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Lumine sighed as she got out fully clothed of the room that she had set up in the garden of her sereniteapot, feeling refreshed.
She had already had dinner tonight, accompanied by her teammates, who had already gone to their respective bedrooms, be it in this space created created and given by adepti, or in Teyvat. Now was the time for her to also go to bed, knowing that yet another day of daily commissions awaited her.
As she was mechanically heading to the liyuean mansion erected in front of her, her mind couldn't help but wander, aided by the relaxation brought by the warmth of the water that she was in just a few minutes ago.
"Aether...", she thought to herself. "What could you possibly be doing right now?"
The last time she saw her twin brother was now around a year and a half.
"We always... had enough time" were his last words before he disappeared before her in that dark blue, almost pitch black portal, shortly followed by Dainsleif.
Obviously, time was a trivial matter for the both of them. The birth and death of stars were but common occurrences in their eyes. Countless of those had they witnessed on their journey.
Words that she had heard from someone else also came to her mind.
Those of Nahida, the current Dendro Archon, as only SHE seems to remember.
"The Fatui have not classified your sibling as one of the 'Descenders'. A very important part of the intel was about this world’s Descenders… external beings, ones that don’t belong to this world... Traveler, you are Teyvat’s 'Fourth Descender'."
What exactly happened for Aether not to be considered as one of the Descenders?
What exactly did the Fatui know?
But as diligent as she was on her quest, there was only so much her head could handle at the very end of the day.
She would soon ask Childe about what he knows. Although, she probably also would need to be careful around him about that. Given that every harbinger had their own agenda, and that Childe was played like a mere pawn back in Liyue, on top being "just" the eleventh, perhaps he didn't even know a thing about it all to begin with.
The golden-haired outlander sighed at the idea of having to ask Fuujin, a.k.a the former 6th fatui harbinger about it. Not so long ago, he was easy to get along with. Despite his improvement, he was still the piece of work that he was before he erased himself from the Irminsul.
Before she realized, her hand turned the doorknob of her bedroom, thus revealing a not-so-rare sight.
Childe, also named Tartaglia, was curled up on his side on her bed, almost fully clothed, his back facing her.
Lumine made sure to make the least sound possible when closing the door, which didn't prevent the eleventh harbinger from calling her, his voice weirdly weakened.
"Hello, Lu'...
-Sorry, Ajax. I wasn't expecting you to be here tonight. Had I known, I would have paid closer attention to what I was doing.
-It's okay..." He weakly chuckled. "I know you'll make it up to me somehow." He obviously was kidding, but his smile clearly wasn't the one of someone who simply wanted to take a quick nap and who just got out of their slumber, as mentally exhausted as they appeared.
-... Is everything okay, though?" She asked as she tilted her head, a brow arched in worry.
The ginger man lost his smile.
"... Let's just say I..." He sighed. "Lu', is it okay if I stay with you tonight? I... don't feel like being alone. I need your company."
The golden-eyed blondie couldn't help but remember how much their relationship had evolved ever since they met. Still enemies, but now two persons in love and close to each other to the point of knowing each other's real names, and being willing to let their most vulnerable side show in a heartbeat.
She heaved a little sigh as she lied down by his side, barely removing anything among her clothes.
Not even a second passed before the ocean-eyed youth clang his arms around the young woman's waist, her face now gently buried in the crook of his neck.
"Of course you can", she whispered in a tired, but benevolent smile. "Now do tell me... what is going on, Ajax?
-... Teucer... has found out the truth."
Only silence was heard afterwards. In the dark, Childe could have thought that the traveler had already fallen asleep, or that she wasn't reacting at all to the revelation, save for a small gasp from her. But he felt her raise her eyebrows as they brushed against his skin.
"He knows, now. They... thought it would be good to let him process the information by giving him some alone time, but... I received a letter this morning."
Lumine gasped after hearing his voice lightly break in tears.
Few were the times during which this mighty warrior showed a vulnerable side of his person. And yet, here he was, the young man coming from a nation that doesn't believe in tears. Tears that were weakly glistening in the moon's glow, seemingly bringing back light in his eyes.
The eyes that used to be those of an innocent, pubescent Ajax.
"He left. No one knows where. It's been ten days already between the date of the writing, and this morning. It usually takes just a week for a letter to be delivered, when it's not by boat, and my work has brought me to Sumeru, recently. It's not that far from Liyue. Either the distribution was belated Archons know why, either they wanted to wait a few days before sending the letter, so as to reassure me a bit later in the same mail. If that's the case, it's been three days. I have yet to receive another one."
Lumine's fists clang to the crying man's shirt. Not knowing what to answer, she just unclenched both of her fists, leading her now open hands towards his face, gently cupping his cheeks.
Leading the ginger warrior to break down in silent tears, as his girlfriend felt tepid water drip between her slender fingers.
"I am so, so worried, Lumine. I just hope he's okay. As much as I do hope to see my younger siblings become stronger, and am, in a way grateful to have learnt how to fight, by no means do I want them to go through what I had to. Let alone the youngest of them." He said as his shoulders shaked. Little Ajax was back, in the form of a formidable man turned into a weapon against the gods.
She didn't need him to elaborate any further. She already had a very clear idea of what he meant by that.
And because it had already been a year and a half for her, away from her brother, and because she knew more about what Aether witnessed in Khaenri'Ah and its destruction, the pain that her boyfriend was going through was no stranger to her.
And even if it was not the same thing in terms of duration, by no means was it necessarily easier.