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

[ lumine has paused from putting away the groceries, pouring herself a cup of coffee and staring at a blank wall as she tries to compose herself. there's still a lot to be done today, and even just by checking her calendar, she has a couple of meetings late in the afternoon that can't be postponed or canceled. life goes on, even with aether disappearing.

which is honestly just heartbreaking for her. but then, when they get back aether, he needs to still come back to something.

she only snaps out of her reverie when ajax walks into the kitchen, inspecting a box of cereal. she almost asks him why he isn't entertaining his sister, taking a sip of his coffee, when he beats her to the point already. ]

Oh ... [ she looks like a mess, though, and she reaches out to pat her hair down. her housekeeper is one thing; she's seen her several times looking unkempt. but this is ajax's sister, after all. ] Sure, I'll go meet her.

[ cup set down on the counter, she gestures at ajax to lead the way. ]

[He'd seen how she stared at the blank wall, knowing that she was probably thinking of her brother. Ajax purposely doesn't call any attention to this, instead opting to simply give her a soft smile and leads Lumine out of the kitchen and into the living room where his sister waits. Tatiana looks up from her phone, her blue eyes sharp as she regards them both before standing up and offering a hand to Lumine.]

Lumine, this is my older sister, Tatiana. She and I work closely together-

[It's nice to meet you, Lumine, Tatiana says, quickly cutting Ajax off before he says too much. The older sibling fights the urge to shoot a glare at her brother, before sitting back down on the couch. Ajax joins her, a little annoyed that he'd been cut off, but she's scolded him for running his mouth before.

I'm glad to see the two of you safe and sound for the time being. I do hope Ajax hasn't been too overbearing for you. I know my little brother can be a bit of a pain to babysit.

She ruffles his hair, and he swats her hand away, even though it had already been messy and unkempt to begin with.]

Hey, quit treating me like I'm a kid.

[Tatiana only laughs, amused with Ajax's annoyance.]

[ lumine shakes the woman's hand, offering a faint smile in return. weird how she also resembles his little brother closely, just like anatoli, though she supposes that she and aether aren't really too different. then again, they are twins, so any physical similarities they have is a given. the volkov siblings, though ...

she sits down on an armchair after tatiana and ajax have settled down, folding her hands on her knees. watching them interact is a little depressing, especially with aether still not found. ]

Is it really Ajax if he's not overbearing? [ she jokes, glancing at him. ] But thank you for bringing his things over. I told him that he didn't have to stay, but he insisted.

[ for good reason, sure. but he doesn't have to pause his life for her. she'll be fine like she said. ]

Are you staying long? I'll be making something for brunch, so you're free to join us if you want.

[Tatiana too, can see the distress on Lumine's features, but she keeps a pleasant exterior for the other woman. She can understand how terribly stressed Lumine must be, not knowing where her brother had been whisked off to.

Oh, I wish I could. But we're all hard at work right now, so I really must be getting back. I appreciate the offer, though. Now, Ajax... She regards her brother now, a stern look shot his way. Don't slack off while you're here, not while the rest of us and father are out looking for leads.]

I will...wait, father is personally involving himself in this too?

[Of course he is. After that little incident you had in Inazuma, and now this? Let's just say he's not happy. And when father gets involved, mountains can move. She looks over to Lumine, offering a reassuring smile. Father treats all those who help us as if they were family, even if they are...undisclosed associates of us. In time, he'd like to meet you and your brother, once we return him to you.

Tatiana takes a hand and flips her hair with it, before standing up.

Anyway, I'm your point of contact for the remainder of this search. Lumine, when this is all said and done, let's have lunch sometime, alright? I'll be seeing you two later. It was a pleasure.]

Bye, Tatiana. Thanks again.

[The older sibling walks to the door, and Ajax sits on the couch, seemingly deep in thought about something. His dad now too...]

[ lumine inwardly winces when they're both reminded of the incident in inazuma. a part of that is her fault, after all, and people have gotten hurt and even died because of her. and now, even his father is involved. what a pain this has all become.

it doesn't help as well that their father wants to meet her and aether, most likely to ask questions and see what the fuss is all about. ]

Yes, of course. Feel free to invite me whenever. It's nice to meet you again.

[ even if it's probably going to be awkward, because what are they supposed to talk about.

she too gets up from her seat, walking the other woman to the door. tatiana gives her a nod, before lumine closes the door behind her, a thoughtful look crossing her features. a moment later, she's walking back into the kitchen to hopefully finish her coffee. ]

[With a sigh, Ajax is pulling his laptop out and setting it on the coffee table in front of him, powering it on. It was going to be a long day, he can tell, and he rubs his face once before he sets himself to begin work. But as Lumine passes by him and back into the kitchen, he frowns, standing up and following her in.

He catches her drinking her coffee, placing a hand on her back as he regards her with concern.]

Hey. Are you going to be okay?

[Knowing full well she isn't okay. She has to wake up to a world of uncertainty, where her only family is missing, or even dead- a reality that he doesn't want to imagine either.]

[ what a question to ask her. then again, she can't blame him for asking after hearing what his sister had just said. it can't be helped, especially when his father is involving himself in the mess they're currently in.

lumine looks up at ajax, before she sighs, briefly leaning her head against his shoulder. ]

Yes, I'm just tired, I think.

[ there's so much going on. and despite waking up late in the day already, a part of her just wants to crawl back to bed and sleep this all away. if only that's possible. ]

But I have to leave soon. I still have pending things to do at work.

[Ajax lets his hand fall from her back to her waist, pulling her into him as her head rests against him, before letting go so she can finish her coffee and eat a little before she heads off to work. A momentary kiss is pressed to the top of her head, and he tries to give her an encouraging smile.]

Alright. I'll leave you to get ready, I wouldn't want you going to work with your hair sticking out like that, haha.

[He reaches out to play with some of the strands that have decided to stick out.]

Hopefully something will turn up before you come back home. Try to not work too hard. Or, work exceptionally hard, if that helps to keep your mind off things. We'll take care of everything on our end. They might of improved their plan to capture us this time, but it still won't be enough.

[It's a cocky smile, that cocky attitude of his that shines through, not showing a hint of discouragement in his demeanor. Like everything really will be okay, at least that's what he's trying to show, because he really believes it.]

[ hopefully. something that she's been telling herself since yesterday.

but lumine doesn't say anything else, just giving ajax a slight nod before finishing her coffee and leaving the cup in the sink. she can take care of that later. but even before she walk out of the kitchen, her phone starts ringing, an unknown number flashing on the screen. lumine, glancing briefly at ajax, answers it after a moment. ]

Hello?

[ it's not a very long conversation and soon enough, she's saying her goodbyes and hanging up the line, looking even more exhausted than ever. she wonders now if she shouldn't have contacted the police after finding their apartment a complete mess. ]

... I need to go down to the station. Looks like they have a few questions for me.

Heh.

[Not one to hide his disdain for the police, as they frequently make headaches for him and their family's black market dealings, Ajax only sighs. She did do the right thing by calling them, but that doesn't mean their on her side.]

I bet you're number one on their suspects list. Be careful what you say, I'm sure they'll try to get a confession out of you before the end of the day. Got a lawyer? If not, I'm sure I can find one for you in fifteen minutes.

[It's only partially a joke- he's sure that she probably does have a lawyer, but he'd still find her one if need be. The mafia lord seems less than excited that she has to go down and talk to them.]

[ lumine's not surprised that she's not happy with them, considering his, well, job and his family's business. she rubs the bridge of her nose tiredly as she starts going through her contacts for her and aether's lawyer. ]

I do have one. I just have to call them.

[ she did let them know yesterday about the incident and the possibility that the police might call her in for questioning. and as much as she wants to get this done by herself, there's no way that she's showing up to a police interrogation alone. that's too dangerous. ]

I wouldn't be surprised if I'm a person of interest to them. The questions they asked yesterday ... [ lumine shakes her head in disbelief. ] Though I suppose I'm the one person who has much to benefit from Aether's disappearance.

[His thumb comes up to his chin, to consider it. She's right, she probably would be the one to benefit the most from Aether's disappearance. Even though they both know that's far from the reality there, but the police are always quick to find a suspect and get a warrant for their arrest, whether or not if they have the right person.]

I genuinely hope you're able to clear yourself of any suspicion. If they could have it their way, you wouldn't walk out of that station today.

[He hopes their lawyer is intelligent enough to do that.]

Either way, good luck down there. Call me if anything comes up. I know you don't prefer to use the connections you've gained through our strange circumstances, but don't be afraid to use them if you get into a pickle. The last thing we need is you getting thrown in a cell for something you didn't do.

[Ajax brushes her hair to the side with the back of his hand, giving her a confident smile that reflects all the way into the depths of his eyes. The police will have a hell of a time getting Lumine to admit to anything or incriminate herself, even if she didn't have a lawyer.]

But, you're a lot smarter than them- I'm sure you'll be fine.

[ it's a chilling reality, truth be told, to be accused falsely of her brother's disappearance. everyone who knows her knows how important aether is to her, how close they are with each other. but this is the police, and they don't know her at all. all they know is that she's his twin sister, the one person who stands to gain everything without her brother. ajax is right that she had to prove them wrong. ]

Mm, thanks, [ she says with a slight nod, closing her eyes when she feels the brush of his hand. ] I'll try my best not to get arrested.

[ lumine sighs yet again1 before she pads out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom for a quick shower. she gets dressed in no time too, grabbing her purse and phone and texting her assistant to reschedule the meetings just in case she takes a while at the station. who knows how long that interrogation will last, anyway.

on her way out, adjusting her watch on her wrist, she gives ajax a quick kiss on the cheek before walking out the door. ]

Let's have dinner when I get back.

[Watching her go, he finds his spot back on the couch and flips his computer open to begin work. Police records, news reports, messages back and forth between some of the guys that were watching known places of operation for their enemies. Nothing has come back yet, but it's still early enough in the day. He pings a few people who work in the hacking business, to get them working on rifling through Dufont records. Now, only time will tell.

He glances up as she comes out to get her purse and phone, sitting up when she comes over and gives him a kiss, surprised at the gesture but appreciative nonetheless.]

Sounds great. It's a date then, [he replies, watching her go out the door. As it closes behind her, he sits there, staring at the door. Ajax can still feel the tingle of her lips where she'd kissed him, wishing she'd walk back in and stay with him instead of having to leave. It's a selfish wish, he knows, but he wants it all the same.

When he became so smitten with her, he's not sure. Continuing work presents itself as a difficult task, when his mind wanders back to her every few minutes or so. The work is fruitless anyway- nothing comes up, and all Ajax can do is wait for Lumine to return home.]

[ if he asks her about it, lumine will just say it's instinctive and she's done the same to aether so many times. though she does feel a faint warmth on her cheeks when she's finally settled in her car. still, she pushes it all away, deciding to focus on the day ahead.

not that it goes well for her, much of it spent in the precinct answering questions. lumine even had to cancel her meetings, rescheduling them on a different day. at the end of it all, however, they found her alibi strong and sent her back home, much to her relief.

it's already past nine when she finally unlocks the door to her apartment, toeing off her shoes at the entranceway. peering down the dimly lit hallway, she wonders if ajax has already had dinner and gone to bed. she would've preferred that, really. he didn't have to wait for her to come back, even if she did say that they'll have dinner together. ]

I'm back, [ she quietly calls out, padding towards the kitchen. she's starving, and she'll eat anything, even cereal. ]

[Ajax had figured when she didn't show up around dinner time that they'd kept her late. That's how it goes, they'll keep you there for hours on end until they finally get what they want or realize they aren't getting what they need. At some point in the day, he'd finally taken a shower and changed into some proper pajamas, and had cooked dinner for himself in her kitchen. There's no sign of his cooking, having already cleaned the kitchen up long before she arrived home, save for the plate of food inside of the fridge he'd made for her when she got back to reheat for dinner. A note sits on the kitchen counter:

Lumine-

I hope you don't mind that I made dinner without you. I've left a plate of it for you when you return home. I figured you'd be hungry after what they put you through down at the station. There's some dill sauce in a bowl if you want to put it on your chicken next to the food.

-Ajax

In the fridge, a plate with chicken, potatoes, and steamed carrots along with the aforementioned bowl sit inside. Ajax is passed out on the couch, having worked all day, hair still looking like the normal mess it is when he doesn't style it. The laptop is in his lap, still on, as if he'd fallen asleep in the middle of working while laying down. He snores softly, head on the arm of the couch, mouth open ever so slightly.]

[ ah, of course he's already asleep. not surprising, since he's also working hard.

with a snort and a roll of her eyes, lumine reaches over to take his laptop and close its lid, carefully setting it down on the table. idiot, falling asleep with that still on his lap. if it breaks, it'll hold him back longer on his investigation. she then grabs a blanket from the closet, tucking it around him. see? she's totally right about the sofa being super comfy.

only when she's sure that everything's all good on that end that lumine finally pads into the kitchen, reheats and carries her dinner into her bedroom to pick on while she works on her laptop. it's rather late, but she's set aside pretty much all her tasks for today, so she needs to get those started.

looks like she'll just have to skip work tomorrow if she wants to finish all of this. ]

[Sunlight breaks through the windows, and Ajax's eyes slowly open from the light the floods into the living room. He doesn't remember when he fell asleep, only that he felt really tired after eating. He groggily wipes the sleep from his eyes, vision blurry but slowly focusing as he wakes up. A blanket had been tucked around him, and he wonders where that came from until his logic catches back up with him and he realizes that Lumine had tucked him in when she'd gotten home.

Grabbing his phone, he checks it immediately before he does anything else, with no messages or updates that are worth getting excited about. What a failure, he thinks, getting up to stumble into the bathroom. Ajax debates on seeing if Lumine is awake, before he realizes it's way too early for her to be up yet if she'd come home late, so he decides to park himself back on the couch. Maybe he'd make breakfast in a few hours or so for the both of them, when it's more of a decent hour to get her up.

He's sure that she's got work today, so she'll have to be up sometime soon. When she does finally get up, he's in the kitchen again, making breakfast, the smell of bacon and eggs wafting through and permeating all rooms in the apartment.]

[ lumine wakes up a little earlier this time, having slept just past midnight. she didn't even realise she's fallen asleep, her laptop sitting next to her on the bed, paperwork scattered over the sheets. she simply assumes that she was that exhausted, and why wouldn't she be? she was placed on a hot seat, pressured to confess something she didn't do.

in any case, she pads out of the bedroom, wanting a cup of coffee to wake her up, yawning and shuffling past ajax as he busies himself in front of the stove. lumine adjusts the collar of her nightshirt, the article of clothing falling off of her shoulder. another casualty of her past trysts, clearly. ]

Morning ...

[ the cool surface of the fridge feels nice against her skin, especially when she leans her head against it for a minute, opening the fridge door after and taking out the milk. ]

What are you cooking?

[He glances over as she passes by, eyes lighting up with amusement as she presses her head to the fridge. Someone hasn't had enough time to wake up yet it seems, but thankfully he'd prepared for that.]

Haha, morning. You look bright eyed and bushy tailed.

[His attention turns back to the food in front of him, flipping an egg over quickly before it burns.]

I'm not making anything special, just some bacon and eggs. I was planning on putting it all together as a sandwich, if you'd like that. Oh, and I brewed some coffee already, it just finished a few minutes before you came in.

[ oh, there's coffee already.

lumine wanders over towards the coffee pot, pouring herself a mug full and inhaling its scent. she needs a few more minutes to completely wake up, taking a sip of the dark liquid before wrinkling her nose, realising that she's left the milk on the other end of the kitchen counter. ]

Sure, that's fine.

[ she supposes that she can always pick at her food until she wakes up, give or take in an hour or so. a moment later, she's moving towards the dining table, settling on a chair, pulling her feet up and tucking her legs and knees under her shirt. ]

I'm skipping work today, anyway.

Oh?

[He turns to look at her as she sits, laughing inwardly at the upright fetal position she's put herself into. He quickly pops some toast in the toaster for the both of them, before returning to watching over the bacon. Everything is almost done, finally adding some cheese to the tops of the eggs.]

That's not like you. The image I had is that your hobby was burying yourself in your work.

[His tone changes from teasing to soft, knowing that she probably had a bad day yesterday.]

They really put your through the wringer, didn't they. I trust that everything went well regardless?

[ lumine just mumbles quietly, half of her face buried against her knee. her hand cradles the cup of coffee, cold fingertips soothed by the warmth of the china.

she supposes things went well. she's not in jail, after all. no warrant of arrest for her, nothing. she had a solid alibi, and everyone can test her closeness with her twin brother. but it still stings that she's treated like a suspect, as if hurting her brother is something that would cross her mind. ]

I just haven't finished my work from yesterday.

[ so she's taking the time off today to do that. her assistant should be able to shuffle her schedule around for the rest of the week. ]

What about you? Anything from your end about Aether?

[The toast pops, and Ajax quickly plates all their food before carrying it over to the table. He sets his plate down, and then comes over to place hers in front of her, planting a small kiss to the top of her head.]

No. Not a word. They've scoured every place we know about and even managed to find new strongholds of theirs in our search, but nothing's led us to Aether yet.

[It wasn't the news he wanted to give her, his voice reflecting how he feels. This wasn't what he was expecting, given how informed the Volkov network is. Ajax sits heavily down next to her, idly taking a piece of bacon and taking a bite. Thinking about it almost makes him lose his appetite.]

To think that they could disappear without a trace, it's unheard of. Everyone leaves tracks. [He sighs. Thinking out loud like that surely isn't helping.] Sorry. We're still looking, and we'll find him.

[ it's only been a day. that's what lumine tells herself as she picks up her fork, pushing the bacon around on her plate. it's possible that ajax and his men are still looking for information, still gathering more clues. perhaps she's being impatient.

but then again, she's read somewhere that the longer a person remains missing, the lower the chance that they're alive. would celestia keep her brother alive indefinitely, if they're truly out for vengeance? ]

Mm, [ she replies with a slight nod. ] I suppose it's not that easy to find him, given who might have taken him ...

[ lumine leans over to pick up her sandwich, taking a small bite from its corner and chewing thoughtfully. it's the most she could have at the moment, finding her appetite slowly dissipating. ]

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