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Lumine hugged her brother, tears in her eyes as she held onto the other blonde. It had been such a long journey, and she had spent so long looking for him. Even after she’d found him, they’d had to fight to save him and knock sense into him. Her eyes opened wide and she turned to look at the man who had helped her this far.
From here, Childe could tell Aether was speaking to her, whispering something beyond his hearing. Both of the twins stared at him as he watched them, feeling unease rise as Lumine’s head whipped to her brother. She whispered back to him, only to look back at Childe with sadness and fear in them. He knew Aether wouldn’t approve of him, but would she really leave him because of that?
“Ajax…” Lumine began as she finally began to approach him. Her eyes avoided his gaze and the sadness in her tone was obvious. He clenched his fists in frustration. He’d helped her this far, sneaking around behind the Tsaritsa’s back to help this girl, and she was about to break up with him, he could feel it.
“Listen girlie, I don’t know what you’re about to say, but, can it wait until we get back to the surface to talk first?” Lumine looked back at the former abyss prince, who simply shook his head. Her gaze turned back up at the ginger, and he could finally see the tears pricking in her eyes. In this moment, her golden pupils looked to be drowning, something he couldn’t stand. It was a small step before he brought a hand to her cheek to wipe them clear, but as he wiped them away, more came to her eyes.
“Ajax- I can’t stay.” Childe froze in his actions. “Aether and I, aren’t from here.” She took his hand from her face, batting it away. “We’re interworld travelers, and… now that we’re together again…” She shut her eyes and sighed out, preparing herself to speak. “We have to leave. We can’t disrupt your world anymore.” She leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheek, leaning back down and taking a step back. “It’s better for everyone if we go.”
Aether held his hand out as she walked back to him. She looked up before turning back to him. “Ajax, I know you’ll go on to do great things…” Childe’s eyes remained focused on her, wings seemingly made of light made themselves visible, wings he had no idea how they concealed. His eyes were drawn to her sad eyes and smile. “I’ll always love you, Ajax…” She waved at him solemnly, and he finally sparked into action.
Childe pushed his legs into action and ran for them. He couldn’t let her get away, he wouldn’t let her get away. “Lumine, wait!” He had so much to say to her, so much to do with her, so much to see with her. This couldn’t be the end. He was so close. He felt his fingers brush against the blonde girl’s fingers before they were gone. Childe stumbled where they had just been, staring at the hand that had grazed her hand. His wide azure eyes turned up to stare at the specks of light fleeing. Every second carried them further and further away from him.
Despite all he had known, despite all he had learned, and despite how much he didn’t want to, he fell to his knees and cried. It had been so long since he’d cried like this. The last time he recalled doing so was almost eight years ago when he first entered the abyss. Yet, losing someone he loved, it hit too hard. She’d dropped a bombshell on him, then left while he was stunned. After all he had done with and for her, taking her out on dates, sparring with her, helping her behind his god. He’d even become vulnerable to her, he’d shared things with her he told no one else. He’d told her his real name, opened up to her about his family, and told her some of his abyss experiences. And she left him. She gave him no spare time and took off.
Leaving the abyss brought him no satisfaction, no happiness and no pride. He was too bogged down by sadness and pity. He really couldn’t afford to be this effected, he was a harbinger and he had been trained to be better than this. Broken hearted or not, he couldn’t let this affect him. With a deep sigh, he pulled on his neutral face again and proceeded back to the Zapolyarny Palace. He would just have to pull through it.
Life went on, and Childe adapted and changed with this. His normal upbeat demeanor became more of a show, he was only sincere in his joy when he was home with family. Even those visits were becoming fewer and far in between. The letters they sent always seemed to mention Lumine. It was too painful to say they were no longer together, who knew if that would make them dislike the traveler or not, but he wouldn’t let them think any less of her. Eventually they stopped asking about her. However, his visits often led them to asking what happened to her or mentioning how she got away. He deeply loved his family, but it was becoming too taxing.
At the age of 26, Arlecchino turned on the Tsaritsa for ulterior motives, motives Childe wasn’t even sure of. He simply carried out his queen’s will and pursued the woman. He hadn’t expected the fight to be so gruesome and bloody; but in the end, she was the one to bleed out beneath his blade. Childe hadn’t come out unharmed either though, even after a visit with medical professionals his left eye couldn’t be saved, and he gained an eyepatch.
The fight had also awarded him a gift that Her Majesty bestowed to all her harbingers. He’d proven himself loyal and strong enough to gain immortal life. It would certainly give himself enough time to crush the gods- but he couldn’t help imagine the immortal girl who had left him behind. What was an infinite lifetime if she was gone? Nonetheless, he took the gift graciously and reaffirmed his loyalty to his god, vowing to serve her until he no longer breathed in this world.
When he went home next, Teucer didn’t believe his story about a toy malfunctioning. In the end, he made the decision to finally tell the boy the truth. He was already 11, he could handle it, and Childe couldn’t think of another story for his missing eye. Despite all his hopes in the matter, Teucer was furious at Childe. Even as Childe tried to explain to him why he lied, Teucer wouldn’t hear it. He gave the boy space, but the next morning he came out to all the gifts he’d given his brother over the years, out in the snow. Even as he tried to reconcile, Teucer wouldn’t budge, refusing to even acknowledge him.
It was the most suffocating visit home he’d ever had, and he stayed away longer this time. Half a year later Teucer still refused to accept his apology and accused him of lying about being sorry. Teucer no longer sent him letters, and Childe couldn’t take it much longer. His youngest brother refused his gifts and letters, and it tore him up.
Between the unease his parents felt around him, and his youngest brother’s hatred, he made his family visits almost non-existent. Over the decades he changed from visiting when he could, to coming home every few years for family gatherings, always opting to stay in the background, which was relatively easy with a large family. His love for his family never faltered, and he would still murder everyone on this god forsaken planet for them; but he also wanted them to be the happiest. Even if it meant he was purposefully away from them for that.
In his early 40s, his father passed away from illness. He wanted so much to comfort his crying mother, but instead hung back, allowing her better children to handle her. Childe was sure he’d just make it worse. Why would she want him to comfort her when days prior he was waist deep in blood for his job? It was nice to see his siblings finding love, even if his own heart was long broken and buried. He met a few of his nephews and nieces, but never for long. He’d settle with being the wealthy uncle who sent them money and gifts.
In his late 40s, his older brother passed away from an attack from Fontaine. Childe regrettably missed that funeral, instead opting to fight on the front line of Snezhnaya’s forces against Fontaine. He wondered if any of his family even noticed his absence, but for the sake of his sanity decided not to dwell on it. Instead, he wrote his sister-in-law a letter of comfort about her husband and wished her and the kids well. He’d slipped in extra mora, times would be tougher for them, he would make sure they would make it through.
Childe was in his late 50s when his dear old mother passed. The letter regarding that had reminded him how much he loved her, how much he had wanted to say to her and how much he missed her. It had been nearly a decade since he’d had a motherly hug, something he would never feel again. To counter the regret, he poured all his feelings into a letter.
He wrote about how he regretted that he wasn’t the perfect son, that he had caused her so much trouble, that he had run from home. He came clean to her about what happened in those three days he had been missing, told her about Skirk deep in the abyss, the things he experienced and felt. He wrote about how awful he felt making her cry from his fights. He opened up to her the things he went through in fatui training, and about what he really did in Liyue. He told her all about the traveler who effortlessly made her way into his heart and tore it to shreds. He told her about some of his more desperate fights, how his rock had been the family he couldn’t disappoint.
Childe took a break on that letter halfway through, it was too much and he had told himself decades ago that he wouldn’t cry again. After being well rested, he went back to finish writing how he left the family so they could prosper without him. He wrote about how proud he was of his other siblings, and thanked her for loving him, no matter how she truly felt about him. Lastly, he wrote once again about how he wished he had been better, she always deserved everything, and no matter how hard he tried, he could never achieve that.
That funeral he made SURE to attend. His mother was sort of like Lumine. She was kind hearted and touched many hearts, so it was no surprise that so many people had come to her funeral. It had been interesting to see how much everyone changed. His remaining siblings were middle aged now and looked the part. Everyone in his family looked so old, except for him. As the exalted harbinger given life by Her Majesty, he still looked so young compared to the others. Even Teucer looked old, with a wife and kids of his own.
Despite what he wrote in his letter, he kept his distance from his siblings. They cried to each other, clearly still comfortable together. He wouldn’t disrupt that, if he joined them, he was sure it would ruin the mood further. When he stood beside her coffin, he set his letter to her beside her lifeless body. He spent several minutes staring at this white haired woman who raised him.
On his hasty exit, he heard Anthon comment on his ‘abandonment’ of the family. It had struck something in Childe. All the effort he went through for his family, making sure they were provided for and staying away for their happiness, was all lost on them. He supposed it wasn’t entirely false though, he’d abandoned them; but for their own good. If they wanted to paint him a villain, then he would let them.
Over the next 4 decades, Childe lost the rest of his brothers and sisters. He attended all of their funerals, Her Majesty was generous enough to allow him to shift his schedules, and it wasn’t like he asked for much more time to himself. Without the trips to see family otherwise, he rarely did anything for himself. The hardest funeral had been Teucer’s. The little rascal had never forgiven him, even if it had been decades since then. His trust in Childe had been shattered, and even further destroyed by the harbinger’s lack of efforts to rekindle with him. All the feeble efforts he made were met with nothing, so he had eventually given up.
Childe was forced to come to terms that he was alone. Seeing his youngest brother, cold and dead was the nail in the coffin. He’d separated himself from his family for their own good, yet now that he was the last of his parent’s kids, he felt so empty. Seeing his nieces and nephews were surreal. They were all grown up, much older than he looked, many with their own kids. Only a few of them actually recognized him, the rest simply ignored him.
That night, Childe went back to the palace and allowed himself to cry. The last time he’d allowed himself that comfort was the day Lumine had stolen the rest of his light. Just for the night he would let himself break down. Tomorrow would be a new day and he would be back to appearing as impassive as ever.
Even without his family, life went on for the ginger male. A few years later he was truly alone. Between Lumine’s departure and the death of his family, he pushed on for no one but himself. Days began to blend together, but he trained to perfect his skill in combat. His negotiation skills seemed to get better every year, though it was from experience more than actually teaching himself.
Eventually a young girl joined the rank of the harbingers, from the insistence of Dottore. He was sure she thought every harbinger was weird, just as he did when he was new. He could probably count himself among them with how little he socialized with her. Most days he kept to himself, following Her Majesty’s order or working to push his strength.
One day he was left wondering when he lost his passion for battle. He still fought with all his heart and soul, but at some point it had grown dull. Perhaps it was just the lack of difficult opponents, or simply because he had been fighting for nearly two centuries now. What even drove him still? Was his goal still to crush the gods, or was he doing this out of practice and lack of something else to do? At one point it had been to make sure he was strong enough to protect his family, but they were gone, and he had lost the connection to their descendants. His blood line was still going on, that he was sure of, but he didn’t know any of them personally.
With eternal life, Childe lost track of many things, his age being one of them. At some point, the harbingers lost Pulcinella due to an act of treason. Childe dealt with the woman who had killed him and made sure she suffered for her crime. He might not have talked to the old man often, but he never let go of the way he had cared for his siblings, nor how kind he really was.
Shortly after, Childe returned to the abyss, a request Her Majesty granted to him. After much exploration, he once again found his master, training beside her once again. She seemed surprised to see him still alive after so long, though as an inhumane creature herself, it must not have been that surprising. She pushed him to rekindle his passion for battle, and taught him how to extend his Foul Legacy usage further. He’d already been working to extend it, and worked to be able to use portions of his Foul Legacy without all of it, but she provided him much more help.
He was in the abyss for three years before he departed. He had made sure he could defeat her in combat before he left. This time, leaving had been bittersweet. He felt pride for beating her, yet… Yet the abyss had been the last place he’d seen his shooting star, and her smile still haunted his memory, no matter how much he tried to forget.
Upon returning to the palace, he decided to change his direction. He could faintly remember her last words to him, and he would prove her right. He would persist and do more great things. He would make her proud, even if she wasn’t beside him to see him do them. Childe was reinvigorated to push on, even when he received news on Sandrone’s demise.
It was sometime in Childe’s 400s that he, Pierro and Capitano led Snezhnayan forces to breach the gates of Celestia. Columbina joined their forces, leading them to victory with clear thoughts and clear direction. Childe nearly found himself killed in the battle, despite all the training and experience he had gained; however, Columbina had come to him, and saved him, giving her life as sacrifice. Despite how much bad blood they had between them, she had pushed forward to save him, and he was eternally grateful. She sent him to rejoin Capitano and together, they defeated the gods atop Celestia.
With his life’s goal complete, Childe stood before the throne of the gods, bathed in their blood, dripping from his weapons. He wondered how proud Lumine would be of him if she were here. He wondered if he could defeat her now, he assumed she really was more powerful than she’d ever led on. What he wouldn’t give to fight her now. His weapons fell from his hands as he deactivated his delusion. What would his parents say? Would they be proud of him for achieving his life’s goal? Would his siblings cheer for him as they did when they were all young? How long had it been since he saw any of their faces? He could perfectly envision their younger faces, all crowding around the blonde maiden with flowers in her hair. A few tears left streaks in the blood running down his face.
This was all he had hoped to accomplish in life, and he was as lonely and hollow as ever, perhaps even more so. Even Pulcinella would’ve told him how proud he was, he was sure. Or perhaps, he wouldn’t, it had been so long, maybe Pulcinella wasn’t as supportive as he remembered. Maybe his parents would’ve just been disappointed in him. Maybe, this goal was what really drove Lumine away. To some degree, he knew he was overthinking it, that he was being irrational; yet, it had been so long.
Returning to the palace was bittersweet, they brought back Columbina’s body, and reported the gods death, but Childe couldn’t take too much joy in it. He felt so sad and alone. Just as he expected of a long life span, he was tired, and he had no end in sight. It was always said life was easier with someone else, but he wouldn’t know that. He’d been alone for so long now.
He’d briefly considered looking up his descendants, but how would they react to one of the most prestigious harbingers coming into their homes and declaring to be one of their ancestors? No, he’d just have to endure. He was a weapon, why would he need others? Sure he was lonely, but it wasn’t hindering his work. He would be fine, he would have to be; who knew how long he’d be alone anyway? There was no end in sight.
Lumine found herself crying as they left Teyvat behind. Aether was right, they had been there too long. They weren’t supposed to stay long enough to mess with the balance of the world. Her brother wasn’t a fan of the harbinger, but he had assured her it was best for him if she left too. They weren’t meant to stay, and that meant she wasn’t meant for him.
The sooner they left, the easier it would be for him. If they waited any longer, Ajax might have grown too attached. She really wanted him to live a life worth living, to live proudly. She wanted him to get stronger, and while she wanted to be beside him while he did, she couldn’t. She just hoped he found a sweet girl who treated him as he deserved to be treated. He deserved that after she broke his heart.
Lumine found she hated the next few worlds they visited, though she wasn’t sure if it were the worlds at fault, or if she was looking for faults in them. Aether mentioned one day on their 5th world that she was being too critical. Never once had she cared that the world was too sunny, yet now she complained it was too sunny and didn’t rain enough.
After the friends they made on Teyvat, all her friendships after felt a tad bit duller. She found she had to avoid redheads, they made her too sad. In addition, she found herself more drawn to the idea of danger, taking risks every turn she could. Oftentimes Aether had to save her, not that it stopped her. She never tried to end up in those situations, but she did find it happened a lot more than it had before Teyvat.
It took a considerable amount of time before she tried dating again. Aether had dated a few different men and women from different worlds, but Lumine had never found the desire to move on from Ajax, no matter how many suitors she had. She found she got asked out far more than her brother, but none of them were as feisty or hot as Ajax. He found the perfect ways to get under her skin, while also treating her like a sweet girl. They’d fought often, but he always checked to make sure she was fine after them.
Anyone Lumine was with, man or woman, felt shallow compared to the blue eyed beast that haunted her dreams still. She wondered if Aether noticed that her type had ended up being exactly what she originally had tried to avoid, drawn to redheads with blue eyes. She supposed deep down she hoped they would be like the harbinger she had met centuries ago.
Over time, she wondered if leaving Teyvat had actually been the right play. Maybe they could’ve stayed behind and made Teyvat their home. Sure, it disrupted the world’s flow, but she couldn’t get over her friends, much less her ginger lover. And now when she thought of them, she only wondered how their lives had played out. Had they all found love and lived full lives? Did they miss her? Or did they forget about her?
Lumine wondered if Ajax had grown to be as good of a father as he was brother. Surely he had to have found someone after her. She was positive his kids were adorable, if they were half him, no matter their mother they would turn out perfect. Bitterly she wished it had been her who had been with him through his life. She wished she could’ve been the one to bear his kids and raised them with him. Who needed to see more worlds and see the sights when it meant leaving her heart behind?
Lumine had lost track of time when she finally demanded to her brother that they return to Teyvat. Aether brought up that most of her friends would be gone by now, and even Ajax would be gone. Hearing that had been a blow to her heart, despite knowing he was right before he even said it. Regardless, she pushed on, much to his dismay. She gave him her best pout and pleading look before he relented.
Speeding back toward Teyvat had felt so right . The first thing she would do would be going to Sumeru. Ajax might’ve been gone, but he was a prominent figure even before they left, surely some book would talk about the harbingers, perhaps it would talk about his family and she could find out what happened to him.
Lumine’s landing was far more calculated and rushed than Aether’s. She chose outside of Sumeru city and landed with little care of anyone watching or her own footing. She slipped as she ran forward into town, passing by townsfolk. She paid little attention to the citizens, sprinting as fast as she could to the Akademiya. The books weren’t going anywhere, but her thirst for this knowledge had been building for centuries.
Really, she should’ve gone to see Nahida first, but as she burst in the doors of the Akademiya, panting like she’d never breathed before; she realized this was much more important to her. She’d lost Aether in the city, but as she rushed to where the books had been held, she was sure he’d catch up.
When Lumine saw the sheer amount of books, a kind woman showed her some Fontaine invention which she could look stuff up on. After a little bit of instruction, Lumine searched up ‘Tartaglia’ on this computer. She went to the first result and eagerly began reading.
‘Tartaglia began as the eleventh harbinger, raised in the cold tundra of Snezhnaya.’ Oh the face they provided of him was just as handsome as she remembered. ‘Tartaglia has grown to become one of the cryo archon’s most loyal harbingers. He resides in the Zapolyarny Palace along with the rest of the harbingers under the Tsaritsa. He is one of the deadliest harbingers to face in combat, it is advised to clear the battlefield if he appears. Among his many accomplishments…’ Lumine began to look over the list at how the love of her life had spent his life. ‘Defeated the harbinger, Arlecchino’ ‘Led the defense against Fontaine’ ‘Led the charge against Natlan’ ‘Fully mastered his vision and weaponry’ ‘Mastered Foul Legacy’. Lumine sniffled as tears began to accumulate again. He must’ve grown to be powerful. He must’ve been a good leader too. ‘Fought alongside harbingers, Pierro, Capitano, and Columbina against Celestia.’ A gasp left her lip as she read that line. He… He had managed to accomplish… A smile pulled onto her lips as pride swelled in her. He had done it. He had done the impossible and fought the gods.
Now that happy tears flooded Lumine’s face, she scrolled down past the actual details of his accomplishments, she’d be sure to revisit these. She stopped over his ‘Family’ section, met with sadness. ‘Tartaglia had 6 siblings, however he has no spouse or kids of his own.’ She sucked in a breath. Had she ruined him? Did he never get over her? He lived and died alone, all because of her. She clicked into Teucer’s name and began to track down his living descendents. She could at least visit him and tell him stories about their ancestors. Just some connection to his family would be enough.
Lumine got up and grabbed Aether’s hand as she headed out of the library. A quick greeting to Nahida would be in order, then she’d go to Snezhnaya.
Aether groaned about the weather, rubbing his arms, as Lumine pushed through the crowds. She just had to find a ‘Tobias’, that was who she was here to find. She’d start at his house, and if that failed… Well she would figure that out later, she was too desperate to think longer on it.
Aether objected to this entire idea. He has assured her that it would hurt her heart too much. She would crumble at meeting his family, seeing how close she could get to him, but not quite to him. Lumine knew this was a possibility, but she was desperate for even a scrap, and her entire body was urging her to do it.
The blonde girl blinked when she swore she saw the man of her dreams in the crowd. She saw him calling out to someone, though she couldn’t make out his voice over the crowd. His voice. She knew he was dead, it had been centuries since she came back here, there was no way he was still alive. This was her brain playing tricks on her. She brought her hands up to her head, panting out a little as she tried to calm down.
In the blink of an eye, Lumine ran from this spot, with Aether calling out to her. Who knew facing her demons would hurt so much? Why did no one warn her? She thought she was steady enough to handle this, why was it so hard!? Her brain was conspiring against her, and she couldn’t bear it.
She stopped when she ran into a broad chest, clothed in a grey coat. She threw a quick apology up at him as he grumbled out from the hit. She quickly tried to dart past him, not willing to stay here any longer. Lumine’s smaller body jumped as he grabbed her by both her arms with strong hands, turning her back to him. Stopped in her tracks, she finally looked up, all thoughts in her mind pausing.
This man had an eyepatch, that was what she first noticed. The second thing she noticed was his other eye. She knew that lightless eye, despite how much more broken it looked. It looked so worn down, so tired, but still alive . He… This couldn’t be…
It had been nearly 5 centuries since Childe had seen her, and yet, she looked as innocent and fragile as ever. Even if she was a little frazzled. This was the face he had never forgotten. Her blonde locks had gotten longer, and he wondered how her golden eyes still held just as much light, or perhaps even more light in them. She had even kept her small size that he had found adorable. He didn’t know if this was fate, a dream, or a hallucination, but after so long of being alone and away from her, he didn’t care.
“Hey girlie, hold still…” Lumine’s heart stopped, and her eyes widened as she stared at the man holding her, the man who held her heart. No one else would’ve been able to pierce her heart like this immediately, and then quote him back at her.
Fireworks exploded as he pulled her off her feet, leaning down and kissing her. It was as perfect as they remembered. Childe slowly moved his hands from her arms to pull her in by her waist, her hands finding his shoulders. As she pressed herself to him, she wondered why it took so long to come back to this. Why hadn’t she pushed Aether to return sooner? No, why did she leave in the first place? She didn’t know how he was still alive, but he was . They could’ve spent all this time together.
Childe was still hurt from her leaving, it had scarred him. It had changed him, and it had made him grow. If she had been here, perhaps he wouldn’t have suffered as long or as much. No matter, he was mad, and he was hurt, but that didn’t mean he would reject her now. She still fit perfectly in his arms and against his lips. He was going to keep her here, no matter what he had to do.
Childe wouldn’t let her go again.
Lumine wouldn’t leave him behind again.