Work Text:
The clock on Lumine's phone marked 1:37 am when she received a phone call from her brother. This put her on alert immediately because first, it was 1:37 in the morning, no one calls anyone at that hour if it isn't for an emergency, and second, Aether never called, ever . Communication was always done via text messages, whether on Discord or Snapchat, even Instagram (Lumine really liked the wallpapers the app offered).
So after strategically hiding her avatar so nothing would hunt her down and getting off Dark Souls 3, she answered the phone call with bated breath.
"Hello?"
"..."
"Aether?"
"...Lumine…"
That's not her brother's voice, that was his friend's, Xiao. Why did he have his phone with him? Why did he sound so out of breath and stressed? That's exactly what she wanted to ask, but couldn't bring herself to as she dreaded the answer.
"Xiao, what's wrong? Why're you calling me at this hour?"
"Uhm, listen. I- ugh. Is it really necessary?" Lumine heard a hum coming from further away. She had yet to understand what was going on and the stalling was driving her mad.
"Tell me, Xiao. What is going on?"
A second, maybe two.
"Okay, we need your help here. It's… urgent, to some degree. Please come over now."
There it is. Lumine knew something bad had happened. "I'm on my way. Don't move from where you are, I'll be there in five." She had quickly gathered her keys and outdoor shoes, not bothering to turn off the lights or the PS5 as she headed out with the phone still on her ear.
"As if we could move." She heard Xiao scoff as she sat in the driver's seat and turned on the engine.
"Lumine, listen," Xiao told her. Lumine put the phone call on speaker, making a noise to indicate that she was listening, " I- we need you to promise that you won't speak of this to anyone. Swear your silence on your mom and unborn kids."
Lumine took her eyes out of the road for three seconds just to stare at her phone in disbelief, as if the device could tell her the reason for such a weird and specific petition. In a way, however, it seemed like this emergency was more of the embarrassing type than the medical or even legal one, since Xiao had time to make her promise such a thing. It let her untense her shoulders. Slightly.
"Okay, but just because you two are going to invite me to McDonald's when I'm done. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Good. Now open the door, I'm outside."
"..."
"...Xiao."
"We can't move. The key is at the bottom of Aether's assigned mailbox."
This was getting weird. The key was exactly where Xiao told her, and Lumine quickly made her way up the stairs to her brother's flat. Three floors was nothing for the best athlete in her university, so she was at the door in about 20 seconds. She opened the door and got in.
It was deathly quiet.
It was obvious they had been in the living room; while the TV was turned off, there were some snacks and backpacks laying on the floor next to the sofas. The light was turned off, and so was the kitchen's.
Lumine went to the next obvious place where they could be, her brother's bedroom.
She gently opened the door.
Nothing could have ever prepared Lumine for what she would encounter. She was ready for a concussion, a broken arm, burnt clothes, even a flood.
But not this.
"I'mf thuck, Lumime."
That was enough to make Lumine double over and wheeze so hard she almost began coughing.
Xiao was lying on her brother's bed, without pants or a shirt. Aether was on top of him, shirtless, with his tongue piercing stuck on Xiao's nipple one. It was so incredibly hysterical that Lumine was actually rolling on the floor, tears running down her face.
Xiao was beet-red and groaned in embarrassment, hiding his face with his hands. Aether just rolled his eyes and pouted, already done with his sister's bs.
"Oh my God ! Rex Lapis, I can't breathe!"
Lumine pulled out her phone and speed-dialed Hu Tao.
"Hu! Aha- I can't tell you why but add 120k mora to the bet right now! Holy shit!" Lumine was screaming into the speaker as she held her stomach, it was starting to hurt so bad.
"What? I mean, sure, but you gotta tell me!"
The sister gasped for air that would simply not enter her lungs, rolling to the side so she could at least try and hold herself up with her knees and elbow.
"I can't sorry I gotta go bye!"
"Wai-"
And she hung up.
"A'e you dohne?"
Aether couldn't turn to look at her properly, but his side eye alone would've been enough to kill her, if possible.
Thankfully, Lumine had managed to get ahold of her breathing just enough to help herself to stand up and go over them, clearing her face from all the tears she had spilled.
"Yes, yes, oh dear, yes. I'm feeling better. Oh my archons, what, how, when?"
"I thought I asked you to not say anything, Lumine!" Xiao pulled his hands away just to glare at the girl, the colour of his features not diminishing in the slightless.
"Hey, you bought my silence to others, not my questions. And it's not like I can't guess what you two were up to. You're literally covered in fresh hickeys, Xiao."
"What!? Aether!" Xiao effectively bonked Aether on the head, the blond just letting out a soft "Ow."
"I told you no hickeys this time!" Another hit." I have to go on a trip with Ganyu and Yanfei to Yaoguang Shoal," another one, Aether trying, and failing, to protect his head ,"and I'll die under that heat if I wear my usual turtlenecks!" One last bonk.
"Ow, ohay, I'm phowwy, ohay? I phorgof." He patted the place where Xiao had smacked repeatedly, trying to soothe the ache.
Xiao just turned his head to the side, away from both twins and grunted.
"Mhm, right, because you definitely weren't thinking about 'marking your territory'," said Lumine, making emphasis with air quotations and later placing her fists on her hips, a smug smirk on her face," like you do in every single strategy game you've played in your life."
Aether sneered at her, but his eyes looking away and the soft blush that covered his cheeks were a dead giveaway that Lumine had hit the nail in the head.
She let the victory wash over her as she kneeled beside them in the bed, using her hand to poke at Aether's tongue and see what she was working with. Turns out, Aether had somehow put his entire midline piercing through Xiao's left ball closure one, and it was preventing Aether from being able to retract his tongue.
"My, my, what were you even doing to him that you got in this mess?"
"S'up up, Lumi."
"Okay, okay, chill. Alright, I'll move around some stuff. Xiao, are you okay with me touching you?"
"Yes," Xiao sounded exhausted for someone who hadn't moved a lot," just get him off of me already!"
"Okay, if you'll excuse me."
Lumine got to work. She pulled slightly on Xiao and twisted Aether's tongue, the contact making Xiao shiver. She pushed the tongue at an angle, unsuccessfully making one of the ends of the piercing slide through the ring.
Getting annoyed, Lumine pinched and pulled Xiao just enough for the ball to pass, earning a soft moan from Xiao, who quickly slapped his hand over his mouth and turned away in panic and shame.
"Huh, no wonder you like him."
"Lhumine, I will beat the 'hit out oph yoo."
That pulled a laugh out of her, letting the weird feeling of everything in this situation calm down. Soon enough, Lumine managed to free her brother, who massaged his jaw after being in such an awkward angle for so long. Xiao just turned to the wall and used a pillow to cover his head, like that would make Lumine forget his existence.
"Okay, it's over. I want my Big Mac now."
"Yeah, fine, ugh. Let me find my shirt and Xiao's clothes and we'll go." Aether stood up and stretched, popping a few joins in his back. Lumine did not want to know for how long he had been in that position.
"I think I saw them in the living room."
Aether looked at her suspiciously. Lumine looked like an angel with her innocent smile and her somewhat still-white dress. She tilted her head in apparent curiosity, not showing herself to be any threat to neither of the men.
Shrugging his gut feeling off, Aether left his room in search of the clothes.
Lumine waited until he was far away enough to plop down on the bed next to Xiao, turn him around so his front was up, and lower the pillow from his head to his chest to see his face.
Xiao was frowning, and Lumine would have been sure he would kill her weren't it because of how flustered he seemed.
"So," Lumine began. Xiao shielded himself from the question by only letting his eyes visible from underneath the pillow," you and my brother, huh?"
Aether had just found Xiao's shoes when he heard a loud 'thump' from his room and restless giggles from his sister as his boyfriend told her time and time again to shut up. He let out a content sigh, glad that, even if it was awkward, Lumine did not mind him and Xiao being together.
He does know, however, that he has to figure out what that bet with Hu Tao is.