“Hey you, can you give us a hand?”
“Oh it’s the Honorary Knight! Mind helping us?”
“Traveler!” “Hey over here!” “Can you drop this off for me?” “Can you clean up?” “Can you-“ “Help us wi-“ “I need-“
“You didn’t do it correctly!” A man waved his finger in Lumine’s face, “I am docking your pay.”
“Sir, I did what you told me to, I-“ He stomped his foot to cut her off.
“No! You did it wrong,” he handed her over a few Mora, obviously not his original payment being it would barely be enough to buy her a Sweet Madame, “be lucky I even hire you again.” Lumine just stared at the few pieces of Mora. With her dignity less intact, the walk back to Mondstadt was a long one with more people asking for her help. She dragged herself through the gates when she was stopped by a familiar Harbinger.
“Hey girlie, why the long face?” He plucked a lone leaf from her hair.
“Childe, please, I don’t have time for you right now, I have some stuff to do.” He watched as she pulled out a list. His eyes wandered all over her tattered dress, dirt on her arms, her hair was a mess, and her eyes looked dull. He felt a slight tug in his heart looking at her. The always refined, full of energy Traveler looked beaten and not by the honors of combat.
“Hey,” he said quietly, “I actually want to hire you.”
“Childe I already have a lot on my pl-“
“I will pay you everything times more. I really need you for this, will you take it?” She thought for a moment before ultimately agreeing, “I am glad. Here is the rendezvous.” He handed her a slip of paper, the Goth Grand Hotel. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she didn’t have time to question it, waving him bye to finish up her other commissions.
It was midnight by the time that she finally finished, she examined the paper that Childe had given her earlier. Flipping the paper over told her which room that he was in, and of course it was at the very top of the hotel. She grimaced over the sick joke that Childe was pulling, having her climb up several flights of steps after she had just worked her ass off all day. When she finally reached the room she squeaked when she had to lift her arm up to knock on the door, but before she could the door had swung open, startling her. She hesitantly stepped in, completely in shock over the decor. Lumine always knew that Childe liked the finer things in life, but this was amazing. “I am glad you could make it,” she turned on her heels to see Childe closing the door. “Glad you came, comrade,” her amazement instantly faded into annoyance.
“Was that some sick joke making me climb those stairs?” Lumine crumpled the paper and tossed it at his chest, Childe stared dumbfounded at her, until it finally clicked. He completely forgot about the steps, he opened his mouth to apologize, but she stopped him by holding up her hand. “Forget it. What is the job?” He walked up to her, now inches away from her, “don’t tell me that you want to spar, Childe I am in no mood.”
He could hear the tiredness radiating from her voice, he noticed the small shakes, she had to be in a lot of pain. “No, I want you to relax,” he raised a hand, “I will pay you, after you are well rested,” his hand rested against her cheek making her flinch slightly. Seeing his warming smile, a blush crept across her cheek. Sleep did sound nice, but she had more work to be done. She had to help. She had to– Lumine fell against Childe’s chest and began to sob silently. She was so damn tired. She felt as if she had to help everyone but no one would do anything in return. Childe held her close, stroking her back lovingly, he wanted her to know that it was ok to be vulnerable. He wanted her to know that crying didn’t make her weak, it made her so much stronger than she could ever think. “I know you are tired, Lumine,” she looked up at him with tear stained eyes. “Please rest, catch your strength,” he wiped a tear away with his thumb, “more than just this world needs you. I need you,” she gave him a faint smile, “I need that smile,” he cupped her chin, “I need your laughter, the warmth of your eyes, and I need you to still kick my ass,” she began to laugh. “I also need you to find your brother,” she paused, “so please, rest, rest with me.” Lumine looked off to the side before looking back at Childe.
“Only for a few hours,” she held up three fingers, it was a start.
“Three sounds perfect,” Childe sat down on the couch while Lumine sat next to him. After a few minutes of talking Lumine was leaning against him, her hands in her laps. After a few more she became more comfortable, leaning against his chest. After an hour Childe wrapped one arm around her while he held her hand with his free hand. Childe felt like he was in heaven from how comfortable she was.
He adjusted her carefully so that she was now laying on top of her, she snuggled her face in his chest. The Harbinger began to stroke her hair softly, he couldn’t help but place a kiss at the top of her head. He hated sharing his star with the world, but even the world never got to see their star like he got to see her. “Good night, Starlight.”
Once the three hours and then some were up, Lumine woke up to a warm soft breath on her face. She looked up, and smiled seeing how peaceful Childe looked. She had to admit he was actually pretty cute when he wasn't a battle hungry ruffian. “Thank you,” Lumine leaned forward and pressed a small kiss on the corner of his mouth. She gathered the payment that Childe had sitting out before she noticed a small note underneath it.
She rolled her eyes with a giggle, even on paper how could he be so smug? She folded the paper up and stuffed it in her pocket before leaving. She supposed her little rest wasn’t so bad.
romaincrisis
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
stormborns
turnnoffyourmind
pixelskylines
