insurmountable | i'm dragging a heart that weighs a ton / holding out for not just anyone

Ah-!

[He exclaims as she blows past him now, his jaw dropping at how quickly she just bailed to go over to the two ladies who clearly look like they belong with the Knights. Sighing, he turns to Luke, stern as ever.]

Let's go.

[And they go their separate ways, with Lumine enjoying her day while Childe is dragged around Mondstadt by a smitten Luke...

Later that night, he meets up with Lumine again, standing on the second floor balcony of the Grand Goth Hotel as he waits for a certain traveler dressed in white to meet him up there secretly. He spots her, gliding down from the statue of Barbados, until she lands next to him. He takes a seat at the small table there, setting back into it while crossing his legs and folding his arms over his chest.]

You look like you had a wonderful day today.

[He, however, had less than a wonderful day.]

[ to say he's upset is, well, an understatement, and lumine tries her best not to laugh when he greets her very severely. she pretends to be busy as she folds her glider, stowing it in the same portal where she keeps her weapons. she'll let childe stew for a minute longer, if only it might keep him from strangling and tossing her over the balcony.

when she's done, lumine turns to him with a smile. ]

Very wonderful. I had a meal with Amber and Eula, and Lisa made me some tea.

[ she'd add a few more things to that, like kaeya treating her to a drink in angel's share and babysitting klee near the starfall lake, but she's pretty sure childe will explode. ]

You didn't?

Very funny, [he says, closing his eyes and trying to push thoughts of how weird Luke had been around him all day. Sighing, he gives her a look, before relaxing.]

If you'd like to hear about my day, I'll tell you it was less than exciting and more of quite possibly one of the most awkward experiences I've ever had. I don't really enjoy knowing that I'm the unrequited love of a subordinate.

[Though he may have several of those, because of how women are- they're just not stupid enough to tell him.]

[ please, she didn't mean for it to be funny. ... okay, well. maybe a little.

lumine takes a seat on a chair across him, resting her elbows on the table and cupping her chin as she listens to him whine—or the closest to a whine he could ever make. a smile plays on her lips, closing her eyes as she tries to imagine his exasperation for the entire day. ]

You have no idea how many times he's mentioned you to me. Something about seeing you in action, how it was quite a scene, how he even ...

[ she trails off like luke did during their conversation, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. although she's pretty sure the man didn't mean it that way. ]

I honestly think he's enamoured with you, Lord Tartaglia.

[Make it worse, will you Lumi?

Childe only groans, letting his head fall back a little as he brings a hand up to his forehead in exasperation. Luke even talks about him when he's not around, an unsurprising fact, but still not what he wanted to hear.]

Oh, stop calling me that. If you're not going to use my title without some kind of modicum of respect, I'd rather you not use it at all.

[Plus it's not even expected of civilians anyhow, especially not her. She only says it to get on his nerves.]

Of course he's enamoured with me. Who wouldn't be.

[Never failing to let his ego shine through, but he's still annoyed because he had to waste his whole day with Luke.]

[ cue eyeroll at that self-absorbed compliment of himself. and here she thought that little date of theirs would knock him down a peg or ten. clearly, it's not effective enough to even make a dent on his ego. she'll have to come up with another plan later on ... ]

I could think of a few names who wouldn't be too enamoured with you, Lord Tartaglia.

[ definitely saying it to get on his nerves, especially when he's still being an asshat about this entire thing. she only hopes luke survived the ordeal of dealing with him. ]

Ningguang, Zhongli, Scaramouche, Diluc, the entire city of Liyue Harbour ... [ a beat: ] The famed traveler of Teyvat, Lumine ...

[So annoying. He stands up, having heard enough of this talk for the night, and walks right up to her to grab a hold of her hand. Tugging her up out of her seat, he pulls her into him, wrapping his arm around her waist as he presses close to her. Childe's face cranes downwards, a mischievous smile on his lips.

He's still irritated, don't get him wrong.]

Oh? I think your list is wrong, comrade.

[Letting go of her hand now, he trails a finger along her jawline.]

I seem to remember the famed traveler of Teyvat in my bed not so long ago. I can remember exactly how she sighed with content beneath me...

[ lumine blinks when he suddenly pulls her out of her seat and into him, chuckling when she realises that he's doing it out of spite. he's still upset, clearly, by what's happened and what she's said, and this is his way of getting back at her.

still, her body also has a way of responding to him, her eyes closing instinctively when he traces her jawline, leans down closer to her. ]

Did she now? [ her eyes flutter open, gold meeting dark blue. ] Are you sure you're not remembering it wrong? Or maybe you're remembering another blond in your bed instead ...

[ like you know, the guy who just gave him a cecilia. ]

[Even now, still teasing him. Childe huffs in response, his eyes glittering in the moonlight with incredulity, amusement and a fire that craves conflict. It's almost as if he hasn't decided which emotion to follow through with.]

You, [he says, pausing to press a kiss to her lips,] just love to ruin the moment, don't you?

[Please spare him the thought of Luke, the Fatuus who guards the door of the Grand Goth Hotel, being in his bed. Ugh.]

[ lumine smiles against the kiss, stifling a giggle in in the aftermath of his remark. she almost feels bad teasing him up until this hour, especially after forcing him to go on a date with luke, but he's certainly making it too easy for her with his pouting. who could resist it then? ]

I don't see you trying to stop me.

[ in fact, childe's just letting her continue. see? not her fault completely. ]

Besides, it's Windblume, [ she says quietly, lifting herself a little higher to return his brief kiss. ] And you haven't really given me anything today, so think of this as payback.

Windblume is hardly far from over.

[Childe presses into her again, stepping to turn her so her back is facing outward, so all she can see is the door into the Grand Goth Hotel for the moment. He looks outward past her, catching a glimpse of something for a second. Ah. Okay.]

You don't know what I have in store for you. Maybe I was just waiting for the right moment to give it to you.

[He chuckles, tilting his head to give her a longer, slower kiss, enjoying the sweet taste of the tea she'd had earlier lingering on her tongue.]

[ what does that even mean? lumine gives him a puzzled look when he pauses, seemingly distracted for a moment, before he chuckles and kisses her again. longer, slower, almost deliberate in the way he coaxes her to open up to him. what was he even looking at?

then again, it's a little hard to linger on it and think too much. her fingers curl into his hair as her eyes close once more, tasting a hint of wine on his tongue. ]

Did you go have a drink with Luke? [ she giggles against his lips, the laughter muffled. ] Cute.

[Childe steps again, almost slowly rotating them while they indulge in each other, slipping his hand down to her lower back now while he presses his forehead against hers. He lets his lips tickle hers as he speaks, allowing himself the pleasure of getting swept by her touch, her closeness even as she still teases him.]

We may have stopped by the Cat's Tail on our rounds. I'm not a bad date, you know. I had to coax him into having a drink.

[Because Luke was still terrified, and he thought it would help to loosen the man up a little.]

[ lumine unwittingly matches his step, absently wondering if he's trying to get her to dance with him. he's not drunk, is he? then again, she doesn't think she's ever seen him drunk in all the times they've been together. had always had better alcohol tolerance than she does.

she snorts at his reply, nudging his nose with hers in a wordless protest as she presses another kiss to his mouth. ]

Were you hoping to reject him while he's inebri ...

[ her sentence trails off when she freezes, her eyes meeting a sharp, red gaze from a few feet away. for most people, it's a little hard to tell, but lumine has always had sharper senses than most. besides, there's only one person who would be out on a rooftop at this time of the night. ]

Diluc!

[ lumine pulls away from childe, looking almost panic-stricken. the wine tycoon's disapproving expression is not difficult to parse even in the darkness. ]

[Childe raises a hand in greeting to the wine mogul, all smiles even though Lumine has broken away from him.]

Did you just notice he was there?

[The Harbinger only laughs, amused by the situation. Diluc doesn't look all that entertained, and he's sure the man has several questions as to why the Honorary Knight is spending such an intimate moment with a Fatui Harbinger. He's not ashamed, or upset though. In fact, he waves Diluc over if he'd like to talk.]

Don't be a stranger. I don't mind having a little chat if you'd like.

[ omg, not the time for any chat!

lumine swats at childe's arm to get him to put it down and stop trying to piss off the former cavalry captain. but that's all in vain, diluc hopping from one roof to another until he's on the hotel's roof right above them. his gaze on her bores like a drill and if there's any time she'd like to take zhongli's wrath of the rock, this is that very time.

enjoying the festivities, traveler? ]

Ah ...

[ lumine's eyes flutter open once more as the vision fades, the morning sunlight brighter than earlier when she first roused in ajax's bed. but still, she finds herself trapped in his arms, the man unmoving even after all of that.

... honestly!

she's not going to lie, though. she does wonder if childe died that evening, given the sharp daggers the other male was sending his way. diluc, was it? and someone from mondstadt, too, a wine tycoon who's no doubt from dawn winery. ]

Ajax, vision over. Time to get off me.

[As the vision fades from his dream, the bright sunlight streaming through the window is hard to ignore, his eyes fluttering open to find her in his arms. He only sleepily smiles back, letting her go and rolling onto his back while he rubs his eyes.]

At this rate, there isn't going to be a place in Teyvat where we could go that they haven't been to together.

[He yawns, the light pounding in his head from the hangover he's experiencing making this less than ideal, but he'll make the best of it. Sitting up, he rubs his eyes one more time.]

Hey, I hope you didn't get any ideas from that vision. I'd appreciate it if you didn't hand me off to some guy...

[ that admittedly is very alarming, lumine thinks as she rolls out of bed, picking up her phone from the nightstand. does this mean she'll be forever haunted by whatever is going on between this other lumine and childe wherever she goes? does he have to ditch the continent, then? ]

Even if that guy is Aether?

[ not gonna lie, that seems like a really good plan to get him out of her hair. she wants to know if there's someone working for him that also has unrequited love towards ajax ... should she start investigating, she wonders?

speaking of her brother, though.

are you okay? is everything fine? i hear ajax is staying in the grand goth, too. make sure to let me know if anything happens. ]

... How does he even know?

[He's too tired to think much on it, swinging himself out of bed and picking his own phone up to start to check it himself. After a few moments, he's already ordered room service to bring them breakfast.]

At least Aether is my friend. I'd be more than happy to spend a day with him in the city. That Luke guy, on the other hand...

[Ajax shudders for Childe, because that was uncomfortable all around.]

The alcohol didn't help. Luke was kinda creepy towards him the whole time. [Changing the subject though.] Hey, I ordered room service so we'll have some food in about twenty minutes or so, okay? ...How does who even know what?

[She didn't specify what that meant.]

[ lumine's sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling through her messages and emails. almost as if mornings like this are normal for her, to wake up in someone else's hotel room while wearing their clothes. she tries her best not to think about it, unwilling to address anything and everything that's happened last night. ]

He didn't seem that bad ...

[ maybe a little enthusiastic and excited to spend time with a guy he likes. lumine doesn't want to judge, knowing how and what that feels lately. ]

Why, did he come onto you the entire time you were on a date?

I wouldn't put it quite like that.

[He crosses over to rummage through his suitcase for a shirt, finding on and tossing it on the bed for a moment. His imagination briefly settles on meeting a man outside that looks exactly like Luke, just to make that nightmare more of a reality. Ugh.]

I think he was bursting at the seams to confess his love or something, but was far too terrified to say it. So he just acted weird the whole time. Childe handled it pretty well, so I'll have to give that to him. I won't say he let him down gently...but he wasn't harsh either.

[Ajax grabs a few bottles of water he'd had in the mini fridge in the room, also grabbing some painkillers and popping a few in his mouth, washing them down. He comes and sits on the edge of the bed with her, offering her her own bottle and the bottle of pills.

Because there's no way she isn't hungover too after how much she had.]

[ poor guy. then again, lumine can't see childe letting it go further than an entire day, considering his relationship with her counterpart. which doesn't seem to be a very public affair either, even if he's pretty open in displaying his affection. she can still remember that diluc person's expression when he stared at her.

looks like someone disapproved the both of them going out, and he's probably not alone there from the looks of it. ]

At least now you know what to do if some guy decides to confess their feelings for you.

[ and she'd honestly pay front-row seats to watch that, unlike the other lumine who bailed out. missed opportunity to laugh at childe, that one.

in any case, lumine takes a painkiller, washing it down with water. it'll take a few more hours before she feels like herself again. ]

[Ajax only laughs a little nervously, brushing off her comment because it's not like he hasn't had to already deal with a guy hitting on him before. College was wild, okay?

There's a knock at the door, and he jumps up to go answer it. The food is already here, with plenty of different breakfast foods made for them to pick and choose from. He has room service set it all down on the coffee table, thanking them before they leave. The door closes, and Ajax returns with bloody marys for the both of them, handing one to her. The adornments on the top of them are beyond crazy.]

I'm almost afraid to drink it. I think it's better served on Instagram than in our bellies, hahaha...

[It's a few weeks later, Windblume finally coming to a close. The rest of the trip had gone without incident, and as promised, Ajax has brought Lumine to a very nondescript looking building. The paint on the walls peels off, revealing the stone beneath, a heavy iron door serving as the only entrance inside. The parking lot is cracked and filled with grass between them, and the building doesn't even look to have anyone inside.]

Here we are, [he says, sounding refreshed.] Are you excited to learn a new skill? It's quite fun, once you get used to handling one.

[ the bloody mary is questionable as it is for a cure to their hangover; the building he brings to her a few weeks later is even more.

aether had asked her a lot of questions upon her return to fontaine, somehow already knowledgeable about her meeting with ajax. perhaps the only thing he didn't ask about was her drunken incident in the city, which lumine guesses that he either knows about and doesn't want to address or he doesn't know about and so he doesn't know what to ask. either way, her brother seems to be relieved that she returned in one piece, leaving her to take care of work while he goes off to inazuma.

it's honestly a good thing that she's decided to dress up casually this time around, for once wearing ballet shoes than her usual heels. it doesn't seem like a very conducive (or comforting) place to walk on something higher than an inch-high heel. perhaps her only mistake is wearing a pale-coloured dress ... ]

You do know I have a Vision, right? I don't need to use a gun to defend myself.

[ just what would aether say if he finds out she's been learning how to use a gun and carrying one around? she's pretty sure her twin will be livid, not just towards ajax but also towards her. ]

[He finds it peculiar that that's all she says she has- does she not remember absorbing the power of anemo at the statue? Well, guess he'll have to address that if she really doesn't remember after that bump to the head. But first things first.]

Visions are incredible sources of power- but there isn't anything quite like a well placed bullet. Your enemies my try to gun you down, so there's no reason why you shouldn't be armed just as well as them.

[He shrugs, that's just how it is. Survive by all means necessary.]

Come. There's a lot to see here.

[He leads her inside, the front office of this tiny building worn down and looking very untidy. He approaches the person at the counter, exchanging some quick words before Ajax walks over to a door that opens to a long, concrete stairwell leading downwards. At the bottom lies another door, and he pushes it open into a large room with an array of different assault weapons on the wall behind a counter, with a display set inside of it with various pistols and magnums to choose from. Downrange from there has several targets set up, and on the other side of a room is another door that seems to dampen the sounds of explosions and other various noises that sounds like people using either weapons or...something else.

Ajax walks over to the counter, rummaging around until he finds a few pairs of safety glasses and noise-cancelling ear protection. He hands a pair of each over to her, before sorting through the pistols for something she can fire. He then hands her a belt, to use as a holster for the gun and ammo.]

Go ahead and put those on. Well, not the earmuffs yet, just the glasses. I'm going to show you some gun safety before we start. I figure you could use a belt for now since you've got a dress on. One like mine will just rub your arms and irritate the skin. And we don't need to be uncomfortable while we do this.

[He sets a few Glock and Ruger handguns in front of her on the counter, before he takes his jacket off to reveal that he's been loaded the entire time. His holster is under the suit jacket he is wearing as part of his business attire to reveal two pistols under each arm. His belt also reveals another pouch that he has ammo in, along with the Vision that glows brightly on his belt.]

Go ahead. Pick whichever you'd like. All of them don't have a lot of kickback, so it doesn't matter too much which you choose.

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