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

[It tugs at his heart to hear her like this. Ajax's voice is calm and soft, to reassure her, to try to give some comfort. It won't be long before he's there, but right now, he'll do his best to be there for her.]

No it's not. It's not your fault at all. We're going to find your brother, okay? Don't blame yourself for this, Lumine.

[She doesn't deserve to go through this. None of them do. He can feel his temper rise at the thought of those goons grabbing Aether, not knowing what they did to him. He'd kill them, he swears it.]

It's them. They're the ones who did this.

[ his words bring her little comfort, knowing what they're up against and what the predecessors' fates were.

aether's especially, since she's kept him in the dark for the most part and it's only recently that he found out what's going. and even then, what he knows is limited. he doesn't even have the original powers he had, relying solely on his vision and nothing else. if anything were to happen to him ... if he was, in any way, in trouble ...

whenever ajax shows up, he'll find her on her knees on the floor, shaking and crying, aether's phone cradled in her hands. she's been calling several people, asking them if they've seen her brother or if he's with them. but no dice, they all tell her no. ]

Mm, okay ... [ she says to the other person on the line, clearing her throat to sound calm. ] I'll let you know soon if I find him ...

[He steps into the apartment through the already open door, and the sight of it is distressing. Broken glass, signs of a struggle, a patch of blood on the floor. Plants tossed about. There's no doubt that this is the work of the Dufonts, because who else would break into some tech dude's apartment and kidnap him. It makes him sick on the inside to see it, and his heart drops like a rock when he sees her on the floor.

Ajax crosses the room quickly to her, dropping down on his knees and pulling her into his arms for a tight hug the moment she's off the phone.]

Lumine.

[His voice is worried, and yet relieved to see her safe. He squeezes his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. It was the longest week of his life, and now to see her like this- it was enough to tear him apart. But he can't let that ruin him, Aether is gone, and he has to work quickly to find him before they get too far.]

[ she barely hears him arrive, only looking up when he pulls her to hug. and it's only then that all of her emotions in the past week rush out of her like water through a broken dam, her arms coming around to wrap around him.

lumine buries her face into his chest, holding onto him tightly. the past week had been hard and terrible, like a part of her had been gouged and tossed out. but that's also a choice she's made and a choice she's decided to go through with. and now this had to happen, as if the remaining gods of this world still continue to toy with her and her family. ]

Ajax, [ she cries, her voice muffled against him. her throat burns from all the yelling, talking that she's done. ] We have to find Aether! He might be in trouble.

[ or worse. they're unspoken words but it's obvious enough that that's what's going through her head that very moment. ]

You promised you'd protect him!

[As he holds her, his head falls over the top of hers, tucking her head under his chin. His breathing is steady, but his emotions are not- it's like a whirlwind of chaos that he can't control, seeing the apartment tossed about like this. He's scared that the blood is Aether's, because he's not sure if the man carried any kind of knife on him. Sure he had his vision, but searing flames wouldn't cause that spill.]

I know, and I'm sorry.

[There's not much consolation to give here, knowing that he'd failed again to protect the twins.]

I should have been here and I wasn't. I'm sorry. That's on me.

[No more being able to rely on his guys- not that they aren't capable, but they're just not up to snuff against people with the gods backing them.]

I talked to him a few hours ago, so they couldn't of gotten far. Do you want me to take you anywhere while I figure this out? Somewhere safe, somewhere where they'd have quite the time trying to find you.

[ despite her words, lumine doesn't fully blame him. after all, she was at fault too. they had agreed to this arrangement, and she had said that she'd take care of aether in the process. did she put her twin brother in danger out of her own selfishness? she can't imagine doing that deliberately, but who's to say she didn't do it right now?

her fingers curl tightly around his shirt, closing her eyes. her mind quickly goes on overdrive, imagining what sorts of trouble aether's currently in. ]

I can't leave. I called the police ... [ because this doesn't look like someone had just upped and left, and aether will never leave her without telling her anything. ] They'll have questions.

[ and she'll be called in as a suspect if she suddenly disappears. ]

[He can feel how her hands curl into his shirt, knowing that she is probably worrying herself about Aether's condition and whereabouts. Ajax would gladly sit with her for a while, to let her cry and get it all out, but time is against them. He needs to think and formulate a plan, and figure out how they got in and out. Where they got in and out.]

Okay, [he says, pulling away and putting his hands on her shoulders,] then stay here and answer any questions they have. When they're gone, call me, because I'm going to come and pick you up. If the police find me here, they're going to put me on their watch list, as we can't have that. It's good I haven't touched anything but you since I got here.

[He pulls his phone out of his pocket, sending a few quick texts. His guys have to maneuver to make sure the police don't find them. He stands, looking around the room, but especially taking note of how they got in and out- the window. He takes a pair of black gloves out of his pocket, slipping them on, before walking over to the bloodstain first. Not good. They probably knocked Aether out to get him to stop struggling.]

I need to take a look around. Especially up on the roof. Hopefully I'll find something that'll tell me a little more about where they took Aether.

[ right. of course, he's right. since she called the police, they'll have to start an investigation, and seeing that it's only she and aether who have been living in this house, there shouldn't be other prints or signs that another person is around. still, she knows ajax will want to try and figure out what happened too.

lumine gives him a slight nod, pulling her hands away and letting him get back up on his feet. she too staggers back up, sighing under her breath. somehow, her mind is a complete mess, a jumble of thoughts that she's unable to rein in and compose. this would've been easier if it was her instead of aether. ]

Okay ... [ she says quietly, nodding again. she walks over to the sofa, glancing around if her brother has left anything else. ] Okay ...

[ it's not long before she hears a ring on their landline, and lumine gives a quiet response to the reception downstairs. the police have arrived, it seems. ]

You have to go, Ajax.

Alright.

[He's got to get out of there fast, since it seems they have company. He strides out to the balcony, looking up. Blood up on the side of the building too. The police are going to have fun with this. He looks back to her, concern in his eyes- but confidence too. He'll make them pay for this.]

Lumine. Just hang in there for now, okay? We'll get him back. I'm going to go for now, so I'll see you soon.

[Water swirls around him, forming an orb of water that lifts off of the ground in a spiral motion, heading upwards towards the roof to follow the path of the kidnappers who'd taken Aether. Once he lands, Ajax moves quickly to search for anything he can- including finding the dead body of one of his men who'd been watching this side of the building. No wonder he never heard any bad reports from his guys.

Ajax manages to expertly dodge the police, heading back to his car and taking off for the time being. They won't try to get her while she's with the cops, at least he hopes so. Ajax waits patiently for Lumine to call, making sure he's nearby so it won't take long. He doesn't want there to be any downtime for them to come back and scoop her up too.]

[ a handful of officers and forensics arrive just after he leaves, narrowly missing ajax by a few seconds. lumine's quickly ushered out of their apartment with nothing but her purse and aether's phone. another police officer quickly approaches her with a few questions, mostly to ask where she was, what she's been doing, had she seen anything out of the ordinary, did her brother contact her prior—and all she can do is answer them to the best of her abilities despite the circumstances.

the questions take a while before she's advised to get some rest and that they'll be in touch. a calling card is given to her, one she tucks inside her purse, and a request is asked for her to stay in the city because they'll be in touch again.

a part of her wonders if she's a possible suspect in all of this. after all, she's in a good position to take over aether if something were to happen to him. and the police would no doubt see that as an angle. if only she could tell them what's really going on ...

she sits in her car in the basement parking for several minutes after declining the offer of a police car driving her to her apartment, staring at aether's phone. surprisingly, they didn't take or ask for it—or did they think that she didn't have it? hm. in any case, it works to her advantage, ringing ajax again. ]

I ... [ what does she say to him, anyway? ] The police are still in the apartment, so don't go there. They told me they'll be in touch again soon.

[Picking up when his phone rings, he looks around to make sure there wasn't anyone keeping an eye on him too. Police will be crawling around everywhere here for a few days, and that's not a situation he wants to be caught in.]

Okay, that's fine. Just cooperate with them to the best of your ability. The least amount of suspicion you can cast on yourself, the better. For now, you need to stay somewhere safe, somewhere that's hard to break into. Do you have a place like that?

[Because if she doesn't, he certainly does. And he's more than willing to take her there just in case.]

[ somewhere that's hard to break into? she supposes that that's important, given the circumstances they're currently in. but then, lumine's never exactly put high-tech security systems in her own apartment, knowing that she's not as high profile as her twin brother; there was no use for it before. ]

My apartment, I suppose?

[ at the very least, no one can get to her apartment unless she's okayed it with the front desk. because truth be told, there's nowhere else she can go to unless camping at the office becomes a thing.

with a tired sigh: ] I'll let you know if there are any developments ...

Hey...

[If her apartment is going to be safe, then that's fine. But he's still concerned. Aether got snapped up while he was home alone. He doesn't want that to happen to her too.]

Those goons came in from the roof, knowing he was probably home alone. I really don't want that to happen to you too.

[He knows he's suggesting something that she probably isn't going to like, given their prior agreement. But Aether's words still ring in his head a little bit. It's not working.]

Let me stay with you until we get him home. I don't want you to be alone right now.

[Picking them off one by one. This is exactly what he was afraid of, and he hates that he's right. He should of known better, he shouldn't of agreed to separate from her. Now Aether's been captured, and this might of been avoided.]

[ there's a long moment of silence after that suggestion, lumine simply sitting there without a single word leaving her lips. she can feel tears prickle at the corner of her eyes again, a sob threatening to bubble up her throat, as her mind wavers. something that she's pushed back, kept at the very back of her mind, is starting to creep in, slowly but surely, tendrils of it wrapping around her heart. ]

Ajax, [ she sighs, forcing out the words before something—anything can hold her tongue. ] You know that that's a bad idea, right?

[ even now, she's been fighting the temptation to give in, to go over wherever he is and accept this. and he's making it difficult for her that very moment. lumine leans back in her seat, squeezing her eyes shut. ]

I'll be fine ...

But what if you won't be?

[It's a simple question, loaded with a lot of consequences. He knows what might be the end result, but is it really worth it right now? With their enemies hot on their trail, and already having captured one of them, is this really the time to worry about that?]

I don't care about that right now. If they get to you while you're alone, and you die, then what was it all for anyway?

[His tone of voice is stressed, hard to keep it measured now when he thinks on it too hard. It's as if his whole body tensed up, eyes darting back and forth as he says it, not ready to take no for an answer. He can't let it happen to her too. He can't.]

[ her hand hurts. with her nails digging into her palm, any harder, and she'll break skin and have injuries that the police will no doubt question her about. but it's the only way she can keep herself composed, keep her sanity from fraying and reined in. and yet, ajax continues to try and knock down whatever defences she's made, forcefully, deliberately.

another heavy sigh leaves her lips as she holds back a dry sob, keeping her eyes closed. she can feel the other lumine pleading, asking her to do this for everyone's sake. not just hers, but aether's too. ]

Why do you always make things difficult for me?

[ complicated, stressful, unpleasant. the experience with ajax is consistent all through out, her heart seemingly on the verge of exploding every time. ]

Hahaha...

[It's the first time he's laughed in a week, a quiet chuckle that comes up from his core. She certainly isn't wrong, things have been very hard for her since the moment he walked into her life, but whether that was entirely his fault or not is a different matter entirely.]

I couldn't say. Maybe that's how it was always meant to be.

[The line goes quiet for a moment, while he settles himself, pushes his anxiety down, and tries to focus.]

So I'll follow you there? We can discuss details later once we get inside. It's been a rough day.

[ her heart skips a beat at that laughter and lumine finds herself helplessly longing for that sound. she almost hates herself now for being so easily swayed to this, just from hearing his voice, listening to his laugh. it convinces her even more that this is not her, that this is the other lumine pining for childe and it's influencing her own feelings.

in any case, she tosses the phone in the passenger seat and puts the car on drive, pulling out of the parking lot. ]

Will you ever stop? [ she says with a quiet sigh. ] It's really not helping me in any way. It's not helping us ...

[ has he already accepted his fate? the possibility of childe taking over him? she still hasn't, still clings to the idea of staying herself as herself. there's nothing else she wants more. ]

Even right now, hearing your voice ...

Lumine...

[He pulls his car forward to where he can see her pull out, falling in line behind her as he follows her to her apartment. He's silent for a moment, understanding how this is affecting her, even scaring her- but at the same time, he can't shake how futile this effort is if the gods chasing them get their wish and eliminate them. Ajax has managed to set his own fear of losing himself to the side, and he too feels Childe's pull. But he still doesn't know if that's him or the Harbinger.

When you become one, what really happens? He wishes he knew. Ajax finds himself agreeing with Childe; maybe they should of told them.]

If living on and fighting against these so-called gods versus the alternative means having to become one with Childe, then I'd do it a thousand times over if it kept you safe.

[The sigh is heavy and stressed from the other side of the line. He can feel his thoughts swirl, that tightness in his chest coming back as he listens to her speak. He's not sure if it matters anymore if it's him or Childe who longs so badly for her presence in his life. It doesn't feel as if it's going to go away anytime soon.]

I don't feel like I can stop, because if anything happened to you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. You mean far too much to me, no matter if it's me or him or the both of us that feel that way.

[Plus there's Aether to think about too, but he doesn't say that. She knows. It's not another burden he has to put on her right now, especially in the aftermath of finding him gone. He's got to find him.]

[ what is she supposed to say to that, really? what does he want her to say?

lumine stops at a red light, letting her emotions even out so she can focus on driving. a part of her applauds his confidence and courage in facing such an unknown, in admitting that perhaps he doesn't mind if childe were to eventually take over him. he had his reasons, after all, people to protect which includes her. ]

What you're willing to lose for my sake is too much, [ she says quietly after a long while, letting out a sigh once more.

she's tired. everything about this is exhausting her on top of aether and the state of their apartment. would it have been better if she had not called ajax? would she have saved him the trouble? ]

I don't want that.

[A sad smile crosses his features. He knew she'd never want him to do such a thing, given her reaction to how he'd let himself get possessed to save her and her brother. Though he can't deny to himself that he'd do it anyway, even if it is selfish.

But Ajax is a selfish man, even when he's being selfless. It's a talent all unto himself.]

I know you don't approve, but that's who I've always been. The people close to me matter far more than my own safety, they always have been and they always will be. It might be easier on you if you let me do as I please, haha.

[Since that's how it's always been, too. When has Ajax not been able to do what he wants? Very rarely, as no one truly reigns him in. Perhaps his father, on occasion, when things need to get done when dealing with their opposition. But past that he lives a free life.]

[ is it easier, she wonders? a part of her thinks—no, knows that it isn't and it won't be. she'll never stop thinking about it even if she lets him, never stop disapproving and feeling dismayed over it. like now, when he's laughing at it, making it seem like it's no big deal when it is. taking things in stride without a care—yes, that's always been him.

her fingers momentarily tighten around the steering wheel, nails leaving indents into the leather, before she relaxes her hands again and turns around an intersection. ]

If you really cared, if I really mattered to you, then you wouldn't let me worry about this, idiot.

[ worry about him, is what she wants to say. but who knows how much his ego would inflate from those words alone. she'd rather not throw more fuel into that already raging inferno. ]

Hahahaha, as if our lives could ever be so easy. We were burdened with this before we even started.

[Worrying about each other, worrying about Aether, worrying about how to get through this ordeal- is there really anything they don't have to worry about? To him, his choice is the lesser of all those evils, and it's the only one he's willing to concede on.]

I know I'm asking a lot, but just let yourself have a little more faith in my abilities. And perhaps we should have a little more faith in Lumine and Childe, too. They did say that they would be there to parry any danger, and to help us when we need them. I've no reason to doubt them.

[ lumine says nothing more, pulling into the basement parking of her apartment and finding an empty spot somewhere close.

honestly, though, she doesn't know if she can or she wants to trust her counterpart. like sure, lumine's quite capable and so is childe, having had so much more experience over them, but the past few weeks haven't been too kind on her. the way lumine's trying to coax her into assimilating, taking over when she sees fit, has been uncomfortable, unsettling. the way she seems to twist her feelings so it reflects her own, blurring the lines between ajax and childe—it feels invasive, terrifying.

in any case, she picks up aether's phone and her purse from the car seat, walking towards the elevator and waiting for ajax right outside. maybe if they had explained it to them, maybe if they had said something, she would've considered it. but as it stands ... it's too risky for the both of them. and losing one for the other's sake just doesn't sit with her well. ]

[Ajax joins her shortly, hanging the phone up when they drive down into the underground parking and climbing out of his car. The silence had been deafening, feeling as if he'd said something wrong. He probably had, it was more than likely something she didn't want to hear or accept. He was confident that even with their circumstances, they'd pull out ahead at the end anyway- they always have to this point, and he knew the journey ahead was only going to get harder.

It's hard, to try to trust an entity that lives inside of him, coming forth to the surface every once in a while. But Ajax has always been someone who's very self aware, and there's something about this that puts him at ease with Childe- that they really aren't that different from each other. Maybe he can ask him himself, since he's inside...or maybe he'll sound like he's losing his mind. As if the Harbinger could speak when he's in control.

He sighs to himself at his own thoughts, before joining her at her side.]

Hey, if I upset you, I really didn't mean to. I was just speaking my mind, and I may not of been careful with my words.

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