was worth a shot,” he motioned his head to the waitresses. A few minutes later, three waitresses came over to their table carrying trays full of food. Lumine’s mouth watered just looking at them.

A waitress placed a steaming plate of Crystal Shrimp dumplings and Matsutake Meat Rolls in front of Lumine. Her eyes shined as she stared at the delicious foods. 

“Did-did you order all this?” Lumine stammered, looking up to Childe who nodded proudly. 

“I mean- how were you going to finish all this by yourself?”

“I wasn’t,” he chuckled. “I knew you were going to agree to come with me so I ordered extra. I’m never wrong, y’know~ look who’s here now?”

Rolling her eyes, Lumine picked up her chopsticks and grabbed a piece of meat. She wasn’t going to let the food get cold and waste time talking to Childe.

The moment she put the food into her mouth, she almost melted. It was the most delicious thing Lumine had ever tasted. The meat was tender and juicy with flavor and the sauce just made everything better. She immediately grabbed another piece to eat. 

“Like it?” The ginger asked as he watched her eyes almost sparkle. She nodded quickly and stuffed a piece of shrimp into her mouth. 

“Help yourself, girlie, it’s all yours,” he chuckled, taking a piece for himself too. 

When Lumine first came into the restaurant and saw the plates, she thought there was no way she and Childe could have finished all that. 

She was wrong. By a lot. 

As someone who has a large appetite, eating this much was little to nothing to Lumine. Plus, she was with Childe, who could eat a fair share too. The two of them ended up ordering a few more plates before getting dessert. Lumine got a green tea ice cream sundae while Childe ordered a slice of expensive looking blueberry cheesecake. 

Lumine happily ate another spoonful of ice cream. She hasn’t had ice cream in ages because it was extremely difficult to get the ingredients. Plus, she was always broke so she couldn’t rely on Mora either. But, the ice cream in this restaurant was a million times better than the ones she had before. Lumine could tell it was expensive top quality ice cream that regular people wouldn’t even get the chance to try.

“Want anything else?” Childe asked once she finished the ice cream.

“No thanks, I’m stuffed,” Lumine said, stretching her arms out behind her. 

Childe waved the waitress over and as usual, paid a sum way over the bill and said “Keep the change,” with a proud smirk.

“Mr. Tartaglia,” the waitress added after he paid, “We currently have a promotion where regular customers may pay a discounted price to have their photo taken by our professional photographer.”

The words caught Childe’s attention, “Photographer? With a kamera?”

“Yes sir,” she nodded, “It is a high quality kamera shipped and made from Fontaine. Would you be interested, sir?” 

“What do you think, Lumi? Take or pass?” The ginger asked, leaning over to her.

Lumine shrugged. “I don’t know, your call I guess. I wouldn’t mind either way,”

Childe nodded before turning over to the lady, “We’ll take two then. Can we do it now?”

“Of course, sir, right this way please,” the waitress motioned, and the two of them followed.

They entered a dark room on the second floor. Inside, there was a large kamera set up with a white screen behind for lighting. Behind the kamera sat a middle-aged French looking man who was fiddling around with the gears inside. 

“Mr. Javier, we have two customers,” the waitress announced. “Please see them immediately, as they are important customers,” she added sharply, referring to Childe before stepping out. Having a Fatui harbinger eat at their restaurant was a really big deal for them. 

“Ah, welcome!” The man stood up, “How may I help you today? Any preferences for the photos?”

Before Lumine could respond, Childe said, “Yes actually, we’d like to take one together, and print two copies of it, if possible.”

The man nodded, “Of course, sir! Anything to your needs, and a preference for your lady as well?” 

Lumine shot Childe a glare before responding with a fake smile, “No thank you, I’m fine with the choice.”

“Perfect!” The man smiled, “Please sit over here, in front of the white sheet, I will take the photo whenever you are ready.”

The two followed his instructions.

Snap! 

The machine clicked and buzzed into work, printing the photo. A minute later, two fresh pieces of paper slid out. The photographer gently pulled out the pictures and slid them into separate envelopes before sealing them shut.

“Here you go,” he passed one to each of them. Lumine stared at the envelope in her hand, the crispness of the white wrapping made it look like high quality paper. 

A real printed picture… 

She glanced over to Childe, who was handing over a bag of mora. 

“Do you like it?” The harbinger asked as they stepped out of the restaurant. 

“It’s not bad, I suppose,” Lumine muttered, trying to hide the huge smile forming on her face. She was practically squealing inside. It was the first time she ever received a printed copy of a picture. 

“Really..?” Childe looked unconvinced. “You look pretty happy to me~” 

Lumine glared at him and he shut up. 

The rest of the walk was in silence with the occasional teasing comments from Childe. When they reached the border of the harbor, Lumine declared that she had to leave now.

“Leaving already?” Childe asked, evidently disappointed. “We could go somewhere-”

“I’m good,” Lumine said flatly. “I have to meet up with Paimon now, we have a commission to do soon.” 

“Oh,” he blinked twice. “Okay then. I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah,” she stepped towards the teleport waypoint. Childe turned around and started to walk away.

“...Wait!” she called, and the other stopped. “Childe…um thanks for today,” she said, fumbling around with her hands nervously. 

The harbinger looked at her with a surprised look and Lumine could’ve sworn she saw a faint blush forming on his face before he cleared his throat. “My pleasure, Lumi,” he said before his face morphed into a smirk. “Y’know, you’re really cute when you thank me like that. You should do it more often-”

Lumine teleported away before he could even finish his sentence. 

(Current)

Lumine giggled as the memories of the day flooded into her mind. 

Childe…you’re such a big idiot that I can’t help loving you.

Suddenly, the floor upstairs creaked and Lumine immediately dropped her glass into the sink and rushed upstairs. 

The harbinger was sitting upright on the bed, leaning against the bed frame and looking tired as hell. His hair looked like a messy blob of ginger and he had a pained expression on his face. He blinked wearily as he saw Lumine standing in the doorway. His sea blue eyes were glazed over and unfocused

“Lumi…?” His voice was hoarse. The traveler passed him a glass of water which he gulped down without hesitation. 

“You shouldn’t be up yet, dummy,” Lumine said softly, sitting next to him. Childe leaned his head on her shoulder tiredly.

Lumine didn’t care about the sweat on her shoulder and instead ran a hand through his ginger locks. “Are you feeling better?”

“A bit,” he mumbled quietly before wincing. “Ribs…still hurt.” 

The traveler glanced at him with concern. “Do you want to see a doctor?” 

Upon hearing the word ‘doctor’, he shook his head frantically. “Can’t…let people…see me like this,” he rasped. “I’ll be…fine, really. J-Just need to-”

Before he finished his sentence, a coughing fit hit him. He doubled over in pain as Lumine hurriedly rubbed his back in an attempt to relieve the pain. After a few more wet coughs, the fit was over and Childe leaned weakly against Lumine’s shoulder, breathing heavily. 

“You should get some sleep,” she brushed a messy strand of hair out of his face. The ginger nodded and Lumine helped him gently lay down. 

Only a few seconds after his head hit the pillow, the harbinger was fast asleep, his breath lighter and more smoother now. Lumine let out a sigh of relief, and pulled up a chair beside him. Her eyes traveled down to the sleeping ginger, who was mumbling something incoherent in his sleep. 

He looks a lot younger like this… she smiled and gently took hold of his hand. 

Childe whispered something so faintly that Lumine had to lean forward to understand.

“Stay…please,” his voice wavered and his eyes squeezed shut. Sweat dribbled down his forehead as he tried to thrash around but had no energy to do so.

Is he having a nightmare? Lumine bit her lip anxiously and pressed her hand harder onto his palm. 

“I’m here, Childe,” she whispered into his ear, “and I’ll always be.” 

The next time Childe woke, it was already nightfall. He blinked his eyes open and tried to make out his surroundings but the only thing he saw was a brown ceiling and a blob of blond hair near his waist.  

Where…?

With a tired grunt, he lifted himself up into a sitting position, leaning heavily on the bed frame. The action roused the traveler, who was asleep with her head on the side of the bed. She immediately sat up at the sight of the harbinger awake and asked him how he felt.

“Better…I guess,” he shut his eyes in exhaustion, “Just a bit of chest pain.”

Lumine’s gaze was laced with worry, “Are you sure you don’t want to see a doctor? I mean-... you don’t exactly have a light injury,” she glanced down at his bandaged torso. “What if you have internal wounds?”

Childe mustered a chuckle, “I appreciate your concern, girlie, but really, I’ll be *cough* fine.”

Lumine raised an eyebrow. “I don’t buy it,” she crossed her arms across her chest, “once you’re better, I’m taking you to Barbara.”

“Barbara?” Childe repeated in confusion and the traveler suddenly realized he had no idea who she was talking about. 

“She’s a healer, from the cathedral,” Lumine explained, “a pretty skilled one too. I’ll have her take a look at you.” 

“Can’t we just go to Bubu Pharmacy or something?” Childe asked, not wanting to step foot into Mondstadt. 

Lumine facepalmed, “That’s in Liyue, dummy, we’re in Dragonspine - Mondstadt. I can’t teleport that far with you. That’s why we’re going to see Barbara.”

“Oh…” Childe hummed, he forgot he wasn’t in Liyue. “Will this Barbara lady really see me? I am Fatui after all…”

Oh right- ugh, damn it, why do I keep forgetting that Childe isn’t a normal person?

Lumine bit her lip, “Um…I’m sure she’ll want to help a fellow Fatui in need,” she gave an uncertain smile.

Childe sighed, “I’m a harbinger, Lumi, a harbinger, there’s no way *cough* a cathedral lady would treat me. I’d expect her to poison me if anything…” 

“Really?” Lumine demanded, unimpressed, before resorting to her other idea. “Look, I’ll just say you’re my friend or something. As long as you don’t wear your Fatui mask thingy, then everything’ll be alright.” 

The ginger finally gave in, “Okay fine, but if they find out I’m Fatui then you’re responsible for it.” 

“Whatever,” Lumine dismissed, “at least I won’t be the one going to jail.” 

The next couple days went by in a flash. Lumine took care of Childe with care that he had never expected she could give. She made delicious meals everyday and helped Childe with whatever he needed. And with her help, the harbinger gradually got better. The worst days were finally over and by the third day he was out of bed and walking around. 

“Childe!” Lumine called over her shoulder while scrubbing a plate. They had just finished eating breakfast - that Lumine proudly made - and she was washing the dishes while Childe was dusting in the living room. Apparently the harbinger valued cleanliness quite a bit and liked to keep his surroundings spotless. 

“Yeah?” he yelled out from behind the couch. 

“Can you get my hair clip? I think I left it near the couch.”

“Where?” Childe called, standing up, “on the couch or behind it?” 

“On the couch!” Lumine exclaimed, rinsing the last plate and setting it on the counter. She grabbed the towel and quickly finished wiping it dry before putting it inside the cabinet. 

“Is it this one?” Childe walked over, holding out a white and blue clip. 

“Yep,” Lumine nodded, and clipped it into her hair. She looked over Childe’s shoulder to see the living room. 

It was spotless.  

“Wow,” she said, impressed, “you really do take cleanliness seriously.”

Childe chuckled, “Of course, it’s a habit I have. Learned from my mom.”

“Oh…that’s nice,” Lumine said, suddenly thinking of her own mother. 

Did she do the same? 

“Hey, um,” Childe started, “How about you come over some day?”

Lumine blinked, “But I’m already here.”

Childe smiled at her obliviousness. “Not here, I mean my home. In Snezhnaya.”

His home? As in…meeting his family?! 

Lumine’s cheeks turned red as she stammered a response. “I-um I wouldn’t mind but- uh…wouldn’t that be- y’know a bit a-awkward for them?” 

“You mean me bringing over a girl?” Childe shrugged, “It’s not a big deal.” 

Not a big deal?! 

“Hold on - you mean you’ve brought girls over before?” Lumine’s voice suddenly turned demanding. 

Childe immediately shook his head, “No no, not like that Lumi! I just meant that I have a lot of siblings so one more person wouldn’t make a difference. I’m sure my mother wouldn’t mind.”

Oh. 

“Ah…I s-see,” Lumine said, and mentally kicked herself for accusing Childe like that. 

“Would you want to come? I think my siblings would like you, especially Tonia, she’s always wanted a big sister,” Childe smiled. 

“A-Alright then, I suppose I can…” Lumine agreed, eyes cast downward in embarrassment.

It’ll be fine! I’ll just say I’m a friend of his…but… 

Part of Lumine wanted to say she was “just a friend” but another part wanted to introduce herself as his girlfriend. 

Wait…does he feel the same way as I do? I haven’t even asked him yet!” 

“Childe,” she started, feeling her cheeks heat up once again but she slapped her face twice to clear the thoughts and regain her composure. “I have a question for you.” 

“Yeah?” he replied, a bit surprised at her sudden change in tone. 

Lumine took a deep breath, and asked. “Do you…like me?” 

Childe wasn’t sure if he heard that correctly, or if his mind was simply broken from his concussion. He did hit his head pretty hard after all…it had to be that. He did not hear that correctly. He did not hear that correctly. He was just hallucinating and happened to hear what Lumine said, that’s it. He did not hear that-

He did. 

The problem was that he did. And there’s no avoiding it. He considered ignoring her for a second, but that would have been simply cruel and unfitting for a man like him. 

Do I like her? 

He thought about it for a moment before the answer came to him.

Of course I do! Childe, what’s going on with you - the love of your life just asked you if you like her, and all you do is freeze up? How can you call yourself a man? Get it together! 

“I-I do, I…like you a lot.”

Lumine raised an eyebrow. “That didn’t sound too sincere.”

Childe mentally slapped himself. I’m such an idiot - just confess already, now she thinks you don’t like her! 

“It is, really. I love you Lumi! I really do. I just got a bit flustered earlier and couldn’t talk straight,” he gave a nervous laugh. “I’m guessing you have the same feelings as me?”

Lumine turned away to hide her face. “I might,” she murmured, before letting out a sigh and  turning back. “Okay fine, I do. Even though you’re an idiot, I still love you. Don’t ask why - because I don’t know either. It just…happened,” she was lost in thought before she blinked and snapped her attention back. 

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Childe blurted out before he laughed. “Sorry, I just had to get it out.” 

Lumine couldn’t help but blush but she kept her voice steady nonetheless.

“I’d love to.” 

The next day, Lumine dragged Childe out of the cabin and forced him to go to Mondstadt with her. 

“We’re going to see Barbara,” Lumine exclaimed, stomping through the snow while tugging on Childe’s scarf. The harbinger followed with a grumble.

They were close to the edge of Dragonspine now, and in just a few minutes they would reach the city’s borders. 

“Is this really necessary?” He stepped over a patch of ice, careful not to slip and break anything again. “I’m fine now.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Lumine insisted, “I need to know if you still have internal damage or not, those types of injuries are often hidden and can’t be seen with our eyes. We need a medic, hence why we’re going to see Barbara. Understand?” Lumine emphasized on the last word, and Childe could tell she was going to make him go even if it was the last thing she did.

“Yes ma’am,” the ginger mumbled and continued walking.

The two of them trekked for another five minutes. They stepped through the thick snow, careful not to slip on Dragonspine’s icy landscape. The air was gradually getting warmer as they approached Mondstadt city’s border.

When they finally reached the city’s gates, the traveler let out a sigh of exhaustion. 

“Finally,” Lumine breathed out, eyes focused on the bridge to the city where two guards stood. “We’re here.” 

Childe glanced over curiously. “So this is where the anemo archon resides…” he muttered under his breath. 

He wasn’t expecting such a…simple city with so little guards. Back in Snezhnaya, the Tsaritsa stayed in her grand ice palace where rows of guards were situated around the area. After the large amount of guards, there were thick steel gates outside for another layer of protection. And as expected, there were guards there too, keeping watch. Any normal person couldn’t step foot into the palace without written permission or a letter of invitation. 

But here? Anyone could just simply walk into town and attempt an assassination. Childe didn’t understand the philosophy behind open gates.

“Come on!” Lumine urged, snapping the ginger out of his thoughts. She was already near the gates.

“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” Childe called and quickly hurried over. 

Instead of halting their actions like the harbinger had expected, the guards simply waved to Lumine with a smile on their faces. 

“Greetings Miss Honorary Knight! Welcome back to Mondstadt!” The man welcomed her with open arms.

“Thank you, Swan,” Lumine returned a smile.

“Is this a friend of yours?” the man asked, glancing at Childe with a slightly suspicious look. 

“Yes,” Lumine answered without hesitation, “He’s a friend from Liyue, I wanted to show him around Mondstadt. I hope that’s alright.”

“Of course!” The guard’s suspicions immediately dissipated and he nodded at Childe. “Any friend of yours is welcome. May I ask for your name, sir?” 

Childe blinked and Lumine shot him a look saying, Make something up quick!

“I…I go by Ajax,” he blurted out. 

The man’s eyebrows furrowed. “That doesn’t sound like a Liyuean name…”

Childe bit his lip. “It’s just the name I-uh use when I…write. Yeah, I’m a novelist, you see? It’s just a habit to use my other name.”

The man nodded in understanding, “I see I see, Ajax is a lovely pen name you have. Apologies for doubting you. Please, enjoy your stay in Mondstadt,” he motioned with his hand towards the bustling town behind gates.

Childe mustered a smile and walked in with Lumine.

“That was too close!” Lumine whispered when they were further away from people. “But why did you use your real name?”

“I don’t know! I just blurted it out at the moment. What else was I supposed to say? Hi there, I’m Tartaglia, the 11th Harbinger, and I’m here to visit Mondstadt and potentially kill your archon?”

Lumine facepalmed, “Well obviously not that,” she sighed, “Anyways, lets go to the cathedral.”

She walked past Childe and headed towards the church. They passed the usual shops in Mondstadt and earned a lot of stares and whispers from the townspeople. They whispered about ‘Miss Honorary Knight’s mysterious friend’ and glanced at Childe with curious looks. 

When they reached the cathedral, Lumine pushed the heavy doors open and stepped inside with Childe following closely behind. His eyes widened in awe at the tall ceiling and colorful glass art on the windows. 

“Wow, Lumi,” he breathed out before running up to catch up to Lumine. “This is really well built for a church.”

“They take it very seriously, y’know,” Lumine said over her shoulder. “The church worships the anemo archon immensely,” she shot Childe a look. “Make sure you don’t say anything offensive.”

Childe nodded with a laugh, “I’ll behave, don’t worry.” 

Lumine gave him an unconvinced look. “You-”

“Miss Honorary Knight!” A high pitched voice interrupted. 

Lumine turned around to see Barbara running towards them and raised her hand in a wave.

Barbara stopped before them, “It’s so nice seeing you in Mondstadt again, Lumine! How long has it been since you bravely saved us from Stormterror?” 

Lumine smiled, “It’s been quite a while, Barbara. How’s everything? Is your sister doing well?”

The girl nodded, “She’s great, I just always have to remind her to take breaks and not overwhelm herself.”

“Yeah, Jean’s has a habit of doing that, huh?” 

“She never takes care of herself, it’s always work before her needs,” Barbara said with a sigh before her eyes traveled to Childe. “This is…?”

“Ajax,” Childe replied, with a curt bow of the head. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m a close friend of Lumine’s.”

Barbara nodded in acknowledgement. “Nice to meet you too, Mr. Ajax,” she turned to Lumine. “How can I help the two of you today?”

Lumine swallowed, “I wanted to ask if you could do a… sort of check up on Ch-...Ajax? He had an accident recently and I’m not sure if he might have internal damage. Would that be possible?”

Barbara blinked in surprise, “Internal damage? Oh my, that’s pretty serious. What happened?”

Childe stopped, suddenly not knowing what to say. Lumine immediately jumped in, “It happened a couple of days ago. He was carrying a bundle of books and walking down the stairs when he fell. And-uh… he landed on his chest…with a loud crack.” 

The girl winced in sympathy, “Ouch, that must’ve hurt a lot. Here, I can take a look at you if you don’t mind,” she turned to the harbinger.

Lumine let out a sigh of relief. Her cover story was pathetic, but it managed to get the job done without suspicion. Childe gave her a ‘thank you’ glance before speaking with Barbara.

“I’m going to have to have you take your shirt off…is that alright with you?” The healer asked with a hesitant tone.

Childe nodded, “Yeah yeah, it’s totally fine,” he quickly took off his shirt and handed it to Lumine, who was trying to hide her glance at his chest with a blush. But she quickly shook the thought out of her head and sat down on a chair next to them. 

Barbara quickly got to work. With her hydro powers, she examined the harbinger’s chest and back, touching certain spots to determine the issue. Careful hands pressed his chest lightly and summoned a small flash of hydro, and Childe immediately felt lighter. 

She really is a skilled healer…one touch and I’m already feeling better. Wow…this might actually be on par with Baizhu’s skills… Childe thought.

After the final touch, Barbara stepped back and gently wiped the sweat off her forehead. “You’re healing really well, Mr. Ajax. From what I could tell, you had a few broken ribs that were heavily strained, but they’re pretty much fully healed now! Does everything feel okay around your chest area?” 

Childe nodded with gratitude, “I haven’t felt better. Thank you, Barbara, you’re a really skilled healer. You have a lot of potential - you’ve got the skills and the looks.”

A small blush formed on the girl’s face and Lumine couldn’t help but glare at Childe, “You flatter me, Mr. Ajax.”

Am I…jealous? Lumine thought, but her face was practically radiating off anger. Childe glanced over at her and immediately realized his mistake.

“Ah, apologies, Barbara, but-uh I must get going now, I have an appointment with a friend of mine that I must attend to,” he stood up promptly. 

“O-Of course,” the deaconess smiled, “I should get going too, or else Sister Victoria will blame me for being tardy.”

With a quick nod, Childe headed to the door with Lumine following close behind with a silent but deadly glare. The harbinger smiled nervously and waved goodbye to the deaconess. 

“Childe,” Lumine stated, as they walked out of the church. “I believe you have some explaining to do.”

“Yeahhhh,” his voice trailed off. “About that…” 

Lumine raised an eyebrow, indicating that he should continue. 

Childe cleared his throat awkwardly, “I didn’t actually mean it…y’know, it was just a compliment for the young lady…”

“Uh huh.”

Childe sighed dramatically, “Come on, Lumi, cheer up already! You’re my girlfriend, why would I ever flirt with anyone else? And plus, even if I do, it’s not real, it’s just an act for a compliment.” 

Lumine thought about it for a moment before she decided she was just overreacting. “Alright alright. Fine. I won’t get mad this time,” she said, seeing a smile of relief on Childe’s face. “But,” her voice was stern, “I’d advise you to reconsider it next time.” 

Childe smiled nervously, “Got it, ma’am. Won’t do it again.” 

Lumine gave a curt nod and took a seat at the bench. Childe did the same next to her. 

A warm breeze blew by and scarlet leaves whirled in the wind. Lumine brushed a messy lock of hair out of her face and dangled her legs freely off the bench. 

“Are you going to return to Liyue?” She asked after a moment of silence. 

Childe nodded, “Yeah, I still have to report the suspicious activity.”

“Oh right,” Lumine said slowly. “I almost forgot about that. Do you have any other jobs?”

He thought for a second. “I have quite a few, but they’re not urgent. I still have to collect debt from a few guys.” 

Lumine hummed a response. 

The harbinger lifted his head towards the sky. “Do you…want to come to Snezhnaya next week? There’s a ship leaving on Tuesday.” 

The traveler smiled and leaned her head gently on Childe’s shoulder. “Mmhm, I’d love to come and meet your family. Your siblings seem really fun.”

“They are,” he said with thought, thinking about his brothers and sisters. “I bet they’ll be thrilled when I bring someone home.” 

Lumine nodded her head slowly, thinking about hanging out with Childe’s family made her nervous, but also excited. She doesn’t have much experience with little kids, especially younger siblings, as she is one herself, but Lumine always wished to have a small kid to take care of. She really liked children, they were always so sweet and innocent. A side of her also wanted to see how Childe was around his family. She remembers the day with Teucer where Childe acted like a caring parent around him. 

He sure has a soft side…

A smile formed on her face and she stretched her arms in front of her chest. “Childe,” she started, turning her face to face him.

He turned around, but before he could reply, Lumine gently pressed her lips against his, filling in the gap of space between the two. 

Childe froze in surprise. He didn’t move, didn’t think, didn’t bat an eyelid. He opened his eyes and looked at Lumine’s, who were closed. He decided to close his own too, and relaxed into the moment, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace. 

When they finally pulled apart for air, Lumine’s face was flushed red and she fumbled around with her fingers. “S-Sorry,” she stuttered out.

A smile formed on the ginger’s face, “Don’t apologize, Lumi, I loved it.”

Her face turned even more red and she quickly covered it with her hands, causing Childe to giggle at her embarrassed state. 

“You’re adorable, Lumi,” he sighed, leaning back against the bench. “I think I love you too much.”

Lumine kissed him once again, “You’re not the only one with that thought.”

Childe returned the kiss without a moment's hesitation.

I love you, Lumi.