It’s safe to say his sister still hits like a ruin guard and that tackle—Wow, that hurt. Aether stays there for a moment, golden eyes fixed on a specific point in the stars. When was the last time Lumine had slapped him? When was the last time he’d been yelled at by her?
He can’t even remember; it’s been that long.
He pulls himself up and presses a hand to his quickly reddening cheek, flinching at the throb of pain that comes. Aether doesn’t say anything, at least for a while as he just stares at her—the distance between them feels so large right now, even though Lumine is right there.
“You think I want you involved with that? I didn’t even want to be involved in it!” It comes rushing out, Aether’s hands are clenched and he’s shaking. He’s honestly shaking.
“What’s to say that we can even leave right now?” He forces himself to take a few breaths, tries to calm his racing heart, but it doesn’t work. He can't—Aether forces himself to look at the ground, not let anyone see the tears at the corner of his eyes.
“You know what happened last time we tried to leave! And I can’t go through that again—I woke up and couldn’t find you! I never abandoned you! I spent years—”
He shakes his head, slaps a hand over his mouth and tries to make himself go quiet.
She didn’t hear the sound of the Abyss Herald, nor the sound of him leaving. Instead, it’s quiet for a moment. Just a moment, before the silence is broken by Aether’s outburst. His addmitances. She’d been the one who wanted to leave, because she didn’t want to be reminded of war and strife. They would’ve come back, they would’ve–
“…..You abandoned me a month ago.” Lumine says, voice uneven. Shaking again, filled with the emotions she was holding at bay. “You and Dainsleif. You asked me back then… why was I with him? It was a commission. I gave him one, and that’s all there was to it.” But it’d been nice to have someone by her side for a while, and not just there and gone. Like most of the people of Teyvat she’s met. All she wanted was companionship.
“The God that stopped us from leaving. For one reason or another.” Flashes of s o m e t h i n g shoot through her mind. Voices, screams, Dainsleif’s voice telling her she needed to get out of there quickly– They stop almost as fast as they came, and Lumine puts a hand to her head. Almost as quickly, she drops said hand to her side and finally…
Finally, she looks back at him.
“You spent years? Don’t cut yourself off like that.” She chides. Again, she tugs at her kimono sleeve. A bit rougher this time. The fabric is sturdy– it won’t tear easily. It’s stress relief. It’s keeping her grounded. Keeping her from turning into a massive heap of emotion.
“…..I spent all that time looking for you, asking people where you were, putting up missing person posters just so I could find you. And when I do, you tell me to ‘see what you saw’ and both you and Dainsleif leave.” It’s hard to say it, and she actually chokes up when she gets to the part about him and Dain just leaving her like that. It wasn’t nice to be alone, and feeling abandoned by the only companions you ever really had. Your own twin, and the man you commissioned about the Abyss Order.
She finally turns fully, to face him again. And she walks towards him. The grass is crushed under her feet, and the sound breaks the silence once again. But this time, she doesn’t do anything but hug him.
“……..One week. Just spend one week with me and you can go back to the Abyss Order. That’s all I ask.”
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