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“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.”
[Fic Masterlist] // [AO3 Link]
“ice fishing” (pt. 6: FINAL)
The lightning cleared and floating before them was Tartaglia: complete in his Foul Legacy Transformation.
“What…what is that?” Alexei gasped out in disbelief.
Tartaglia’s cyclops eye glinted in his direction, and before another word was uttered, he rushed towards Alexei. Tartaglia brutally grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up in the air.
“This,” the Harbinger garbled, “is true power. Your cowardly toy is no match.” With his other hand, he grabbed the black market delusion—still sparking with immense Electro energy—and tossed it away, like a child’s toy.
Alexei’s dangling feet weakly kicked around. “Come on, Ajax…,” he managed to strain out. “Are you going to kill me? Your brother?” His hand grasped Tartaglia’s monstrous armored claw around his neck. “I thought…I thought you loved your family.”
There was a brief moment where neither of them moved. A tiny smirk crossed Alexei’s face, believing he had convinced his brother to let him go.
But Tartaglia’s grip tightened.
“You,” he said loudly above Alexei’s desperate sputtering gasps, “are no family of mine.”
He turned and threw Alexei out of the room, through the hole in the wall the eldest brother had created earlier. There was a loud THUD as he landed on the ground below, followed by a painful groan.
He’s still alive? Lumine wondered in shock.
Upon hearing that his brother lived, Tartaglia flew out of the room as well, his dark galaxy cape billowing behind him.
Lumine ran to the edge of the room, looking down at the two brothers in the snow. Alexei was on his back, coughing, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. Tartaglia slowly stalked towards him.
“You were never strong enough, Alexei,” Tartaglia said. “You were never going to be strong enough. You were always a coward.” He raised his hand up. “And now? You will die like a coward.”
Massive amounts of Hydro energy began gathering on the ground, forming a large circle around Alexei.
“May the gods never forgive you.”
From the ground, the Hydro energy formed into a whale, a grandiose being that blocked the moonlight, casting a dark shadow that loomed over the home.
The whale cried out—a long, deafening tone—before it came crashing down. Tidal waves rippled through the snow, water flooded the ground. Lumine raised her arms to shield her face from the torrents of mist raining down.
When her arms came down, Tartaglia was there, in front of her.
Without thinking, she scrambled backwards, an innate fear spreading through her veins. She knew when entering Foul Legacy he became even more unpredictable, uncontrollable than normal. They had nearly killed each other the last time she had seen him in his transformation.
He floated towards her, slowly still, and Lumine forced herself to stop from continuing to back up.
“Lumine…” His voice was still distorted, and it sent chills up her spine hearing her name being called from that voice.
Then, there was a flash of lightning, and the armor dissipated. Childe was back.
He stumbled for a second, then fell on his knees weakly.
Lumine came to his side right away, wrapping her arms around him, supporting him so he wouldn’t collapse.
“My…my mother,” he whispered between heavy pants. “Let me…let me see her.”
Lumine nodded, and together they crawled to Galina’s lifeless form.
Childe sat there, still as a statue, his blue eyes impossibly dark as he looked at her. Then, he closed his eyes, and put his head on Lumine’s shoulder.
She felt water on her shoulder. He’s…crying. One of her hands softly stroked his hair in comfort.
With her other hand, she took Galina’s hand and held it.
If only…If only I was strong enough. If only the Unknown God hadn’t taken her powers away. Lumine was certain she could have healed Galina.
She remembered purifying Dvalin’s tears. That was a while ago…But maybe…now…
Lumine closed her eyes focusing on her hold with Galina.
She pulled any magical energy from every corner of her body, imagining sending it through to Galina.
She thought of the light of the sun’s rays, the warmth of a fire. She thought of Aether, the familial love of clear skies, clouds, and wings. She thought of her friends—Jean, Lisa, Venti, Zhongli, and countless others—how they were meadows of flowers and warm blankets on cold nights.
And most importantly, she thought of Childe. The sweet, honey taste of love; roaring fires of passion; calm ocean waves of tranquility and understanding.
Her chest felt like it was glowing, her heart was resonating with happiness and love.
…
…
…
There was a gasp of air.
Lumine and Childe both looked up. Galina had her eyes opened, taking in deep breaths of air.
N-no way. Lumine thought in disbelief. I actually did it?!
Galina sat up, looking around the room in shock, before turning to Childe and Lumine.
A small smile broke on her face. “Ajax?” she asked.
The color drained from Childe’s face. “You…you remember who I am?”
“Of course,” she said. She chuckled. “How could I forget my son?”
Childe let out a shaky laugh. More tears leaked from his eyes.
Galina’s own eyes widened. “Oh my goodness! Ajax, what’s wrong?”
Childe let go of Lumine, and collapsed in his mother’s arms.
Lumine’s own eyes began watering at the sight of their reunion.
Without her noticing until it was too late, however, the sounds of the mother and son started fading out, and the room spun around Lumine. Energy was quickly leaving her body.
The healing took… a lot of power… she realized sluggishly. Too much, maybe. But it was all worth it.
Then, she blacked out.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
Lumine opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt heavy, as did the rest of her body. Sunlight streamed into the room, and there was the faint smell of flowers. She was in bed, alone, in Childe’s room.
She tried sitting up, but every single muscle ached as she shifted her body, and she fell back in pain. She let out an exasperated sigh, and tried once more, excruciatingly slow, until she finally was able to sit up, her back resting against the mountain of plush pillows behind her.
She didn’t have much time to think to herself, before the door opened. She turned, expecting Childe, but instead found Galina there.
“Oh my! You’re awake!” she greeted cheerfully, she set down a bowl of soup on the table next to the bed, before sitting down on the edge next to the traveler. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”
Lumine blinked at her. “Oh, uhm, fine. A little sore.”
Galina smiled. “Do you need anything? Would you like anything to help with the pain?”
The blonde shook her head. “How long have I been out?”
“Hmmm,” the mother put a finger on her chin, thinking. “I think around a month?”
“A month?!”
“Oh yes, it seemed like an eternity! Every single one of my children have been so worried!” she answered, her eyes twinkling. “Ajax especially.”
Lumine’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Where is he?”
“No worries, they’re all downstairs eating lunch; I can go get them whenever you’re ready.” Galina looked at Lumine’s bedridden hair. “Let me fix up your hair first, darling.”
Galina hummed to herself as she softly brushed through the Outlander’s golden locks. Lumine could’ve fallen back asleep right then and there.
“My children have told me a lot about you,” Galina said. “You sound quite incredible, Lumine.”
“Thank you.” Lumine smiled. “Your children are all quite incredible themselves.”
“Yes, they are all so sweet. Despite everything that’s happened.”
“They are all very strong in their own ways.”
“And you may be the strongest of them all, Outlander.”
Lumine’s eyes widened and she turned to protest.
Galina gently put a finger on her lips and one on her own mouth. “Shh. I haven’t said anything about what happened that night. But what I do know is that I saw you. Healing me.” She tilted her head. “That is no ordinary magic of Teyvat.”
“You’re not…You’re not suspicious of me?”
She laughed heartily. “Of course not! You saved my life. Cured me of my illness.” A soft smile. “You’ve even managed to capture the affections of Ajax, which I didn’t think was possible.” She turned Lumine back around, continuing to brush her hair. “Ever since he was young he was obsessed with fighting, and getting stronger, protecting his siblings. I was so worried he’d never find love. But I’m so glad he found someone. Especially with that someone being you. How lucky!”
Lumine’s face heated up even more. “I’m glad I found him too.”
“He seems much more peaceful than before. Full of love. So, thank you, Lumine.” Galina turned her around. “All done!” She looked over the traveler. “Wow, you truly are stunning.”
“Th-thank you. Thank you, Galina,” Lumine said, sincerely.
Galina kissed her on her forehead. “No matter what happens, you’ve got a family here, Lumine.”
Family. Lumine’s eyes watered.
Galina rubbed Lumine’s cheeks, in a tender motherly way. “I’ll go get the rest of the family so they can all see you’re awake now.”
As she left the room, Lumine let a few tears fall.
Family. Family. Family. Her heart chanted.
When she found Aether, she was going to bring him here. And here, they’d find things they’ve never had themselves: a father, a mother, little ones. It was a future Lumine absolutely looked forward to. And she knew Aether would love it too.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … …
When the family crowded into the room, Lumine was swarmed with tight hugs and cuddles from Tonia and Teucer; Anthon and Misha stood to the side of the bed, just as excited to see her awake and well. Feliks and Galina stood a little further back, and Childe stood in the doorway, all watching with a smile.
The elders had told the children that Alexei had done some bad things and needed to go away for a long time—no telling when he would be back. The children were sad, but they understood. The real, dark truth would be told when they were older. But for now, they were children, who didn’t need to know. All they knew was that their mother was no longer sick, and the family was whole again.
Feliks seemed a lot more cheerful than before, the dark circles gone from under his eyes, his posture now a lot more upright. He kept an arm around Galina constantly now, afraid to let her go.
After a while, Galina shooed everyone from the room, and the door closed, leaving Childe and Lumine alone.
Childe still stood at the door, regarding Lumine from afar. Her golden eyes waited on him.
What’s he thinking…?
Eventually, he came to her, pausing, before collapsing on top of her, arms winding tightly around her.
“I thought I had lost you,” he said quietly.
“You’re going to have to try a lot harder to get rid of me,” Lumine joked as she wrapped her arms around him, hand running through his hair.
“Never,” he breathed. He pulled himself up, his eyes seemingly looking straight into her soul. “I don’t know how to thank you.”
“Thank me? For what?”
“You know for a while I was completely dumbfounded by what happened. I had no idea how my mother was healed.” He closed his eyes. “But then I thought about it, really thought about it. It had to be you,” he said. “No one else in the world could’ve done it.” He opened his eyes again, softly looking at her.
“I…” Was she going to tell him? Who she really was? Would he trust her? Turn her into the Tsaritsa?
He has to know. her heart murmured. If you love him, he has to know.
“Yes, it was me,” she told him. “I…I’m not from here. I’m not of this world. An Outlander.” She took a deep breath. “That was…a fraction of my power. I was banished here, powerless for many years. I’ve been slowly gaining my powers back, while trying to find my brother.”
Childe’s brows furrowed slightly. “An Outlander…”
“Are you…is that…bad?”
“No, it’s just…everything makes a lot more sense now.” He laughed. “Of course I’d fall in love with an Outlander.”
Lumine rolled her eyes. “And I fell in love with a Harbinger.” She suddenly remembered something. “Is it true? You told Teucer you would quit being a Harbinger to join me on my adventures?”
Childe’s eye twitched. “Tonia and Teucer…” He let out a sigh. “If it were that easy…I would love to.”
“Oh…” Lumine found herself disappointed. What did I expect…?
Childe noticed her expression. He sat up, pulling Lumine up as well. He held her hands. “Tell you what. One day…I will absolutely join you—devote myself to you.”
Lumine’s face flushed. “You don’t have to—”
He kissed her hands tenderly, silencing her. He then proceeded to slip a ring off his pinky finger, and put it on her ring finger. “It’s a promise.”
She looked down at the ring, heart racing. But she was overjoyed. “It’s a promise,” she echoed.
Childe kissed her. “I love you, Lumine.”
“I love you, Childe.” Lumine kissed him back.
With the ring on her finger, the two had vowed their love, happiness, and family—all for the future, together, one day.
[t h e e n d]
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scene with the rings inspired by the amazing @majunju as always <3
thanks for reading everyone! <3
onto the next fic we go!