[part one] [part two]
“Childe invites Lumine to the annual Snezhnayan holiday dedicated to the Tsaritsa. There, she meets his entire family, and all the conflict that comes with them.”
warning: will get mildly suggestive in this part onwards so uhhh yea beware O///w///O
[Fic Masterlist]
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“ice fishing” (pt. 3)
The morning sunlight streamed in through the window, and Lumine cursed herself for not closing the curtains last night.
Last night… She looked to her right, and found Childe sleeping, no clothes in sight. Her face flushed with heat as she recalled everything that happened last night. She shook her head, instead looking at his sleeping face.
He slept absolutely still—no snoring, no twitching; if Lumine hadn’t been paying attention to the rise and fall of his chest, she would’ve thought he was dead.
In the light of day, Lumine could see his body was covered with scars: some tiny scratches, others long, painful lines. The largest scar was to the right of his sternum, inches from his heart. Her hand lightly traced it, and Childe’s eyelids fluttered open. His eyes landed on her, and a glowing smile spread across his face.
“Well, good morning,” he said breathlessly. He took her hand that was on his chest into his own.
Lumine intertwined their fingers. “I’ve never seen your scars before.”
“Of course not, unless you want me to start stripping in the middle of our battles.” He winked.
Lumine grabbed a pillow from under her and shoved it in his face. He laughed, yanking the pillow off his face.
He turned to her, fingers ghosting over her bare shoulder. “And you…you don’t have a single scratch on you.”
“Mm, that’s because I’m not from this world,” she whispered, half-joking.
She hadn’t told him about her origins. Only that her brother was missing and she was searching for him. Maybe it’s time I told him…
“Anybody could see that,” he mumbled sweetly against her skin where his lips were pressed on her shoulder. He planted kisses up until he reached the crook of her neck, where Lumine felt him bite down lightly.
“Ah!” she gasped, arching her back, to which Childe immediately pulled her closer, hands gripping her waist. He lifted his head, eyes meeting hers—blue eyes burning with desire. Lumine felt herself heat up. He leaned forward to kiss her, when there was pounding on their door.
“Ajax. Will you be cooking breakfast this morning?” Misha’s voice asked, muffled.
He let out a frustrated laugh. “Yes, Misha. I’ll be down there soon,” he called back. After Misha’s footsteps receded, he rested his forehead on hers. “I’d better go before the whole house starves.”
Lumine nodded, her own hunger taking over her mind. “You’d better hurry; remember we skipped dinner last night?”
“Oh yes, I remember very clearly,” he said, smirking. Lumine playfully shoved him. He chuckled. “C’mon, I know you’re starving.”
The two got dressed and headed downstairs towards the kitchen. Upon entering the dining room, they found Misha and Alexei sitting at the table. Both the older siblings were drinking cups of steaming tea—Misha not looking towards the couple, while Alexei eyed them over the rim of his cup.
“Your dinners are cold,” the oldest brother said, his voice sing-song. “Went off for another sparring match, you two?”
“How obscene,” Misha muttered, taking a sip. “The little ones were asking about you two all night. Perhaps think how your actions will be viewed by the children.”
The little ones you abandoned? Lumine wanted to ask.
Childe put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll make sure to tell them something, Misha.” With that, he hurried Lumine into the kitchen.
“Why do you put up with that? I would’ve taken you for the type to get rid of them,” Lumine asked.
“The little ones already have enough going on with theirs with…Mom’s condition,” he said as he started prepping the kitchen. “A fight between their older siblings would surely mean they’d lose their idea of family love forever.”
“It seems like Alexei and Misha are ruining that already…”
Childe sighed. “If I could knock some sense into them, believe me, I would. But there are consequences for doing so.” He looked out the kitchen window. “The family has already been through a lot.”
If there was one apparent weakness of Childe’s was the fact that he would protect his family no matter what, even if it meant acting irrationally, putting up facades and lies. Even if it meant he was hurting himself in the end. And it hurt Lumine to see.
Lumine helped him prepare breakfast until there were plates of steaming pancakes ready for the family to eat.
“Ah, beat me to it,” Feliks said walking into the kitchen. “Ajax, you don’t need to always prepare food for us.”
Childe shrugged. “I don’t mind. The kids like it anyways.”
“And it saves the kitchen from being burned down by Misha.” Feliks laughed. He grabbed two plates, heading back out of the room. “I’ll bring this to Galina.”
Lumine started heading out as well. “I’ll go wake the kids up.” She held a hand up as Childe started to get up. “You’ve already done a lot this morning.”
Walking past the dining room, Alexei and Misha were gone from the table. Good, I don’t have to talk to them, thankfully.
She went to Anthon’s room first. He got up quickly, and she left as he started getting ready. A good, responsible kid. Lumine thought fondly. Next, she went to Tonia’s room. Upon waking, the little girl demanded a hug, to which the traveler obliged warmly. She also helped Tonia pick out her clothes for the day before heading to Teucer’s room. Teucer took the longest to get up, but Lumine was patient with him. Like Tonia, he wanted a morning hug, which Lumine gladly gave. Soon, she successfully gathered all three of the children, sending them to the dining room where their breakfast awaited. She smiled to herself listening to them cheerfully rushing down the stairs.
“How motherly of you.”
Lumine felt the vein pop out on her forehead. “What do you want, Alexei?” She turned, surprised to find him closer to her than anticipated.
“You are so very hostile towards me, dear Lumine.” His face had his trademark unsettling grin. “Why is that?”
“And you? What’s your problem?” She crossed her arms. “I don’t generally like people who are as disconcerting as you.”
He laughed darkly. “Me? Disconcerting? You say that as if you’re not involved with a Harbinger. A member of the Fatui.”
“Do I hear resentment? Are they not under the command of your ruler, the Tsaritsa herself? Something a Snezhnayan should be proud of?”
His smile dropped, mouth pursed. “Perhaps.”
Oh. OH. Lumine almost smiled at him. “You’re envious of your brother.”
His eyes flashed, and from under his coat, he yanked out a dagger. Lumine quickly materialized her sword, easily countering his attack. Alexei sneered at her, digging his dagger against her blade. “Not envious. At a loss.” His voice was becoming slightly frantic. “How does someone like Ajax become a Harbinger? When I—”
Lumine threw her might upwards, sending Alexei’s blade flying down the hallway. She held the tip of her sword at his throat. “Sounds an awful lot like envy to me.”
The corner of Alexei’s mouth twitched, as if he were holding back a snarl. Then, he let out a laugh. Unstable. “How powerful. No wonder my brother has taken an interest in you.” He leaned closer, the tip of Lumine’s blade now brushing his skin. “I may have to take an interest in you myself.”
He reached for a strand of her hair, but she turned her blade from his throat to his hand. “Absolutely not,” she said. “You abandoned your family when they needed you. I have no interest in you, not even a little bit.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “So why are you even here, Alexei? You obviously don’t care for your family.”
“So smart! Even the old man hasn’t figured it out! Though admittedly, his mind isn’t as sharp as it used to be,” he said, taking a step back to grab his dagger again. “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you, unless you get in my way, dear.” He brought his dagger up to her blade, running the two edges together. “Or you can join me.”
“And what is it that do you plan on doing?”
His eyes glinted. “Taking everything that’s rightfully mine.”
Lumine raised her blade again. “If you hurt anyone in this family, I won’t hesitate.”
“Lumine?” Childe asked behind her, coming up the stairs. “…Alexei?”
Both sheathed their weapons, and Alexei smiled. “She’s a keeper, Ajax! Don’t let her go now,” he said, putting a hand on Childe’s shoulder as he passed him heading down the stairs.
Childe and Lumine watched until Alexei’s figure disappeared into the dining room before turning to each other.
“Care to explain what happened?” the Harbinger asked.
“I think we need to stop Alexei. Get him away from here before something bad happens.” Lumine frowned. “He mentioned he has a plan of some sort. ‘To take what’s rightfully his,’ he said.”
Childe’s eyes narrowed. “Of course. There’s no way he was here to just celebrate Lyublyu.”
“Do you think Misha’s in on it too?”
“There’s no telling with her. Sometimes she and Alexei are at odds, other times, they can get along. Especially when it comes to their ideas about weakness.” He sighed, then came up to Lumine, embracing her. He asked, “Alexei didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Lumine hugged him back and scoffed. “Of course not. I can handle myself.”
Childe laughed. “Yes, yes, I know, how could I forget?” He planted a kiss on the top of her head. “The kids want to go into town today; there should be some festivities in the town square.”
“You aren’t worried about Alexei’s plans?”
“Of course I am. But the kids come first.”
Lumine nodded. “Then we’ll go.” She felt her stomach rumble. “After breakfast.”
“Yes, I saved you the biggest plate.”
“I knew I liked you for a reason.”
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[part 4 coming soon]