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In all the authority he held in his homeland, Childe never quite got the same treatment in his own home. As he puts away a plate, he glances at the pile of unwashed dishes to his left and groans. Why his parents decided to have such a large family, he has no idea. Where were his older brothers, anyway? The one time he comes home, and he's tasked with boring—
"Childe, Childe, Childe, Childe," he suddenly hears a voice chanting from the kitchen window. A blonde head of hair pops out from the corner, followed by a gloved hand giving him a thumbs up.
Childe's eyes widen. Last time he checked, she was in Natlan. He heard she was helping with a secret commission from their archon. "Lumine?"
"The one and only," she says in a theatric voice. "It's Valentine's."
What? "I don't follow?" He puts down the plates and quickly rinses the soap off his hands.
Lumine stares at Childe, dumbfounded. "You don't know what Valentine's is? It's a popular holiday, you know."
He knows of the important holidays in other nations and is well-acquainted with the ones in Snezhnaya, but... "What nation is that from?"
Lumine waves her hand in dismissal. "Nevermind. Regardless, it's a holiday wherein you give gifts to people. So, I have a surprise for you. But you have to meet me in your backyard. Right where I'm standing."
He ponders for a few seconds, staring at the woman standing outside the kitchen window. There's this one holiday in Teyvat during December, where people hand out gifts to random people they know. She didn't specify what kind of people receive gifts on Valin Ties, so he assumes it's more or less the same.
Abruptly, the gears in his head start turning. She seems eerily giddy for a simple gift-giving holiday. It's also curious that she wants to meet outside instead of asking to be invited in. Could it be that this is a plot to lure him out? That she'll lead him outside to be dealt with by people ready to take him down in his own backyard? He knows he isn't one to talk, given his history of betraying her in the past, but he feels that something is off today. Or at the very least, something is different.
He takes a glance at the pile of dishes in the sink before wordlessly exchanging the sponge in his hand for a coat as he heads to the door.
"Can't you just jump through the window?"
Why is she in such a hurry? "I'll break everything in our kitchen if I do. Hang on a sec."
Though Childe has his reservations, he figures his abilities would serve him well if he ever finds himself cornered. It beats doing the dishes, anyhow. As soon as he steps outside, the cold air hitting his face instinctively makes him take a deep breath to take it all in. He peeks at the backyard, careful not to show himself to Lumine yet as he scouted the surroundings. Seeing that there didn't seem to be any intruders, he steps out and reveals himself.
"Hello, m'lady," Childe calls to her in fake-mockery as he walks to her spot right outside the kitchen window.
"Good evening." Lumine holds her fist out as soon as Childe is in front of her. "Hand."
Childe holds his hand out and Lumine proudly smacks a block of wood onto his hand. He tries to fight the urge to smile, but one breaks out anyway.
"What? Do you plan on hitting me with this?" Childe chuckles.
Lumine's proud expression doesn't falter. "Just wait." She places her hand under Childe's, instinctively making him try to retract his, but Lumine persists and keeps his hand in place with her other hand. "Hold still."
A piercing, numbing shock passes through Childe's hand, completely catching him off-guard. He's half-expecting it to feel like electricity, as Lumine wields electro. After a while, he figures that this might just be her way of starting a spar with her, but she isn't moving at all. Her eyes are glued to their hands. This feeling, Childe realizes, is different from all the other times she tried to maim him before. It's almost like a burn. He's no stranger to pain—quite the opposite, actually—but the fact that he can't feel his hand is... Disturbing, to say the least.
As Childe's imagination runs in circles trying to understand what she's doing to him, the wooden block shifts in his hand. From it, an ice replica of his hydro blades slowly emerges. It's grows to about as big as his palm, from what he can tell.
"What the..." Childe looks down at his hand.
"I know, right? I could have done it normally, but I wanted to see you squirm for a bit. Someone taught me to do this when I first got here, and they told me that because I made the ice, it won't ever melt for as long as I—"
Childe shakes the doubt off his chest. Every suspicion he was having has since been replaced with astonishment. "You... Cryo..." He shoves the gift in his coat, cupping Lumine's hands in his. His mind is already racing with the possibilities of future fights with her; his mouth almost waters at the idea.
Lumine seems to have expected this reaction, as she laughs at him mockingly. "You're never going to beat me ever again. Once I master cryo, I'll freeze your heart. Let's see how you wriggle your way out of that."
For some odd reason, Childe feels his heart swell with pride.
"I love you."
The only thing they hear next is the winter air gently blowing in their ears. Realizing what he was saying, his excited face falls into a panicked expression.
"Are you crazy?" Lumine mutters.
Childe stumbles as he quickly distances himself from her, nearly dropping the gift from his coat. He catches it, gripping the figure firmly in his hand.
Lumine pretends to cough and whispers some more, "Childe. Explain yourself."
Childe squeezes his eyes shut. Okay, I can still fix this. He resolves to look her in the eye and tell her that it's a misunderstanding, but as soon as his eyes meet hers, his mouth starts moving on its own. "Ajax," he says, out of breath from just standing there, "call me Ajax."
"Ajax?" Lumine's eyes widen. "Is that your real name?"
Childe nods. "I know yours, it's only fair you know mine."
The two look down at the snow, the moment becoming too serious for them to continue their banter.
Thankfully, they don't need to—just as the two were about to open their mouths, a piercing scream from the kitchen window cuts through the tension.
"CHILDE'S GIRLFRIEND IS HERE!" Anthon screams. "GUYS! COME DOWN! THE BLONDIE FROM THE LETTERS IS HERE!"
"GIRLFRIEND?!" Lumine's wistful expression turns furious. "When have I ever—we—WHAT?!"
"I-I didn't! They assumed!" Childe panics and looks at Anthon. "She's not my girlfriend yet!" he yells to the window. As he's trying to explain himself to Lumine and his little brother, his family comes down to huddle up in front of the small kitchen window to see what the commotion is about.
"Yet?" Tonia covers her mouth.
"Traveller! You should stay the night, I missed you!" Teucer jumps on the counter and waves.
One of Childe's older brothers crosses his arms. "So you ditched the dishes for your girlfriend?"
The pair instinctively turn away from each other, cheeks and ears reddening from embarrassment. Childe's chest is pounding so hard he can feel it in his head, which is something he usually only feels during a fight. The chaos from Childe's unbelievably loud family ensues. His parents are trying to calm everyone down because, according to them, there's an "important guest" in their presence and they needed to behave.
"Didn't realize I was such a V.I.P. around here." Lumine nudges Childe with her elbow.
"They're quite fond of your adventures is all. You're all they ever ask about when I write home." Childe scratches the back of his neck. "Admittedly, it's probably my fault."
"You made this?" Tonia points at the little replica that Lumine made. "Can you make me one?"
"Just because we have a guest doesn't mean you can ignore your chores, Childe!"
Between his sudden confession, Lumine's surprise, and revealing his childhood name, Childe's biggest revelation tonight is that a heavy chest and an adrenaline rush feel very pleasant in a fight, but it's an awful feeling to have while being bullied by your family.
Ah, the power of Valenheims.