Chapter Text
"And when you get there, say sorry to Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer, will you?" Childe pleaded, a strained grimace pulling at his face.
"You're not coming?" she asked, a little disappointed herself. Call her naive, but she thought she'd get to spend the day with him when he invited her to his childhood home. Or at least that he'd be there to introduce her to his family. And even if he was too busy for all that, she would have at least liked for him to walk her to his front door. Lumine frowned. Maybe she had more in common with his siblings than she'd expected.
"Sorry," he said pitifully. "My duties as a Harbinger just keep piling up, and..." he trailed off, glancing away from her, focusing on something far off in the distance, sighing so heavily, Lumine almost felt the heat of it against her skin. She wanted to sigh herself, but she was afraid it would seem a little too much like she was desperate for his attention, and she was not about to advertise that to anyone. Most certainly not to Paimon, at least.
"It's okay," she said instead. "You're the Tsaritsa's most loyal weapon after all, right?" Lumine wondered if that meant the Tsaritsa got to see Childe whenever she liked, for however long she wanted. "How very lucky of her," she mused. Childe snorted, though he looked a touch bashful. Lumine couldn't imagine what for—she didn't think "most loyal weapon" was exactly a compliment, but then, Childe had a tendency to find compliments wherever he so pleased, even in the non-complimentary statements.
"If only all I had to be was a weapon," Childe said. "But instead..." he trailed off again. This time, Lumine turned to face him fully, eyebrows furrowed in both confusion and concern. Before she had the chance to ask him what he meant however, he quickly shook his head and cleared his throat.
"Anyway, they'll love you two, I'm sure of it. Teucer's already said he was excited to show you how much taller he's grown."
"And how are we supposed to know which house is yours?" Paimon challenged. "You're not gonna make us knock on every door, are you?"
Childe laughed at that. "Why not?" he said. "It's not a very big village."
"You—!" Paimon frowned, crossing her arms. "That's not the point!" She huffed childishly. "We're busy people too! Lumine has evil plans to thwart! And guild commissions to do! And...and..."
Childe raised an eyebrow.
"And Paimon has to help guide her! Paimon's not the best guide in Teyvat for no reason, you know!" She stomped her feet petulantly in the air.
"If Paimon's the best guide in Teyvat, then she could definitely find my house without any directions, couldn't she?" Childe asked, crossing his own arms. Paimon gasped, more audibly than she had meant to, eyes darting quickly to Lumine for help. Lumine, however—traitor that she was—only smirked back at Paimon, equally teasing and annoyingly smug.
"Couldn't you, Paimon?"
"Ohhh!" Paimon groaned, shaking her head in dismay. "Paimon...Paimon only knows where the important things are! Like where to get the best fruit tandem turnovers in all of Nod-Krai!" Paimon smiled, easily distracted by her own mention of fruit tandem turnovers. "Which is in Nasha Town, by the way."
"Equally as helpful Paimon, thank you," Lumine said with a laugh. Paimon giggled, pluming at the praise (even if it was a touch sarcastic), somehow both sheepish and proud.
"Speaking of food," Childe said, pulling out a comically large bag of Mora. It looked much too big to have come from any of his pockets, and if it did, Lumine wasn't sure how she could have missed it, but Paimon didn't seem to concern herself with such trivialities. "Do you mind stopping by a bakery on the way? Anthon has always had a soft spot for sochniki, and I said I'd buy some for him the next time I visit but, well..."
Lumine couldn't help but smile a little at the way he trailed off, as the guilt of not going home crept onto his face again. Something about it was oddly endearing—she had always liked how much he cared and doted on his family, even when it could be difficult to do so. It was...an attractive trait to have. Objectively, Lumine insisted to herself. Objectively attractive. Not specifically attractive to her.
"Sure," she said, as a starry-eyed Paimon used all her might to lift the bag of Mora from his hand. "But isn't this a bit much?" She glanced into the bag to see the familiar shiny golden coins before Paimon squirreled it away into her pack. It reminded her vaguely of a time when he begged her to babysit Teucer in Liyue—he had given her a large bag of Mora then, too. Lumine's smile widened. He really never skimped when it came to his family. "Surely you're not so out of touch with the locals that you think a handful of pastries has a price tag this high." Childe shrugged and threw her a charming grin, ocean eyes glinting at her even under the shadow of his hair.
"Buy something for yourself, too. It doesn't have to be a pastry." His grin only grew as Lumine flushed, even if just barely. "And Paimon," he added quickly, before the pixie had a chance to interject, though judging by the way Paimon was eyeing them, she wasn't about to.
Lumine studied Childe for a moment—despite his usual handsome smile and princely demeanour he seemed...tired. Moreso than usual. He did mention that he had been exceptionally busy lately, but she would hate for him to be neglecting himself as a result. It felt like an odd thing to hope for, but Lumine hoped anyway that the Tsaritsa and the Fatuus were aware of how fortunate they were to have Childe, and that they looked after him and cherished him like he deserved to be.
She most certainly would, if given the chance.
Lumine frowned. Where was this train of thought going? How did it even get here? Was she not getting enough sleep either?
"It shouldn't take all day," Childe said softly as she frowned, perhaps misreading the cloud of disappointment in Lumine's eyes. Not that he could have known. Especially because when he said, "I'll be back for dinner. I promise," the haze over her eyes seemed to clear up immediately, as whatever train of thought she had dissipated at the promise that she would get to see him again later today.
"Okay," Lumine said, almost whispering. "You promised."
The smile on his face brightened, as though he had suddenly received the effects of a full night's rest without having actually done so. "In that case, I best be off now. Wouldn't want to break a promise." His smile turned infuriatingly (and endearingly) self-satisfied as he winked and caught the way Lumine coloured in response. Then, with a small wave, he left, nearly jogging as he went.
"Wait!" Paimon called after him, and though he turned back around, he didn't stop moving. "You didn't tell us which house was yours!"
Despite the fact that he was getting further and further away, his voice seemed to carry perfectly fine on the wind as he yelled back, "It's not far from the dock! There's a whale outside! It's harder to miss than a polyarbear!"
And with that, he rounded a corner, and was gone.