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Diluc quickly departed home after delivering the letter. Lumine returns to her teapot in the meantime, halting on commissions and expeditions for the day and practically locking herself in her office for the day. Paimon has the foreknowledge to leave her alone, instead chatting with the companion's taking residence in the teapot for the meantime, Thoma cooking everyone dinner that is delivered to her personally by him.
“Being cooped up in here all day isn’t very healthy you know,” He lightly remarks, placing the plate of gyoza and grilled unagi beside her.
She looks up at him with sunken eyes and it’s then that he notices the assortments of crumpled paper around her, her quill clutched in her hand tightly and the paper in front of her filled with crossed out words and very obvious angry scribbles.
“Is everything alright?” He asks sweetly, leaning over her shoulder to get a glimpse at the legible words on her page. Quick to notice the contents, he shifts his gaze shamefully. “Oh, I see.”
“This is so much harder than I thought it’d be,” She sounds on the verge of tears as she speaks. “Thoma, what do I do?”
He looks over the situation, noticing the untouched envelope in the corner of her desk and putting two and two together.
“Before I offer you my advice, I recommend you get some food in your system, writing out your thoughts will be much easier once you’ve eaten, trust me.”
Lumine nods as Thoma gently sets aside her quill, clearing the assortments of papers from her study and dusting the insides of her bookshelves as she eats. Once she finishes, he takes her plates back to the kitchen and quickly returns to her side.
“What may I assist you with,” He says as he takes a seat beside her.”
“You already saw my papers, did you not?” She startles herself with her harsh tone. “Sorry, I'm having a hard time over here.”
“No worries, I understand, I’ve had my fair ordeals with love letters.” At that, Lumine raises an eyebrow. “Master Ayato and I had a rather hard time communicating our feelings in the beginning to say the least.” He chuckles.
“I don’t know how to say everything I want to say, his letter was so heartfelt and thoughtful, and I just can’t get it like he does!! Any attempts I make to be touching or match his sincerity falls so flat and is nothing like his!!”
Thoma puts an arm around her and rubs her back gently, Lumine resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a sigh.
“I just want to say everything I need him to hear.”
Thoma thinks for a moment.
“Well for starters, set aside all intent of matching his emotions and sincerity. At the end of the day, you are two separate people with your own ways of talking and conveying emotion. Focus less on matching his energy and focus more on captivating all of yours.”
Lumine nods, wiping her eyes as she sits back up and pulls another sheet of paper.
“I’ll help you; you can write a draft or two at first if it makes you feel more comfortable. And maybe you can send something to him like how he did, something that makes an active push towards the direction you want to go with this.”
At that, they begin.
The sunrise peaks through the windows of the house as they glance on the finished final draft. When all is said and done, Lumine can’t help but feel proud of herself. Thoma, albeit exhausted, is also very proud as well, and happy as he is finally able to tidy up the office. Lumine cuts a piece of her cape to tie the pages together like a silken ribbon, slipping the letter and item into a thick papered envelope that Thoma ties with woven thread and seals with purple wax. Lumine finally takes it to the Adventurers Guild as the sun marks an orange glow over the city. When she returns, Thoma serves her breakfast before excusing himself to a nap, congratulating her again on the letter. Lumine eats in silence as she waits patiently for his arrival.
~
Ajax,
Your letter brought happy tears to my eyes and overwhelmed me with joy and emotion I couldn’t convey for a while. Like yours, the story of my feelings will take us back to the beginning.
At the start, I knew you were charming, cunning, and perhaps a potential threat, I never expected anything more to come of us after my stunt in Liyue. Oh how wrong I was, it’s almost laughable now, isn’t it?
Where everything changed for me is easily our second run in with Teucer. Seeing what I was under the impression was a cold, traitorous, evil Harbinger being a soft and caring older brother struck my heart in a way I couldn’t recover from. You enchanted me from then on. Your vulnerability and trust you put in me then and there was the nail in the coffin. I wanted to know every side of you, I wanted to see beyond the weapon you make of yourself, I wanted to be with you in ways I'd never desired from everyone else. I wanted you, Ajax Tartaglia, more than anything.
Even on opposite sides of an ongoing war, you manage to show me kindness and care. You, at your truest, are a loyal, passionate, caring, and utterly remarkable man, someone I wish I had known from the start of my journey in this new world.
Moreso, it is with you that I found, in a way, what my journey was all about. As you know, I long more than anything to return home with my brother; it is the only dream I had for a long time. It was with you that my new dream came about, a desire beyond my initial goal. It was with you, that I found a home in this world that is not my own.
Seeing the good in all I thought was wrong. Seeing for myself what the evil of this world could do, and in response, what happened to those at the mercy of it. Seeing how you, so strong and so broken, remained caring and loving and sweet at the root of everything. It was a true privilege to witness, something I am so grateful for.
Thank you. Thank you for being my loyal friend through all of this. Thank you for being the warmth I crave, the caring figure I’ve needed, the home I longed for for so long.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
To put the rest of my feelings simply, I will say this.
I love you is not enough to convey the true sentiment, care, and longing I feel for you. To do so, I would require more words, time, and actions.
With that, I offer you this Sigil of Permission (Look familiar?). You may enter my Teapot, a home made for me with adept magic that I reside in when out and about. Simply crush it in your hands and you will arrive at my doorstep, possibly greeted by my other guests (They’re friendly for the most part, don’t worry…). There, we may spend some time together to navigate this matter of deeper feelings in person.
Should you make time to meet me, I hope to commemorate our love in a way that is suitable to both of us.
Thank you again for everything.
Till then,
Lumine
~
“Ajaaaaaaax!!” Teucer calls as the morning mail arrives, sprinting through the halls of the house, a heavy brown envelope clutched tightly in his tiny hands. The door at the end of the hall opens before he gets to it, the taller man still in his pajamas as he responds to his brother's calls.
“Yes yes, what is it, Teucer?” He yawns, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the ears of his bunny slippers tickling his ankles.
“There’s something in the mail for you, I think it's from the nice lady from Liyue!!”
At that, he’s wide awake, snatching the letter from his brother almost rudely as he looks at the sender's name, recklessly ripping it open. Teucer using his better judgment excuses himself, skipping back down the hall at the call of breakfast, leaving Ajax to himself. Childe moves himself to his bed, the Sigil of Permission the first thing he notices moments before he bypasses it in favor of the letter, his name inked in delicate calligraphy and the pages tied by a silken white ribbon. When he inspects the fabric, he recognizes it as a piece of Lumine’s cape.
“This is it,” He whispers to himself as he unties the letter and begins reading, the smile on his face growing up until the finish.
His eyes brim with tears by the end, the Sigil now being held by its thread as the letter is clutched in his other hand. His mom’s call of him for breakfast is quick to snap him out of his daze, slipping both the letter and Sigil into the pocket of his pajamas.
“Ajax!! Get out here before I make you eat breakfast with the dogs!!”
“Coming, Ma!!” He calls back with a chuckle. “I’ll have to be quick though, I've got something to do soon!!”
With that, he sprints down his hall with a drunk smile.