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

Hahahaha...

[Her irritation with him doesn't seem to bother him, letting his arm drape over the back of his chair as he leans into it. Ajax turns his eyes to Aether nodding to confirm at least the first half of what she's saying.]

It's true. I insisted because I was concerned they would follow her to her apartment and snatch her up too. I was partially right about that one. They didn't come for her, but rather chose to send a package instead that was clearly designed for reasons twofold; a threat and a trap. And, well, it worked.

[Because Lumine took the bait, but he doesn't say that out loud. Aether is well aware. But Ajax doesn't address the sex part, he'll let him wonder about that to himself. He finds it...more fun that way.]

Anyhow, as much as she's protested to me being around, I think it best that wherever your next place of residence is, we should be there together. Being separated has only caused us nothing but problems, all within the span of a week. So even if it's temporary, I'll have something set up for tomorrow to move into immediately. Your names will be scrubbed from the record, so it should be much harder to find you both unless you're physically stalked back to the apartment. I'll be staying there too.

[The edges of Ajax's mouth turn down, looking horribly serious now. The pain he feels in his body will remind him for months and months to come how dangerous this situation has become for them all.]

From now on, we do things together, okay? There was a point where I didn't know if I was going to lose both of you.

[ i don't know if i'd be able to stay in the same apartment as you two.

lumine turns to her brother, an upset look crossing her face. aether glances at her, his mouth pursed for a moment before quickly folding to her expression. anyway, it isn't as if he could ever leave her, especially in these circumstances; the last thing aether wants is for them to be separated.

... i was kidding, lu. as if i could leave you with ajax. ]

You better be, [ she grumbles as she takes another bite of her rice bun, her expression and voice sullen. ] Those guys won't have another braid to send my way if they get ahold of you ...

[ so who knows what morbid thing they'd decide next. and besides, a part of her feels bad that her twin brother has lost his plait. without it, his hair is even more of a bird's nest than usual.

are you sure it won't work if we just leave fontaine and change our names, ajax? ]

[It's a little hard to hear Lumine speaking like there might even be a chance that Aether might be taken again. Silently, Ajax resolves himself to keep this from happening once more, for all their sakes- though he's used to losing people, he knows that if they lost anyone, for the ones left over...will their hearts even be able to take it?

Listening to Aether however, he considers it for a moment. Yeah, that would work, but...]

As powerful as I may be, that kind of thing is easy to trace by experienced hackers and not something easily hid even by our own sources. If you want to do something like that, you'll be looking at the witness protection program...and I don't think you want to involve yourselves with the government on this one. Quite frankly, they'd either think you'd lost your minds or arrest you. Plus that would involve getting some high ranking underground kingpin involved in a court case, and you know how Fontaine has always enjoyed the spectacle of a courtroom.

And no, I will not be that underground kingpin for you, so don't try to suggest it.

[He says, glancing between the two, though it's more aimed at Lumine than Aether. That's something he'd rather stay far, far away from anyhow, because he really needs to be with them and not anywhere near a jail cell, even if that would only last a few hours for him.]

I'm actually banking that they'll assume you'll try to get out of Fontaine anyway. I'm sure they're checking to see if any flights are booked, or if your residences are cleared out. Hiding in almost plain sight sounds better, staying right underneath their noses without them ever knowing. But let's worry about that later, shall we? If we need to move, we can.

[He looks over to Lumine, inspecting her from the chair to see if she feels well enough to continue breaking the crystals to return her power to her.]

Do you think you're ready?

[He says with a little bit of anxiousness. Ajax hates the idea of carrying her life inside of his jacket, and he'd rather return it to her as soon as possible. His focus is only on that, and if he's being honest with himself, he won't be able to think of or do much of anything else until that process is finished.]

[ lumine pauses, slowly lowering her remaining bun to her lap, her gaze flickering at aether. her brother leans over to take her hand and let her press against his side, rubbing her back as soothingly as he can. if only they could skip that entire process and simply regain what she has to, but no, they have to go through this.

it'll be okay, don't worry. just a bit more.

those words send a shudder through her, dread ice cold as its tendrils wrap around her heart. she almost, almost, almost tells ajax to just throw it away.

aether glances up to ajax, but not without letting lumine settle under his chin. anything to get her better, anything to return her to normal—and then, maybe one day, he'll be able to get it out of her system.

we should start, ajax, he nods at him before he glances down at lumine again. don't worry, i'll hold you until it's over. ]

[Nodding, he struggles to his feet once more from the chair, using his stick to reach the side of the bed and then to hold onto the rail to steady himself once more. But before he takes the pouch out, Ajax reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it once, voice soft with a sad smile.]

Hey.

[The eyes that look back at her, though dimmer now, still convey an understanding of what's happening. He knows that she'd rather not have this back, that she'd want to go back to having a normal life without shades of the past living inside them. Without fear of losing who they were, or from losing loved ones. Without placing burdens on others.

He's sorry that this has to happen, and that it's happening to her. If Ajax could, he'd shield it all from her, but he knows he can't.

So the process has to continue, letting his hand fall from her shoulder and saying nothing more. It reaches into his jacket to produce the pouch once more, and the glove is returned to his hand to begin to crush each crystal one by one, slowly, to not overwhelm her.]

[ each crystal crushed is a bit of her power seeping back into her. and while her strength returns with every single one, lumine also finds herself getting exhausted as if burdened once more with a responsibility that's been unwittingly thrust upon her. by the time ajax and aether have emptied the pouch, she's leaning against her twin brother heavily, her breath coming up short like she'd just ran a marathon.

aether slowly guides her back down onto the bed, his expression twisting for a moment to that of upset as he brushes back the hair from her face.

get some rest for a bit, okay? you'll feel better when you wake up.

lumine dozes off almost immediately, unable to fight off her exhaustion, her head still leaning against her brother's hand. aether gives it a moment, before he carefully pulls away, tucking her under the covers. at the very least, her pulse has gotten better on the monitor, stronger now and more stable.

i'll have to sort things out at the office and the apartment so we can prepare to leave anytime, aether says with a glance at his phone. do you mind staying with her while i'm gone? i won't be long.

his assistant is already in the process of booking flights and hotels, leaving search result traces of possible houses and apartments in different regions. a red herring, in a sense, to keep people busy. but aether needs to make it look convincing. ]

[It's incredibly strange to watch as that power flows from the crystals back into her body. Ajax can't say that he'll ever fully get used to ancient magic such as this, as he assumes it to be, though he has a feeling that he's going to be seeing a lot of it in the future. And he's sure it'll never be good or helpful to them, perhaps save for the spell Yae taught him to summon her.

It's hard to see her so exhausted, but he knows this is for the best, and all she'll need is rest. Thankfully, Aether seems to be on the same wavelength as him, comforting her as he finishes breaking the last crystal and letting her rest. Ajax looks over her thoughtfully, wondering what she'd dream about, if she did at all- and hopefully it wouldn't be a nightmare. It seems they're already living in one, just struggling to stay alive.

He nods earnestly back to Aether, sitting heavily back down in the chair that had been slid to him earlier.]

Of course. I'll take care of things on my end here too. We'll be waiting for your return.

[Ajax takes his own phone out to let Aether go about his business, sending texts and making phone calls to have their new residence set up. He'll wait until Aether comes back to leave, but for now he silently watches over Lumine while she sleeps, and to make sure no one else comes in this room that isn't staff.]

[ the doctors call it a miracle; after all, she was on the brink of death when she was rushed into the hospital. and even after they'd extracted the poison from her stomach, her body had been unimaginably weakened, to the point that they fear that she'd eventually pass away. but only a few days after, lumine's fully recovered with no trace of illness or damage on her physical body whatsoever.

but as much as they'd like to keep her in longer for more testing, there wasn't anything wrong with her that they couldn't deny them her discharge papers.

aether, by then, had everything prepared, including both of their offices cleared out and very specific and strict instructions provided to their respective assistants and lawyers. the company will continue to run with the twins working in the background with a proxy representing them whenever they need to be present, using aether's kidnapping as an excuse to go into hiding.

a few days later, lumine's unpacking her things in a penthouse set up by ajax, frowning when she finds a few of aether's shirts in her box. their new residence for an indefinite amount of time, a part of her wonders if this will really keep anyone from finding them. ]

Ae, why do I have several of your clothes in my box? [ she calls out from her bedroom, taking out another couple of shirts that certainly does not belong.

surprisingly, however, there's something wrapped in one of the shirts, the soft fabric used as a makeshift bubblewrap. when she unfolds the piece of clothing, a familiar teapot lands in her hand, quite heavy but at the same time light. weird, she thinks as she turns it in her hand. ]

Aether! Come over here and—

[ the air around her seems to warp, shifting and changing until she finds herself in front of an inazuman-style house overlooking a beach. lumine blinks in confusion.

aether steps into lumine's bedroom a few minutes after she calls his name, mirroring his sister's expression of confusion at the sight of a half-unpacked box with no lumine in sight. he pays no mind to the teapot sitting on the bed.

ajax! where's lumine? ]

[Ajax has gone ahead and inspected the entire place prior to the twins moving in, to make sure it's not bugged, that all the furniture that was ordered to be put in was done by a very small business that he'd gone out of his way to find, being small and practically unheard of. Everything seemed to be in place, and finally the man can settle into one of the chairs, still groaning from the soreness of his body. Maybe in a week or two, the soreness would go away, but he'd still have to rest.

Offices and bedrooms were set up for the three of them, and when Aether calls for him, he yells back-]

She's in her bedroom last I knew! Lumine, where are you?

[But there's no answer to Ajax's question either, and his eyebrows narrow. He swears he heard her yell from the other room, and he gets up with much effort to walk himself to her bedroom. Popping into the doorway, he looks around and only sees Aether...]

Did she sneak out? I heard her just a moment ago. Call her phone, perhaps?

[ aether takes a deep breath and fishes his phone out of his pocket, dialing lumine's number. he does this at the same time as he checks the bathroom and closet, kneeling on the floor to see if she's hiding under the bed. she's nowhere to be found in her room, which gets fishy when the call tells him that her sister's phone is currently out of service.

it's out of service.

he's quick to leave the bedroom, pace hurried as he checks every corner of the penthouse in search for any signs of his sister. but there's none as if all traces of her had just vanished into this air.

lumine! aether calls out, silence answering him as he stands in the middle of the living room. lumine!! this isn't funny!

what is even going on? he pads towards the bedroom, checking if her sister had suddenly popped out and has started making out with ajax now that he's currently in a tizzy.

ajax, did you see her leave? ]

[It's obvious that Lumine isn't picking up, given Aether's increased anxiety about the matter. Ajax can't move around as quickly as he can, but he does his best, double checking the bedroom before he has to sit down on the bed to rest a moment. How could she of been in here just a moment ago, and then disappear just like that? He'd been sitting near the door, and he knows he didn't see her leave.]

I didn't. I was in the living room, so I'm certain she didn't use the door. Ngh, what if...

[No. He doesn't dare finish that thought, dashing it away from the forefront of his mind. That can sit for a moment while they try to find her. He begins wracking his brain to think of a reason why she'd disappear. The window isn't open, and it's quite a few stories up anyhow. He's positive she doesn't have the skills in hydro that he does to "fly", so he rules that out pretty quickly.]

Lumine! Please! If you wanted to frighten us, you've achieved it! Come out!

[But something in the pit of his stomach tells him that she's not playing a game on them at all. She's really gone, but where, and how? Worry creases in his forehead, his expression that of dread.]

What if they... [That thought comes back.] What if we've underestimated the power of those gods...

[ aether throws him a sharp look, telling him to shut it, before he storms out of the bedroom once more in search of his sister. he refuses to accept that she's been taken, and even if she was, wouldn't there have been some kind of noise? a clue, something that would give the perpetrator away? no, lumine's fine. she's just! somewhere in this house!

lu! lumine!

it's not long since aether's gone out of lumine's room that the space and dimension in the bedroom seem to warp and ripple again. anyone looking at it would've found it strange, perhaps even a hallucination, but then, no one's looking up, so.

really, it's not too long since aether's departure and lumine's disappearance that the subject of the two boys' worries pop back into existence once more—except this time around, instead of standing in front of the beach, she's floating in midair on top of her bed right above ajax.

a moment later, she's falling— ]

Look out!

[He rubs his eyes with his hands, already feeling a stress headache coming on. Aether storms out, and he sighs- how else could this possibly go wrong? They'd just been reunited with each other, and now Lumine's gone missing, right out of thin air. His mind races...did they have some kind of magic just to pop in and out wherever they like, as if they were teleporting? It's not out of the realm of possibility, as he too can teleport in the Foul Legacy Transformation...but only short distances.

It's too much, right now. He wants to be able to find her and ensure her safety, but he's clueless as to-]

Hm? Ah-!

[Out of nowhere, he hears her call out, and it's above him of all places. Looking up, his eyes widen as he leans back when she falls right into him, instinctively grabbing her as her full weight comes down on his chest. Ajax falls backwards onto the bed, Lumine in tow as they both lie there, his chest exploding in pain. He groans, barely able to open his eyes as he stares back up at her, a grimace on his face.]

L...umine...

[Everything hurts. Why.]

Can you get off of me...

[ it takes a full minute for lumine to understand what's going on, also in a daze after suddenly teleporting in a different dimension and then falling onto ajax. but a minute later, she snaps out of ther surprise, scrambling off of him and rolling onto the bed, looking down at him in concern. ]

Oh! Sorry—

[ to be fair, she didn't mean to fall on top of him; she didn't even know why she showed up there, of all places.

and she shows up just in time too for aether to show up, nearly tripping over his own feet to try and get to the bedroom. almost immediately, her twin brother sweeps her into a tight hug, surprising her. lumine gives him an awkward pat on the back, her eyebrows furrowing. ]

Aether, I'm fine ...

[ aether stays there for a moment longer, before he pulls away, his gaze finally landing on ajax who's lying on the bed next to her.

what are you doing there, ajax? ]

Dying, [he groans, his arms sprawled out to his sides and breathing heavily. The god themselves are just putting a giant target on his broken chest, aren't they?]

...I need a moment.

[His eyes close, and he lies there like his ribs got broken all over again, taking shallow breaths because anything deeper than that makes it hurt even worse. What did he do to deserve this...

Ajax doesn't speak anymore, he's going to let Aether do all the questioning here. He has no idea where Lumine just came from, but he certainly wasn't expecting it to be from the ceiling.]

[ and interrogate aether does, asking her a barrage of questions starting what happened and where she went to.

lumine explains to him what happened, that she found the teapot and after touching it, she's landed in a bizarre dimension. a bird that introduced herself as an adeptus seem to recognise her, almost in tears when she's seen her again. she describes him the house, the garden, the features that surrounds it, well taken care of despite no one living in it. ]

And ... [ her gaze momentarily flickers down at ajax, her expression looking very subdued. ] There's something I want to show the both of you.

[ she holds out her hand to both ajax and aether, the latter of whom quickly take it. her other hand reaches out for the teapot, holding it the way she held it before. ]

It's pretty ... important, I think.

[In that time, Ajax manages to sit back up while she explains what she'd seen and where she'd gone. It all sounds vaguely familiar to him, and he chalks that up to Childe's memories seeping into his mind. He glances down at the teapot- so this was the teapot the Harbinger had brought up after they'd fallen into the water? It didn't look all that special to him, but if it was indeed a pocket dimension inside...

He shakes his head. How does that even work? The magic from the past seems unlimited in its scope, it seems. An adeptal device, it seems, has a lot of potential. He can't wait to see what's inside.

Ajax takes goes to put his hand over Aether's, wondering what is so important that she looks that way. But he nods, ready to go- hopefully it wasn't bad news.]

Alright. Let's go then.

[ she can the look of skepticism on aether's face, but lumine simply gives him a nod before she recalls the steps explained to her by the adeptus. it should recognise her again as it did the first time, as the previous owner of the teapot.

and it does, their surroundings rippling and warping, the landscape changing from her bedroom to a dimension that resembles inazuma with its seemingly perpetual sunset, sakura blooms dancing in the air, a scenery overlooking the sea. behind them is the same house she's found herself facing earlier, the adeptus tubby sitting outside next to the door.

once again, she looks overjoyed at the sight of lumine, and even more so at the sight of ajax and aether, greeting them as if she'd known them since forever. she easily gestures at them to go inside, the doors sliding with ease.

the inside of the house is neat and tidy, but it's clear that it's been lived in. the throw pillows on the sofa are bundled in a corner, a thick red blanket draped over its arm. there are personal articles strewn all over the house: books and little trinkets in bedrooms, even toys and strange statues. and on one of the halls are pictures, so many pictures of lumine and others she only recognises from the other lumine's memories.

there's one picture that stands out, however, sitting on a liyuen-style cabinet: one of her and aether, dressed in strange clothes, smiling at the kamera together. lumine glances at her brother, whose expression grows more and more puzzled.

when was this taken ... ]

... I told you it's important.

[It's a sensation that he knows he's felt many times before, reality itself bending and warping around him as he's transported inside of the teapot, landing on his feet as his eyes adjust to the new landscape. It's absolutely gorgeous, just the way he remembers...which is strange. This too, all feels familiar to him, his walking stick helping him walk across the island to the house. Tubby also is another thing that strikes familiarity in him, greeting her as he always has in the past.

Even though, this is the first time he's met her.

Walking inside, his feet automatically step through like he knew where he'd tripped on the rug before to avoid it, taking his jacket off and finding the hook on the wall where he usually hangs it, the motions natural and almost muscle memory. He hobbles down the hallway with the twins, to stop in front of a picture he feels like he hasn't seen in a very long time. The twins together...that's going to be hard to explain to Aether. But he doesn't stop there, taking a look at more photos, before the other twin begins to lose his mind over a picture that Ajax knows that he won't remember taking. Lumine can handle that one for now.

Ajax stares at the rest of the pictures down the hall, a deep feeling of nostalgia washing over him as he views each one. The red-haired man named Diluc from one of their visions is here, a blue-haired man looking like one of the past leaders of Inazuma. There's one of Childe and a shorter girl with blue hair cooking in the kitchen, an excited looking woman holding some sparklers in her hand with a small child dressed all in red looking excited as well. Lumine with several of her other friends, all people he doesn't recognize but that he does know...he knows that he does.

And one with Childe and Lumine, happily leaning against each other, the Harbinger planting a kiss to her head as the kamera had snapped the photo.

He finds himself staring at it, a small smile on his face. It almost feels like he can remember that day, but somehow that memory is just out of his reach.]

[ aether had been quiet while staring at their photo, his expression uncertain. there's something about the photo that he can't put a finger on, but somehow, it's out of reach in his mind. like it can't seem to process it and yet accepts it all the same. which is rather alarming and disturbing, especially considering the fact that his sister is anything but. no doubt it's another secret he's kept from him, and he doesn't know if he wants to learn about it right now.

lumine places a hand on his arm, quietly asking him if he wants to talk about it. but he simply shakes his head, deciding that he wants to see this place for himself. there's something familiar about it that he wants to figure it out on his own.

a few moments later, lumine's wandering off towards ajax when she spots him, standing in front of childe and lumine's photo. if she didn't think they weren't real before, then she did now; there's nothing more tangible than a talking bird and a photo proving their existence, proving their relationship. ]

Aether went off to wander the teapot by himself, [ she says quietly, staring at lumine's smile. it's genuine, full of love and affection and joy. ] He said he wants to be alone for a bit to think.

[ to figure things out on his own. whatever that means anyway. ]

... You know, one of the guys Lumine was with on the pictures is really good-looking.

[Lumine's voice breaks through his thoughts, turning to her as she approaches. He's not surprised to hear that Aether didn't seem to be alright with it, he can't imagine if he was in his shoes that he would either. Ajax turns back to look at the photo, chuckling quietly at her last comment.]

Yes, the guy you're referring to is right here.

[He gestures towards the picture of Childe and Lumine, smiling back at her with a cocky confidence that acts as a shield that bounces her comment off of it. He won't let himself get jealous over a dead guy.]

Anyway, [he says, quickly changing the subject back,] do you think your brother will be okay? I couldn't of imagined walking in here to find something that confirms his existence a thousand years ago as well.

...I can't imagine he's taking it well.

[Just like he's sure he won't take the picture of Childe and Lumine well, nor any of the rest of them.]

[ cue eyeroll. ]

Debatable as usual.

[ at the mention of aether, she glances over her shoulder to the direction where her brother wandered off to. he also said he wanted to talk to tubby, take a walk in the gardens and check out the sea. a part of her wonders if she should've gone with him, but then, this is a safe place. aether should be fine, even if he's left alone with his thoughts. ]

Mm, he'll talk to me when he wants to talk. I'm sure he's just ... sorting things out in his head.

[ shouldn't she have brought her brother to this place? but then, it seems connected to all three of them, not just her even if tubby says that this realm was gifted to her. ]

... What do you think? About this place, I mean.

[It's almost like deja vu when she asks, and his eyes seem to brighten despite their dimness. Quietly chuckling, he recalls a phrase said long ago, leaning on his walking stick as he recites it.]

"It's the perfect place to make a home." Haha, you know, she asked him that same question when he was brought here. Your question seems to have brought that memory back up to the surface. And, well, I sort of feel the same way.

[He looks back to the photo, glancing at it for only a moment before he finally turns to her.]

If our situation weren't so dire, I'd feel more relaxed here...but for now, I'll just hope that this provides an extra layer of security for ourselves. Even if they do find the penthouse, will they find us in the teapot? Something tells me a bunch of grunts wouldn't look twice at it.

[ lumine returns to her counterpart's expression and words when she mentioned about starting a family, before she shakes her head. it would've been impossible for her, given their current mission at the time and the fact that they never belonged in teyvat. but she does wonder if the other lumine would've chosen to stay if they survived and called teyvat her home ... ]

So are you planning on using the teapot as a second hiding place for us of sorts?

[ she supposes that it works. after all, it doesn't seem like anyone knows how to access it. and even if they knew, they'd still need her permission, as per tubby. her only concern is if the teapot is breakable, especially with the powers of a god. ]

... Tubby did say that only certain people have access to it. Only those permitted by the Traveler back then.

It's not a half bad idea. Staying here would put me more at ease.

[Ajax idly wonders if she's noticed the stress lines forming in his face, sighing with relief that maybe, just maybe, they'll have somewhere truly safe to stay. He moves to go over the pictures once again, scanning each one carefully.]

I don't recognize any of these people either, so if any of them share the same fate as us, they're not associated with the Dufonts. At least, as far as I know. So we should be the only ones who can get in here.

[He turns back to her, leaning heavily on his stick. He still is tired and sore, and he's already moved a lot today and had a lady fall right onto his broken chest.]

Want to head upstairs with me? I want to see the rest of the house, before I get too caught up with looking at all these old photos, haha.

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