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Lumine joined the magician twins for some much-needed levity after recent events. It only rained every other day and they took advantage of the sunshine to practice for a show in the rolling hills west of the city. Lynette rested under a tree, Lumine sat on a rock at the edge of a warm pool with her legs over the water and Lyney…
Lyney cranked his charm up to eleven, cavorting in front of her like some bird of paradise given human form and about as loud as one. He kissed her hand no less than twice, produced no less than three different kinds of flowers to adorn her hair and even brought forth a starburst of embers in the shape of her favorite constellations.
It was adorable, really, but nothing compared to Lynette spacing out in the background. Only the occasional twitch of her tail indicated that she was not, in fact, an automaton like she liked to lead people to believe. She dozed with eyes mostly shut, the sliver of purple visible even at this distance, and Lumine knew that if she interrupted her rest she would redirect her to a sibling and make her escape.
Her autistic whimsy and flat affect had entranced the literal star better than her brother’s theatrics ever could. Not that she didn’t like Lyney – once she was done being mad at him for being the worst client ever – but just look at her! Lynette was right there! Difficult and disinterested! Trust was always sweeter when it was earned.
Lumine was dragged back to reality by the scruff at the sound of fireworks. Lyney gestured to an imaginary audience after the fire subsided from his upturned hat, then turned to her with a wink and the tip of his tongue poking out.
“And how was that, my dear companion?” Lyney purred, taking the opportunity to get in her personal space and bringing the smell of spent gunpowder. “My trick of the light is nothing compared to the fire in your eyes, but I hope it can entertain you nonetheless.”
If only Aether were around. He was a sucker for the insecure.
Lumine chuckled. “It was great, Lyney. I’m sure you’ll knock ‘em dead at your next show.”
His eyebrows shot up to disappear under his bangs. “My next show? Oh no no, you must be mistaken. This trick is for your pretty eyes alone.”
Oh dear.
He continued, his voice dropping to something even flirtier, somehow. He took both her hands in his. “I have a lot of tricks just for you, if you’d give me the opportunity to share them.”
Lumine chewed on her lip. “...I’m flattered but you’re more my brother’s type.”
“O-oh?” He flinched back a half centimeter, blinked twice, then recovered with a deep bow. “Is he half as charming as you?”
“Mm… I wouldn’t say that, but he’s a helluva lot nicer. You’d like him.”
Lyney grinned wide, taking the rejection-deflection with grace and giddiness. “Well then, why haven’t you introduced us already?”
“He’s a bit busy leading the Abyss against the gods.”
His eyes widened. His mouth knit to a tight pucker to match his pupils, as if someone had taken a ziptie to his lips. He stiffly straightened from his bow and retracted his hand, looking for all the world like someone had dumped Snezhnayan water down his back. “Well then, er, perhaps we should put off the introductions.” He giggled nervously. “I guess you can’t blame us for having shady connections with a brother like that though, right?”
The look Lumine gave him could cook food.
He expertly dodged the glare with a laugh and a flourish of his hat, pinwheeling to stand on her not-sword hand side. “Well if your brother is neither here nor there, what, pray tell, is your type?
She had a sneaking suspicion he’d put on an act to fit whatever she said, which was a bit worrying, but she might as well answer honestly. He’d have to find out one day. Lumine leaned to her right to look past him and he followed her eyes to his sister.
Good heavens she was cute – the perfect blend of concern for her family and her own ambitions. She’d do anything for them, but not at the expense of her naps. Lumine wasn’t a fan of people that only lived for others. She gave herself a few seconds to stare before returning her attention to Lyney, and was only a little bit surprised to see him livid.
His back was straight and his shoulders tense, like a bow strung so tight the wood splintered. Underneath his stage persona, he was a raw nerve personified. “Hurt her and they won’t stop finding pieces of you,” he whispered.
The venomous side eye he gave her would be much more threatening if he didn’t look about to piss himself.
“Tch, cute,” Lumine crooned and pinched his cheek. He blanched. She pulled her hand back before he could do something stupid like bite it. She watched impotent rage and panic boil up faster than he could collect himself – embarrassment and fear taking hold, then dread as he realized what he just said and how little it bothered her. It was the dread of fucking around and being about to find out, of simple words about to be met with unspeakable cruelty. Lumine slouched and propped her cheek in her fist. “I’m good enough for you but not her?”
The joke had its intended effect and pulled him out of whatever horrific memories were clouding his judgment. He took a few steps back and wrung his hands. “Uh, er, well– That’s different!”
“I don’t see how.”
“She’s my sister. She–”
“Needs protection?”
Without missing a beat, Lynette snatched a living bird out of the air, held it for a moment while it cheeped indignantly, then released it.
“Ye– no! No, but–” he spluttered until his sister looked over with a dispassionate frown. On seeing him, her ears swiveled forward and her tail lashed. That gave him the fuel to take a deep breath and smile, though it was thin-lipped and watery. “You know I couldn’t live with myself if anything ever happened to her.”
“Do you think I’d hurt her?”
He opened his mouth, a no forming, and then he shut it without saying a word. He winced in apology.
Lumine smiled. “Guess you can’t blame me for being a little slow to trust now, hm?”
She noticed Lynette paying attention. She’d gone back to her half doze facing the other direction, but her ears were still tilted towards them. Lyney turned his back to her to hide his face and crossed his arms. “I’m sorry. I don’t think you’d hurt her, it’s just…”
“You’ve been burned before. I get it.”
“She’s been burned worse.”
“Mm… I think you’ve been burned equally. Unless I’m mistaken.”
He was naturally pale and the previous freakout left him ashen. Now he was nearly fluorescently white. He suddenly looked very exposed and very uncomfortable, his eyes flitting around searching for eavesdroppers. “Er… I don’t… It… It was different.”
He looked like he wanted to talk about literally anything else, or perhaps start running for the hills and never come back. Lumine saved him from having to come up with a response by standing and taking him by the shoulders. He trembled so terribly and her heart broke a little bit. “I’m here if you wanna talk about it. In the meantime, I’m gonna go flirt with your sister, okay?”
She booped his nose and some of his color returned with the gesture. “I promise I’ll be good to her. If not, you have my full permission to shoot me in my sleep. Sound good?”
He slowly relaxed from petrification to a mere rigor mortis in her grip, then his shoulders sagged with a breathless laugh as the humor finally set in. “Yes, that… That sounds good. Thank you. And I’m sorry.”
She tweaked the brim of his hat. “Don’t be sorry. We need to be honest-ish with each other, especially if I’m fixing to be your future sister in law.”
He reeled back and barked once with genuine, surprised laughter. He grinned and shook his head, then looked up at her from under blonde bangs. “Oh you are certainly something else. Just don’t poach my sister’s attention too much, okay? I need her.”
Lumine left him to shakily go through his routine and approached Lynette, who remained motionless until she got within speaking distance. Lumine expected a tired sigh and a nonsensical “Exiting standby mode,” but was instead met instead with an inquisitive, almost accusing violet stare. “What happened?”
Lumine waved her off. “Just a little talk. It was nothing big, I promise. You can ask him yourself if you’re curious.”
Lynette peered around her at her brother, unblinking while she watched. Eventually, content that he wasn’t about to go off like one of his pyrotechnics, she returned her attention to Lumine and spoke in a very matter of fact tone. “Please be patient with him. He’s a very nervous person.”
“I’ve noticed.”
There was that tiny, musical giggle. Its rarity made it all the more precious. Lumine felt heat rise in her cheeks while Lynette cleared her throat, retreating back to her usual stony self like a rock slipping beneath the waves. “Did you need something from me specifically?”
“No,” Lumine said and put her hands behind her back. “But I’d like to take you out for coffee or tea or something.”
Silence, only broken by the metaphorical gears whirring in Lynette’s head. Her ears twitched backwards, just a little bit, the only indication of her displeasure. “Why?”
And now it was Lumine’s turn to be careful with her words. Her immediate impulse was to blurt out “to get to know you better,” but Lynette was just as paranoid as her brother, albeit in a different way. She’d assume the date was a ploy to gather intelligence. How to phrase it in a way that didn’t frighten her…
“I’d just like to spend some time with you,” Lumine settled on.
Her tail lashed. Eventually, “I prefer to avoid leisure outside of the home. I’m just… not comfortable in public. Too many people’s eyes on me when they’re not supposed to be. I’m afraid I have to decline tea out, and I don’t think Freminet would be comfortable inviting you to the house.”
Understandable. They’d said all of ten words to each other the last time they met. It was one thing to meet outside, another to have a stranger taking up your space and hitting on your sister. Lumine nodded. “I get it! Would you want to do something else…?”
“I’m not averse to spending time with you.”
How delightfully unhelpful. Lumine lit up shortly after wracking her adventure-addled brain and snapped her fingers. “Oh! I found this underwater library! It’s beautiful, right next to a reef. I lost a few hours watching the fish last time. We could have tea there!”
“It sounds like something Freminet would like,” Lynette hummed.
Yeah well Freminent was a bit too young for her, and also he wasn’t Lynette. Still, Lumine wanted to get to know the entire family better. She put one arm behind her back and held the other out in a friendly gesture. “Wanna bring him and Lyney for a lunch date under the ocean?”
The tip of Lynette’s tail twitched at ‘date.’ She was quiet for a bit, her fist to her chin, but eventually she looked back up with the closest thing she got to excitement in her voice. “That sounds relaxing. We could collect clams and oysters for lunch.”
“You like them?”
She nodded once. “They’re my favorite food.”
Lumine grinned. One little secret at a time, one minor trait, she would learn everything she could about this wonderful woman.
Lynette nodded again, seemingly to herself. “I will bring my kettle. Meet us at the house tomorrow afternoon. We will follow you.”
With that, she abruptly marched off to discuss with her brother. Lumine watched her go. As much as she wanted to focus on the object of her affection, she couldn’t help but be distracted by Lyney’s animation. He went still when Lynette walked up, then broke into a big smile and swept her up into a hug when she presumably filled him in. Lynette hung limp in his arms with a bored expression, though her ears were upright and alert. She looked over to Lumine for help and she just waved. Lynette pouted.
Lumine smiled and went to run some errands. She’d see them tomorrow, and hopefully the day after, continuing until their weird little family had one more member.