Work Text:
If there was one subject of life that irked Childe, it was that of soulmates. It seemed ridiculous, that every person only had one perfect person to be with, and that was precisely why he had never bothered looking for his perfect someone. He also found it ridiculous that the only way he was ever going to see in anything other than black, white, or tones of gray was to meet his soulmate and look into their eyes. Their eye color was supposed to be the first thing in the world of monochrome emptiness that was different and would soon spread to give the lucky couple the ability to see in color. In all his years, he’d only known a couple of people that actually found their soulmates. It wasn’t fair.
At least, that was what he had thought until he saw his good friend Beidou meet her soulmate. If he thought he'd seen her happy before, then she had been soaring through the clouds on gilded wings when she’d met her special someone. Before she had, Beidou had been Childe’s drinking buddy on the weekends, each of them judging couples they saw walking around or dancing together in whatever bar they were in at the time.
“I bet he isn’t even her soulmate,” Childe would say, which was when Beidou would agree with him and they’d clink their glasses together and order another round.
That had all changed one night as they were walking to the club not far from the area where both of them lived, close enough to walk instead of drive. Venti had even come with them that night, promising to supply endless drinks since Childe had just gotten a promotion where he worked. There had been a gathering of people to one side of the road they were walking along, and the trio had stopped to see what was going on.
The crowd was positioned near a dark-colored car, and several people were taking photos. Thanks to his height, Childe was able to see above most everyone else.
“Well, what’s up there, giraffe boy?” That was Beidou, craning her neck over everyone to see as well, a futile effort given her shorter stature.
“Hm. Looks like some unmarked dark SUV. Maybe a local celebrity?” No one had stepped out of the car yet, but there seemed to be a couple of men in black suits and sunglasses despite the lack of natural light so late in the evening. Or at least, they looked like black suits. Childe couldn’t tell because everything dark looked black.
Suddenly the doors of the SUV opened, and a lone woman looked out of the car and towards the crowd. She was dressed in a long evening gown, her very light-colored hair pulled up into an up-do. Her eyes scanned the crowd like she was looking through everyone instead of at them before she stepped out of the vehicle, her high heels enhancing her already impressive height. She said something to one of the bodyguards, but Childe couldn’t discern what it was over all of the people gathered around that were talking loudly to one another.
“Well, what do you see? What do they look like?!” That was Venti speaking, clearly excited and curious about whoever was attracting all of the attention.
“Some light-haired girl in a dress. Dunno her.”
That made Beidou roll her eyes. “Wow, how specific, Childe. What would we ever do without you?” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, and she elbowed the tall ginger in the ribs. “Let’s go get a better look.”
Without another word, she began to elbow her way through the crowd, not waiting for her companions. “Whoa, Beidou, wait up!” The taller male began to move through the people disturbed in her wake, followed by Venti.
After a moment, they found Beidou frozen at the front edge of the crowd with one of the bodyguards standing in her way to prevent her from moving closer to the light-haired woman.
“Beidou?” Childe almost ran into his shorter companion, barely rocking back on the heels of his feet in time to stop himself. “What’re you doing?”
He looked up to see that the woman had gotten out of the SUV and had her eyes locked onto something in Beidou’s direction. Suddenly, she moved to step towards them, confusing Childe. The bodyguards seemed confused as well, and the shorter of the two looked in between Beidou and his charge.
“Lady Ningguang?” His tone was soft, yet firm, almost as if he was afraid of snapping her out of her trance. “What’s the matter?”
The woman took another step forward, placing her dainty hand on her bodyguard’s shoulder, but when she spoke, it wasn’t to him. “You’re…”
Beidou nodded, and though Childe couldn’t see his companion’s face, he could guess what was going on. So apparently could Venti. The short male gasped, moving to stand in a place where he could better see Beidou’s face to confirm. “You’re soulmates!”
Childe felt as if the world was shrinking in front of him. There was such a small chance of even being in the same country as someone you’re destined to be with. It was that much rarer to actually find the one meant for you rather than to live your whole life searching.
The rest of the night had been spent sitting awkwardly in the back of the large SUV while Beidou and “Lady” Ningguang got to know each other. Childe wanted to run away and spend the rest of his night knocking back drinks, knowing that everything with Beidou was going to be different from that night onwards.
It hadn’t even been a month, and Childe was already going crazy. He missed drinking with Beidou. It wasn’t the same without her there to make fun of the couples, and when she did come drinking, Ningguang always came along as well. Childe didn’t necessarily dislike the woman per say, but it was a lot to get used to. Venti seemed to take it in stride, however, acting the same as he always had.
“Hey, ginger,” Beidou began, making him sigh.
“What?” He only had the vague details of his hair color, written on his birth certificate by the doctor who had helped deliver he and his siblings, as well as vague descriptions given by his parents, so he wasn’t especially fond of the nickname, not when he couldn’t even see what color it was.
“What about that girl?”
Childe didn’t even bother to look up from his glass of fire water. “What about her?”
“Do you even know which girl she means?” That voice came from Ningguang, her melodic tone of her voice firm, unwavering.
Sighing, the ginger looked up and scanned the crowd, searching for whoever Beidou was talking about. “What girl?”
“The blonde behind the bar,” Beidou said, momentarily forgetting that Childe didn’t even know what blonde looked like. After a deadpan look was shot her way, she corrected herself. “Sorry, I forgot everyone can’t see it. She’s the guest bartender that made our drinks earlier.”
Well, at least that narrows it down. “What about her?” Childe repeated himself, not interested in the slightest.
“Do you think she’s cute?” Another deadpan look.
“What’s it matter?” He was being a pain, and he knew it, but he couldn’t be bothered to put on a cheerful face.
“What if she’s your soulmate?” Ningguang was persistent, and the ginger didn’t appreciate it. “You won’t know until you look her in the eyes.”
“Ugh, fine. If I go up to her, will you two stop trying to shove me at every woman you think would be good for me?” He hadn’t meant to sound so confrontational, but there he was.
Beidou was glaring at him, but Ningguang just nodded. “Yes.”
Childe downed his drink in one gulp, setting the glass down loudly before he walked away. When he did, Beidou leaned closer to Ningguang to whisper in her ear. “Are you sure about this? How can you tell?”
Ningguang just gave a secretive smile. “Just trusting my instincts. I noticed her and saw how much she just seemed to shine. A perfect counterbalance to the dark bitterness he hides within, don’t you think?”
The pair of soulmates looked up at the girl in question, watching as she conversed with someone who was ordering drinks, her golden hair shining under the low amount of light in the club. “I hope you’re right.”
This is stupid. That was the only thought going through Childe’s mind as he approached the bar. How am I even supposed to approach this? “Hey, my friends think we may be soulmates. Can I stare into your eyes to check?” Stupid.
The closer he got to the bar’s counter, the more anxious he became, not that he consciously noticed it. Once he was only a few feet away, Childe noticed that there were a couple of guys who were leaning over the bar towards the young woman, clearly trying to either persuade her for free drinks or something else for free. Either way, Childe didn’t care.
Or at least, he didn’t think he cared.
When one of the men grabbed her wrist and the young woman cried out, Childe couldn’t stop himself. Moving without thinking, he grabbed the man’s arm and wrenched her wrist free of his grasp, shoving the guy back a couple of steps. “Clearly she doesn’t want to be manhandled by a couple of brutes. Step away.”
Childe couldn’t see the girl from where he stood in between her and her harassers, but he didn’t need to to feel her relax slightly. The men though, they were pissed . “Oh yeah, pretty boy? What’re you gonna do if we don’t?”
The men were wider than Childe was, but he was a few inches taller, and more importantly, his body had been honed and trained to use as a weapon by his experience in numerous underground fighting rings he participated in. When the first man threw a punch, Childe easily made it glance off the side of his arm, barely feeling it as he pulled his own fist back, ready to break the guy’s nose.
A resounding crack echoed throughout the club as Childe’s fist connected with the guy’s nose, effectively crushing it into his face. Blood spurted out from the man’s nostrils, staining the ginger’s hand and his shirt. He just looked up at the other man with a psychotic grin on his face as he wiped his knuckles off on his shirt. “Next?”
Security for the bar was already rushing over as people got out of the way of the confrontation in a hurry, and upon seeing one man on the ground and the other standing above him covered in blood, the bouncer was about to grab Childe and toss him out. Before he could, the petite young woman Childe had saved stopped him with an outstretched hand.
“Wait!” Childe did have to admit, her voice was quite beautiful. “He was just protecting me, I swear!”
“And who are you?” The bouncer didn’t seem to recognize her until she pulled out her ID and handed it to him.
“Here. I was subbing in for Lucy tonight. Those men were trying to get me to give them free drinks, but when I wouldn’t, they threatened to assault me.” Her voice was firm, unafraid.
Hearing what might have been done to this poor girl, Childe turned towards the two men to finish what he had started, but a sudden, firm grip on his sleeve startled him. Looking down, he saw that the young woman’s small manicured had was the one that had grabbed him, a surprisingly large amount of strength put into that little grasp.
“Just leave them. They’re not worth it.” The words uttered so coldly by the young woman made the corner of Childe’s mouth lift slightly into a smile.
The bouncer just sighed softly. “I’m going to call one of Lucy’s other bartenders to cover the rest of the night. You get yourself home. And you,” he turned to Childe. “If I see you in here causing trouble again, you’ll be banned from the premises whether it’s ‘helping’ someone or not. Got that?”
“Yessir,” Childe said, tempted to salute, but the presence of the girl at his side stopped him from doing so. Looking down at her, he smiled. “Let’s get you out of here, alright?”
He still hadn’t seen her face when he had looked down, mostly seeing only the top of her head. “Thank you,” she said softly as they walked out of the bar. “I don’t want to think about what would have happened to those guys if they’d tried to take me away.”
Her words made him freeze. Did I hear her wrong? “Don’t you mean what would have happened to you , not them?”
“No. I know how to protect myself. I may be small, but I could kick your ass if I wanted to.”
The ridiculousness of that comment made Childe laugh so hard that tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Wiping them away, he gently spun her around to face him and get a better look at her. “I highly doubt that, Printsessa.”
Then, for the first time, they looked into each other’s eyes, and like a fire running through Childe’s veins until it burned white-hot, the world bloomed into brilliant shades of yellow and gold. He wasn’t sure how he knew that those were the colors he was seeing, but it seemed right , and at the center of his world was the petite blonde woman with startlingly golden eyes.
She must have worn the same look that was on his own face: a look that contained both shock and awe. “You’re…”
“…my soulmate.” He finished her sentence as they stood in front of one another in front of the bar like no one else existed in the entire universe.
Beidou and Ningguang walked out of the club a couple of seconds later, looking for their troubling-making companion. “Well, at least he didn’t run too far off,” Ningguang said with a hint of humor coloring her voice.
“Dude, what were you thinking ?! Did you really wanna get kicked out of… of… Childe?” Beidou had finally seemed to notice the pair frozen in place as they stared at one another. “Oh, huh. You were right, love.”
That sentence had been shot in Ningguang’s direction. “I knew it,” her soulmate said confidently.
Childe ignored his friend and her soulmate, keeping his attention locked on the woman staring into his eyes. “What’s your name?” His voice was a bit shaky, like he couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Lumine. Yours?”
“Lumine,” the ginger tested the name out, noting the way he said it made a slight blush appear on her face. “My name’s Childe.”
The way her eyebrows shot up incredulously was cute. “Er, sorry. That’s my nickname. My actual name is Ajax.”
“Ajax, huh?” His eyes brightened in pleasure as she said his name, until he realized how irrational he was feeling, immediately trying to shove it down and away.
“Ah, uh… do you wanna get something to eat?” He asked intelligently, unsure of where to go from here.
His words made Beidou start cackling. “Damn, ginger, you’re pathetic!”
“Come along. Let’s get you two to a quiet place while the bond sets.” Ningguang, ever the voice of reason, led them all back to her car.
After a short drive in which Childe could not sit still, bouncing his leg as he gazed out of the window at all of the newly discovered colors, the four of them arrived at a 24-hour diner. Beidou sat beside Childe in the booth they picked while Lumine sat in front of him and beside Ningguang. The four of them ordered drinks when the waitress came by, telling her that they needed a couple of minutes before deciding on their meals.
It wasn’t a lie per say, but the truth was that they couldn’t get Childe to focus on anything , a face that seemed to amuse Lumine greatly.
The pair’s vision had faded from only the crisp colors of their soulmate’s eyes into the more muted and varied tones that their surroundings normally were. Lumine had pulled out a small compact mirror and looked at herself, smiling as she lightly played with the ends of her hair. Before Childe had a chance to even ask her if he could borrow it, she handed it to him.
With a hesitant motion of his hand, he held it up to his face, eyes widening as he took in his appearance. Beidou hadn’t been lying when she’d said his hair was vibrant, and his eyes… Childe wasn’t too surprised at their color. His soul-bonded parents often compared it to the depths of the ocean, a place where light could never reach.
Looking up, his eyes found Lumine’s once more. She had been smiling and watching him while he examined his appearance. “What?”
She blushed, realizing she’d been caught. With a sheepish laugh, she looked out of the window of the diner though she could only see what was illuminated by the nearby lights of the parking lot. “Your eyes are very…”
“Creepy?”
“…Beautiful.” That made him freeze in place, his eyes wide. Huh? That was something he’d never heard before.
Beidou was smirking over her cup of coffee. “You two truly are meant for each other, it seems.”
That made the pair of them turn to look at her at the same time with skeptical expressions. “What? It’s true! You’re the sun to his dark, and he’s the eclipse of your sun.”
Lumine made a face. “I’m not the sun. That’s my brother. I’m like the moon. I just reflect his light but don’t have any of my own.”
“Nonsense.” The firm tone of Childe’s voice made her look up at him with wide eyes. “Then I’m the ocean whose tides cannot exist without the moon’s pull.”
What he had just said without thinking about it was so emotional, so sappy that Beidou had to stifle a laugh, Even Ningguang was smiling. Lumine’s face was beet red, and Childe’s own was about as dark as his hair. The tension was broken by the waitress returning to take their orders.
The impromptu get together lasted for about an hour as Lumine and Childe slowly acclimated to each other’s company. Once they’d all eaten their food, they agreed that they’d meet up in a week at the local mall to continue where they left off, to ease the new soul-bonded into each other’s lives.
It would provide a comfortable environment meant for both soulmates to continue learning about each other in a public space and would hopefully genuinely fall in love. They were meant to be together, after all.
Childe was nervous for the entire week that he was away from Lumine. He kept trying to rationalize his feelings about her, but it wasn’t working, not when he saw her gentle smile every time he closed his eyes. He felt an invisible pull towards her, actually quite similar to the moon and the ocean tides like he had said that night in the diner.
I hope she’s going just as crazy as I am…
On the day of the meet up, Childe woke up early and tried to put together a decent-looking outfit. He even combed his hair, not that it helped much. If anything, it looked messier than if he hadn’t brushed it. He was driving his family up the wall with how distracted he’d been in the last week, especially when he’d broken not one, but two dishes by not paying attention and dropping them.
He left the house with enough time to easily make it to the mall they were going to meet up at, and he even had enough time to stop by a florist’s shop. Before he even realized it, he was browsing through the rows of flowers, completely lost as to what flower would be appropriate. The florist seemed to be able to sense that because she suddenly popped up beside him.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”
Childe glanced down at her. “Ah, er… yes?” He sighed. “I’m trying to pick something out for a first date.”
“Ohhh, is it your soulmate?” Childe’s face told her all she needed to know. “Aha! That’s adorable. What color are their eyes?”
“They’re golden, but not like the sun-golden. They’re warmer than the sun. Maybe like molten golf or crystallized amber? No, that’s too firm… definitely molten gold.” The words tumbled out of his mouth like a faucet turned on high, and he found himself getting flustered the wider the florist’s grin grew.
“I think I know just the thing.” She disappeared from his view around one of the aisles, and he went up to the checkout counter to wait for her to come back with whatever flower he apparently needed.
It didn’t take her very long. She approached him holding a single, very large sunflower wrapped with navy-colored paper around its stem that matched his eyes. “The sunflower symbolizes warmth and loyalty, and it’s also very fun and playful. Do you think this would work?”
“It’s perfect.” Childe gently took the flower into his hands after he’d paid for it, wishing the florist a good day before he went down to the mall.
The closer he got to his destination, the more nervous he became, and he hated it. He hated the feeling that he wasn’t in control of his emotions anymore. This beautiful woman had fallen into his life, and he couldn’t see an escape in sight. Childe did have to admit though that he was enjoying seeing all of the colors the world had to offer. His favorite so far was the color of the moon as it reflected off of water, and he refused to let himself think of the reasoning behind that.
Finally arriving at the mall, he pulled into the parking lot, sighing as he realized the public transit bus was offloading passengers and that he would have to wait for it to move along before he could park. Childe was about to glance down at his phone when he saw a familiar-looking glimpse of blonde hair, and his stomach instantly twisted into a knot when he caught sight of Lumine getting off the bus.
Does she not have a car? I could have saved her the trouble and picked her u-... What am I thinking?
The ginger mumbled to himself as the bus began to move along after the last passenger got off. He watched as Lumine looked around and checked her makeup with her compact mirror before making her way to the meeting place they had all designated.
Is she worried about her looks? For me? Cute. He didn’t want to get ahead of himself and pushed that thought to the back of his mind in annoyance.
It didn’t take him very long to find a parking spot since the mall wasn’t too crowded due to it being later in the evening. Childe got out of his car and looked up at the stars that were slowly appearing in the sky, steeling himself to go meet up with his soulmate. Beidou had told him to meet everyone by the large fountain in the outdoor courtyard near the food court.
When he got there, he found all three women there quietly talking amongst themselves while they waited for him. Beidou must have said something funny because Lumine laughed, and Childe felt his heart thud painfully in his chest at the sight of her smile. She turned and saw him, waving shyly. The blonde was wearing a very soft blue sundress with a shawl, and it was very cute on her. He’d hidden the sunflower behind his back as he was approaching, and he kept it there until he was closer to the trio.
Lumine walked towards him, meeting him a couple of steps early. “Hello, Ajax,” she said with a smile, looking up at him.
She’s so tiny. “Hey,” he said awkwardly before he pulled the sunflower out from behind his back. “Here. This is for you.”
She seemed surprised, her eyes widening as she gently took the flower from him. Then the most beautiful smile yet graced her features, her cheeks growing rosy with blush. “Thank you. It’s beautiful.”
Childe felt awkward for a moment, and not knowing what to say, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “And you can eat the seeds.”
“What?” Lumine looked up at him at his sudden outburst, arching an eyebrow before she laughed when she realized a moment later what he meant. “I don’t think that’s possible with a flower that’s been picked before the seeds finish growing. You only get them from a more mature flower, see?”
Lumine showed him the center of the flower where the seeds weren’t fully grown or dried out. Childe felt like an idiot, his face growing hot more out of embarrassment than out of really being flustered.
“I appreciate the sentiment though.” Lumine looked down at the flower with a smile, lightly touching one of the petals before the pair walked back over to where Beidou and Ningguang were watching them.
Beidou spoke first. “What movie do you two want to see?”
That surprised the pair, and Childe cocked his head to the side. “I thought we were just going to walk around the mall?” He sounded confused, not expecting the change in plans.
“ Well , Ningguang and I were just thinking that it’d be a good way for you two to get used to each other and not require much talking.” She gave Childe a look at that last bit, as if he’d just embarrassed her with his sunflower seed comment.
“I’m not opposed to a movie, though I’m not sure what’s playing at the moment. Is it okay with you, Ajax?” His soulmate looked up at him, waiting for him to give his opinion on the matter.
“Oh, uh… sure?” He didn’t really care either way. “I don’t know what’s playing either.”
Luckily for them, Ningguang was ready. She quickly scrolled through her phone to see which movies were playing at the theater conveniently inside the mall. There was a fairly large variety, and she named them off one by one. Once she finished, she looked up to see which ones everyone was interested in.
The pair spoke at the same time. “Attack of the ZomBEE 2.” They looked at each other with equally surprised expressions.
Clearly neither of them had expected the other to suggest that title. It was Lumine’s turn to cock her head slightly. “You liked the first one?”
Chuckling, Childe shook his head. “I wouldn’t say that I liked it per say. It’s more that…” He didn’t want to seem like a loser to his soulmate, being interested in a very low B-tier movie.
“It’s kind of comedic, right? All of the special effects are so bad and cheesy that it makes me laugh.”
Once again, he was surprised. Smiling, he continued her thought. “Like how it looks when they come through the vents?”
“Yeah! They just swarmed in there like they’d taken the first 3D modeled bees they could find and just threw them in there.” She laughed when she spoke, unable to stop smiling.
“Or how the main character starts swiping at the air, clearly not hitting anything?”
Beidou and Ningguang looked at each other with a smile, the shorter of the two leaning in close. “Another great idea. Looks like they won’t need our help after all.”
When they got to the part of the mall where the theater was located, Lumine and Childe were debating the use of chainsaw when fighting zombie bees, and they seemed to be of the same mind: that the bees were much too small for a chainsaw to be of much use. Lumine had an alternative in mind, one that Childe hadn’t thought of: the use of a tennis racket to kill the larger zombie bees.
He was impressed.
Once their tickets were secured, they stood in line for popcorn and drinks. Lumine balked at the prices and said she could do without, but Childe bought her a drink anyway. “Come on, can you really enjoy watching those zombees murder half the town without a drink to go with some popcorn?” had been what he said.
That won her over, and soon enough, they walked into the assigned theater room with a large bucket of popcorn (extra butter) and two drinks. At some point, Beidou and Ningguang had slipped away to go see a movie that they were actually interested in, which was to say… not about zombie bees. Childe and Lumine hadn’t noticed until they were looking for a set of four side-by-side seats.
“Okay, where do you guys want to sit?” Childe looked behind him to find only Lumine looking back at him, the other two nowhere in sight. “…Beidou? Ningguang?”
Lumine looked behind her as well. Childe realized what had happened fairly quickly, sighing to himself. “They ditched us. Okay, where do you want to sit?”
The petite blonde hummed softly. “How about the back-middle middle?”
Childe knew exactly what she meant, walking up the long stairs in the theater to the back half, making his way into roughly the center seats, an amused expression on his face while he watching as Lumine stood at a seat, looked at the screen, and then moved to the next seat, repeating until she found the exact seat she wanted. Funnily enough, Childe sometimes did the same thing, and her antics made him chuckle.
They both sat down beside each other, the barrier of the middle arm rest that connected their seats the only object in between them. The previews weren’t going to start for another couple of minutes, and Childe realized with a panic that he had no idea what to talk about.
Don’t panic, Ajax. Just think of something to ask her about. No pressure.
“Do you have any siblings?” He defaulted to a subject that he could easily talk about: family.
Lumine perked up immediately, looking at her soulmate with bright eyes. He could still see that molten gold focused on him even in the fairly dim theater. “I have a twin brother.”
That made him arch his eyebrows in interest. “Oh? Which of you is older?” The sour look she shot him gave him his answer from that alone, making him laugh.
“Haha, I get that. I’m a middle child. Three older, three younger.”
Lumine smiled at him. “That must be amazing. Ae and I were on our own from a young age, so I don’t know what it’s like to have a big family. Or any family besides him, really.”
“Well, I wouldn’t mind showing you.” His words made Lumine stare at him, her eyes wide. “W-wait. That came out wrong.”
He almost missed her next words as she turned towards the screen to avoid eye contact. “I’d like that, I think…”
The previews started then, and Childe’s chance to comment on her words was lost. He and Lumine made soft comments about each preview trailer with each other, their heads leaned in close so that others in the theater couldn’t hear them. They had a similar taste in movies it seemed, further surprising the young man. He never would have guessed from Lumine’s appearance that she had made her brother go with her to the midnight showing of “Manbat Rises,” but apparently she had and had actually enjoyed it.
Once the previews were over, the movie started to play, and the duo mostly stopped talking so they could both enjoy it. The popcorn bucket was placed between them, balanced on the armrest with Childe’s light grip on it to make sure it wouldn’t slip and dump their popcorn on the floor.
The movie was corny, just as the pair had thought it would be, and it was also extremely gory. At one point, he glanced over as the zombees came swarming out of a corpse, and he expected Lumine to either be looking away or disgusted, but instead she was watching with an interested expression, reaching over for some popcorn without looking away from the screen.
Without realizing what he was doing, Childe reached out and gently brushed her fingers with his, making her jump in surprise. Lumine glanced at him, a startled expression on her face.
“You scared me,” she whispered with a light laugh.
In the dark where he could only barely see his soulmate, he still found her beautiful, the way she looked when she smiled, when she laughed, and he found that he wanted to see it more. When she moved her hand to get another bite of popcorn, he brushed his hand against hers once more, unable to commit to holding her hand, too afraid she would reject him.
He and Beidou used to joke that Childe would scare away his soulmate if he ever found them, and he found those worries surfacing as actual anxiety. What kind of a person is so bad that they would scare away the one they were meant to be with?
Him. He thought he was that bad.
It seemed as if Lumine could sense his growing anxiety, and with a confident motion, lightly grabbed onto his hand without looking away from the screen. The warmth that radiated from her butter-covered fingers soothed his worries, and he found himself smiling as he tentatively intertwined his fingers with hers.
Her hand was so small in his, and as he lightly traced over her digits, he found that she had calluses, something he hadn’t expected. Instead of paying attention to the movie, Childe daydreamed about what she could possibly do that caused the roughness of her hands.
He’d have to ask her when the movie was over.
The movie didn’t seem to have much left before it ended. The beekeepers fighting the zombees had synthesized a cure and were planning to spread it by using a crop duster, and it seemed as if the world would be saved by the good guys once again. Childe found himself unable to concentrate as the movie began to wind down, still focused on the blonde beside him.
A soft gasp from her made him look at the screen. He glanced back at it just in time for a jump scare to happen, startling the both of him. Lumine squeezed his hand harder, flinching as the zombees suddenly began to swarm and mutate into some human-shaped bee swarm.
Immediately afterwards, the credits started rolling.
“What?!” Lumine sounded outraged. “They can’t just end it like that!”
Her face was scrunched up into a pout, her brows furrowed in annoyance. It made Childe smile. “Well, how about this? If there’s another sequel, we’ll catch the midnight showing so that we won’t be spoiled by assholes online. Deal?” He squeezed her hand lightly.
Looking over at him, Lumine smiled and nodded. “It’s a date.”
They stayed seated as the credits rolled, talking about whatever came to mind. In those few short minutes, Childe learned a lot about Lumine. He learned that she could sing fairly well in her opinion, that she was a horrible cook and set her stove on fire a couple of times, that she loved collecting seashells, and a myriad of other small facts.
He told her some things about himself as well, like that he was an excellent chef (according to his family), that he was an adrenaline junkie, and that he was originally from Snezhnaya. Her eyes lit up when he said the second fact, and he found himself promising to take her for some cliff jumping sometime.
When the credits were finally over, the pair stood up and made their way towards the lobby where they would hopefully meet up with Beidou and Ningguang. Unconsciously, Childe’s hand sought Lumine’s, linking his pinkie finger around hers. It seemed to startle her, but when she looked down, a smile crossed her face, and she linked her pinkie around his as well. Sure enough, Beidou and Ningguang were relaxing at one of the tables when they reached the lobby.
The couple made a beeline for their friends when they saw them, Beidou reaching them first. She smirked when she saw their pinkie fingers intertwined. “Ha, I know you’d give in, gingie.”
“ Gingie ?” Childe frowned when Lumine giggled at the nickname.
Beidou seemed determined to rile him up because she put her arm around Lumine and leaned in close, whispering into the blonde’s ear. Whatever she said made the petite young woman look up at Childe with wide eyes. “Really?” She looked back at Beidou who nodded.
“What did you tell her?”
Beidou smirked at him, dancing away from the ginger when he made a grab at her. “I’m not telling~” She said it in a singsong voice, thoroughly enjoying tormenting the tall man.
He didn’t miss the way Lumine looked at him with a rosy glow on her cheeks, making whatever Beidou said worry him further. With a wave goodbye, his tormentor grabbed Ningguang by the hand and left him and Lumine standing alone together. Suddenly CHilde felt shy, realizing that this was pretty much the first time he had really been alone with her. Inside the movie didn’t count.
“Do you need a ride home?” Childe saw Lumine glancing worriedly at her watch. The last of the evening sunlight had faded to night, the soft darkness of early night settled upon them.
Lumine seemed surprised by his offer, but she nodded. “That… that would be great. I think the last bus ran a few minutes ago.”
He realized that if she hadn’t stayed and watched the credits with him, she would have probably made that last bus. Shaking his head, he led her along towards his car, still unconsciously holding her pinkie with his. When they reached his car, Lumine seemed to hesitate, a look of panic on her face.
“What’s wrong?” His brows furrowed, worried about his soulmate.
The blonde let out a shaky laugh. “Your car is very fancy, probably the fanciest I’ve ever seen.”
Childe was still confused, but he walked around and opened the passenger seat for her, watching quietly as she hesitantly sat in the seat before he closed the car door and went back around to the driver’s side, sliding into his seat. The car turned on with a purr, and he waited for her to give him her address.
“Is that a bad thing? My car being fancy?”
Lumine hesitated again, and worry began to eat at Childe once more. “Not really. It’s just that I think fate is cruel.”
Huh? “What do you mean by that?”
Childe suddenly noticed that Lumine refused to look in his direction, and he was alarmed when she suddenly sniffled. “Wait, what did I do? Lumine?”
She looked at him, small tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. “Ah, sorry. I didn’t want to tear up. It’s just that you’re handsome, have your life all put together, and with this car, clearly you’re well off… and I’m none of that.”
“Hey, hey , look at me. Lumine?” He couldn’t stop saying her name. Once she looked at him, he acted on impulse, leaning over the center console and brushed away the tears gathered in her eyes. “I don’t care about any of that. The archons evidently decided that we were meant for one another, so I know it’ll work out. And if you think I’ve got my laugh together…” He let out a bitter laugh, letting some of his mask slip.
“You’re in for a rude awakening. Now,” he said, changing the subject. “Let’s get you home.”
The whole drive over, Childe was at war with himself. He seemed to have projected that he was seemingly perfect to his soulmate, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He was a mess. Almost daily fights in the underground where he competed not because of the prize money, but because of the thrill he got when fighting. He hadn’t been joking when he said he was an adrenaline junkie.
He just wasn’t sure how to break it to her.
The car ride over didn’t actually take very long before Childe was pulling into an unassuming apartment complex. “This the place?”
“Mmhm.” Lumine hesitated when he parked, turning to look at him. “Do you want to come inside?”
Her invitation surprised him. “Can I?”
“If you want to. No pressure, though. I was just thinking that my brother wanted to meet you.” She suddenly sounded shy, and he found it adorable.”
“Yeah, I think I’d like that too.” He hadn’t told his family he’d found his soulmate, but they’d somehow found out anyway and wanted to meet the lucky girl as well.
They both got out of the car, and Lumine began leading Childe up the long outdoor staircase that led to the second floor apartments. “It’s just in here.”
She turned her key in the lock and opened the door, leading Childe inside. The ginger looked around the place, his lightless eyes taking in all of the details.
The apartment wasn’t very large, but that wasn’t such a bad thing. It seemed almost… cozy. There was a large white cat lounging on the sofa in front of the TV, and it got up and meowed when it saw Lumine.
“Paimon!” Lumine smiled and reached down to brush her fingers through the cat’s long fur. Turning to Childe, she explained. “She was a stray that I found walking home one day, and I couldn’t just leave her there, so…”
“That’s sweet.” His words made Lumine blush, and Childe began to walk towards her, unsure of what he was doing until he had reached her, gently reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
He was about to lean down to place a hesitant kiss to her cheek, but before he could, there was the sound of something being dropped coming from the hallway. Lumine was startled, flinching to stare at what had made the noise.
“O-oh, Ae! You’re home! This is-“
“ Tartaglia ?!”
Ah. Well that wasn’t good.
Lumine’s twin Aether was standing at the beginning of the hallway, the object he had dropped, a coffee mug, spilled all over the carpet. His eyes were wide with something close to fear in his eyes. “What are you doing near my sister?! In our home?!”
“What’s going on?” Lumine was understandably confused, looking between her brother and her soulmate.
“Aether took a step towards Lumine with his arm outstretched as if he was getting ready to pull her away from Childe, but before he could, the ginger suddenly pulled Lumine against his chest, making her yelp as he protectively trapped her in his arms.
“A-ajax?” Lumine’s voice was muffled against his chest.
“This is Ajax? This is your soulmate?! Lumine, he’s a bad guy!” He gestured to Childe angrily. “You know those fights I sometimes go see with my friends? He fights in them!”
That made Lumine frown, and she looked up at Childe to see how he was reacting to this. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were cold as he looked at her twin. He looked nothing like the sweet young man she had just watched a movie with.
“Remember when I said I didn’t have my life put together and that I was an adrenaline junkie?” Childe’s voice was apathetic, like he had already resigned himself to be discarded. “Well, that’s my secret. I beat the shit out of people for fun.”
He expected Lumine to push him away, call him a monster, hate him, tell him to never come near her again. Instead, she was quiet for a minute as she contemplated something. Childe was watching her for any sign of fear or anger, but he saw none there. Aether though, seemed to know what she was thinking. “Lumine n-“
She cut him off before he could finish. “Well, do you win a lot?”
Childe’s brain couldn’t have heard that right. “ Huh ?” He said intelligently, looking down at his soulmate with a confused expression.
“Do. You. Win?” She punctuated each word with a prod to the middle of his chest.
“I, uh… yes?” He was still confused.
Aether just sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yes, he’s never been beaten.”
“Oh, well that’s good.” She patted Childe on the arm absentmindedly. “If you were a loser, I’d have to break up with you.”
He couldn’t help it. Childe began to laugh, shaking his head incredulously. “Are you serious?” It took him almost a full minute to calm down, and when he did, he suddenly leaned down and buried his head in the crook of her neck gently, nuzzling her softly. “That’s amazing. you’re amazing.”
“Well, when are you going to invite me to see you fight?”
Childe perked up, moving his head to look her in the eyes. “You want to see me fight?” he was almost like a kid at Christmas, and she could see where he got his nickname from the youthful joy he seemed to exude.
“I have one tomorrow. Will you cheer for me?”
“Of course!”
It was then that Childe thought that maybe this soulmate thing wasn’t so bad after all.