Chapter Text
“I didn’t think summer would end so soon. God, I really wasted it by working so much.” Lumine sighed, leaning back on the swing. She and her brother were at a park in Liyue where they lived. It was a crisp August evening, and the breeze ruffled their hair.
Aether swung back and forth idly on his swing, trying to cheer his sister up. “That’s not a bad thing. At least now you have some money during school!”
“I guess, but I feel like I spent no time with anyone. At least you hung out with Keqing and Xiao a lot, but I barely saw Ajax, Mona, Navia, and Amber. I only got to take a short weekend trip to Mond in July, and of course Fontaine and Snezhnaya are impossible to visit with our money situation.”
Aether shrugged. It was good to spend time with friends, but he could’ve taken on more shifts himself. “Well, friend time is good and all, but I didn’t work as much as a result, so I didn’t make as much money as you. Maybe we both should’ve balanced what we did.”
“Guess so.” The two were quiet for a while before Lumine spoke up again.
“Hey, Ae?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think we’ll actually have a good senior year?”
“I think so, but you know I tend to think positively about these kind of things. It’ll be good to be back with our friends, and there’s no way this year can be worse than last year.”
“You really think so?”
Aether gave his twin a reassuring smile. “You know I do. It can’t get any worse than last year. And I won’t let it!”
An incoming FaceTime call interrupted their conversation. The light of Lumine’s phone reflected in her eyes, and Ajax’s grinning face illuminated her screen. “Oh, I should probably take this. It’s been a few days since we last talked on the phone.”
“Okay. I’m gonna head home and finish last minute packing. I don’t want to be scrambling when we leave tomorrow.” Aether got up with a stretch and side-hugged his sister.
Lumine giggled. “Good idea. I can’t blame you for that.” As Aether walked towards the direction of their apartment, she answered the FaceTime call.
“Hey, girlie!” Ajax’s smile practically beamed through the phone.
“Hey! What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you were doing anything tomorrow.”
Lumine gave Ajax an unimpressed look. “We move in tomorrow, you dork.”
“I know that, but do you have any other plans?”
“Not that I can think of, no. Why?”
“I want to have a bonfire with you on lower campus. We can celebrate another year of school with s’mores and a drink or two.”
“We might not be the first people to lay claim to the firepit, you know.” Lumine reminded him.
“Oh, don’t you worry about that; I’ll be sure to be the first one there.”
Lumine shrugged in disbelief, “Whatever you say.” She paused. “How does Teucer feel about you going back to school?”
“Attached to my hip. Mother made him leave to take a bath, but I don’t doubt that he’ll be back by my side in no time.”
“Guess we don’t have long to talk, huh?” Lumine couldn’t explain the ache in her chest. She understood how important sibling time was, especially with a brother herself, but she missed Ajax. She couldn’t help it; he was her best friend. She barely got to talk to him all summer with them both working and him being far away from her in Snezhnaya. Truthfully, she couldn’t wait to see him again, and maybe it would make this heartache go away.
“Unfortunately not, but don’t you worry your pretty little head - it’s less than twenty-four hours until we see each other again.” Ajax flashed her a wink.
A small smile graced Lumine’s lips as her heart skipped a beat. “Are you ready for senior year?”
“Yes and no. I’m not ready to be a real adult, but I’m excited to be closer to getting a full-time job. What about you, girlie?”
“Honestly, I’m a little nervous for this year. Last year was bad enough; I don’t want any repeats.” She shuddered at the memory of cheerleaders dying her hair pink as a prank (despite compliments, she hated it), being thrown into the school’s pool (against her will!) during a college event, and falling down two flights of stairs and breaking her leg (physical therapy was a bitch). She didn’t need to relive any of those moments.
“Keep your chin up! There’s no way it can be that bad! Besides, college is what you make of it, so we can make it a good year!”
“I guess you and Aether are just more optimistic than I am.”
“You should take a page from our books, girlie; you’ll be happier that way.”
Lumine shrugged noncomittally. “Perhaps I will.”
“Big brotheeeer! I’m baaaaack!” Teucer’s voice called from outside of the video frame.
Ajax looked away from his phone briefly and then looked back at Lumine with a sheepish grin. “Ah, guess that’s my cue to go. See you tomorrow, Lumi.”
“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
Lumine sighed after she clicked off the call. How could one day feel so agonizingly long? How was she going to sleep? She was too excited to be back with Ajax and the rest of their friends, but she was dreading the school year already.
She snapped out of her reverie, getting off the swing and starting on the path back home. Time to make sure she had absolutely everything for tomorrow.
The trek back to Teyvat University wasn’t too bad; it was in Sumeru, and the twins lived in Liyue Harbor, so they didn’t have that far to go in comparison to some of their friends. It certainly helped that they had a car of their own, though. The ride was about five hours, and Lumine was thankful they didn't go to college any further away. It was also times like these that she was grateful to be a twin so they had each other to keep entertained.
“At least this is our last year to make drives like this,” Aether commented with a sigh once they parked in front of the dorms they were staying in this year. Dozens of other students were moving in today as well, in varying stages of the move-in process.
Lumine sighed as well and leaned back in the driver’s seat. “Yeah, thank God.” She’d driven the past two and a half hours, and she wasn’t in the mood to move in, but they had no choice. “You ready for our final move-in?” She glanced over at her brother, who looked just as stressed as she felt. Still, he put on a smile.
“Yeah, ready as I’ll ever be. Just give me a sec to text the guys and see if they’re here yet.”
Aether pulled out his phone, typing out a quick text to his friend group before climbing out of the car. Lumine followed suit, and a familiar friend popped up from behind their car.
“Do you want any help?” Xiao asked, gesturing to their overfilled car.
“Yeah, that would be great,” Lumine replied sheepishly. Between the two of them, they had a normal load for one college student. They couldn’t bring a lot, lest they need another car. They didn’t have that luxury.
The trio began carrying all of Aether and Lumine’s things inside, regrettably to the top floor where their dorm rooms were. Lumine’s room was right across from Aether’s, and she was rooming with Mona. Aether was rooming with Xiao.
Unsurprisingly, Mona’s stuff was not in the dorm when they arrived. Lumine expected her to move in later, and Mondstadt was further away than Liyue to Sumeru.
Lumine walked back outside to get another box while Xiao helped Aether unpack their important belongings. She heard Ajax’s voice call to her from further away after she grabbed a box from her car.
“Lumine!”
“Ajax!” She called back in relief, turning away from her car. She wanted to run towards him and hug him, but she couldn’t do that with a box, so she simply waited for him to catch up to her.
Ajax wore a large grin on his face as he approached her. “Hey, girlie. Missed me?”
“Missed you?” Lumine snorted. “In your dreams,” she teased.
Ajax sighed mournfully. “Oh, that's too bad. And here I was, about to tell you I missed you so much I hardly slept a wink last night.”
Lumine’s cheeks flushed involuntarily. “Liar.”
“You think I’m kidding?” Ajax asked, slowly inching closer to Lumine’s ear. “Why don't I prove it?”
Lumine shuddered from the heat of his breath so close to her. “H-How?”
Before Ajax could say or do anything else, Xiao appeared before them. “Greetings, Ajax.”
Lumine practically jumped out of her skin away from the ginger as Xiao reached into the car for another box. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, Lumine.”
“A-Ah, it’s fine. Don't worry about it.”
Ajax looked a bit irked to have been interrupted, but he quickly masked it by grabbing a box as well. He was quick to regain his composure, his chipper attitude back in full swing. “Xiao, when did you get on campus?” He asked pleasantly as the trio began walking back towards the dorms.
“Yesterday evening. I wanted to make sure I was moved in before today.” Xiao answered.
That bastard! Ajax couldn’t help thinking to himself. He wanted to get more alone time with Lumine! Luckily, Ajax arrived before Lumine as well, so it didn’t really matter if he or Xiao arrived first.
Something Ajax picked up on a long time ago was Xiao’s feelings towards Lumine. He was aware that Xiao liked her because he liked Lumine as well. It was easy to see when someone else was pining for the same person as you, however, it was much harder to discern the object of your affection’s feelings.
Ajax counted Xiao as a rival as soon as he picked up on how he acted around Lumine. He didn’t hate him, but he certainly wasn’t singing his praises, either.
“I see. How was the night?”
“Uneventful. Not many people moved in yesterday.” Xiao then turned to Lumine. “How was the drive up here?”
“It wasn’t bad; Ae and I split the driving like we normally do, so it wasn’t entirely boring or frustrating. We passed a couple accidents, though. I wonder if they were driving here, too.”
“Perhaps.”
Ajax frowned. He needed to get Lumine to pay attention to him, too! He pressed the button for the elevator, and they all shuffled inside.
“Did you eat on your way up? I can go pick us up some lunch if you want!” Ajax chirped.
Xiao narrowed his eyes. Ajax’s affections were so blatantly obvious that it was distasteful. At least he was never that overt with his own affections; he would never push them on Lumine.
However…Lumine was actually an idiot, and she never picked up on either of their feelings anyways.
Lumine shook her head. “I didn’t eat. Should we order takeout from Lambad’s Tavern? Oh, but make sure we order some for Ae, too, since he didn’t eat either.” She paused and then looked to Xiao. “Do you want us to order you anything, Xiao?”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“Sounds good to me! We haven’t had in ages!”
Lumine couldn’t help but smile. “Of course not, you dork. We haven’t been here all summer!”
The trio reached the top floor, and they set the boxes down in Aether’s and Lumine’s rooms.
Ajax grinned and pulled out his wallet, slipping a card out and offering it to Lumine. “How about you order everything with my card? My treat, of course. I’ll keep bringing boxes up in the meantime.”
“Okay! You still want your usual?”
“Yes! With extra-”
“-sauce, I know!” Lumine laughed.
Xiao repressed a frown, watching the chemistry between Ajax and Lumine unfold. He turned around and headed back outside to grab more boxes, and Aether followed since he finished unpacking a couple boxes.
Ajax soon followed after the pair, leaving Lumine in her room to order their late lunch.
Mona arrived around dinnertime. Lumine helped her unpack, and the pair decorated their dorm room with fairy lights and a couple lamps to avoid the dorm’s fluorescent lighting.
The two girls laid on their floor rug while snacking on some chips, distracted from the TV playing one of their favorite sitcoms. “What took you so long to get here this time? I was starting to worry you weren’t going to make it here tonight.” Lumine asked, dipping a chip into a small tub of Fontainian onion dip.
“I didn’t come here first,” Mona replied nonchalantly, plopping a chip on her tongue and letting the salt dissolve.
Lumine furrowed her eyebrows. “Don’t tell me you were busy fucking around with Scara again.”
“So what if I was? Can’t a girl have a little fun before signing away her freedom to another year of schooling?”
Lumine sighed. “You’re hopeless.”
“Hopeless, maybe, but still your best friend.” Mona reminded her.
“You’re right. Hey, why don’t we make a promise? We’ll make this year better than last year. Together.” Lumine held out a pinkie. Maybe Aether and Ajax were right; maybe they could make this year better than the last.
Mona grinned, linking her pinkie around Lumine’s. “Oh darling, it was already written in the stars.”
A few more hours passed, and finally, everyone was all moved in for the new semester of a new school year. It was nine o’clock, and classes started tomorrow, but Lumine had a commitment to keep.
Lumine was dumbfounded to find her favorite ginger at the firepit on lower campus. He had a picnic blanket sprawled over the log he was sitting on, the fire was lit, and he had a picnic basket with champagne, graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, and skewers inside it.
“You crazy bastard! You actually camped out here so no one else could lay claim to the firepit??”
Ajax winked flirtatiously. “I told you I would make sure of it.”
Lumine sat down beside him, her heart doing a flip-flop. “Well, good job. I’m impressed.”
Ajax’s cheeks reddened the slightest bit; Lumine rarely expressed that she was impressed. He was suddenly grateful he had wasted so much of his free time waiting at the firepit. It was worth it to see her smile and earn her praise.
“Shall we start with the champagne or the s’mores, girlie?”
“S’mores!”
Ajax chuckled at Lumine’s enthusiasm, lighting the fire first. Then, he pulled the basket closer to him and took out the skewers and tore open the marshmallows, stabbing the sweet treats through the skewers. He passed one to Lumine, and they both held their skewers over the fire.
“So, what are your goals for this school year? It’s finally our last one, so do you have any big plans?” Lumine asked, gently rotating her marshmallow.
Ajax looked thoughtful. He was very goal-oriented, but he hadn’t considered this school year very much. He was preoccupied with thinking about seeing Lumine again for the past month. “Hmm…I guess finally pulling better grades. I also want to beat out last year’s champion for wrestling - I can’t believe I let him beat me. And…” His voice trailed off as he looked away. ‘And, my goal is to finally ask you out, but I can’t just tell you that.’ He added in his head. “I guess that’s probably it.” He looked back to her. “What about you?”
“I plan on getting straight A’s and joining another club or two for our final year. I need to socialize. Maybe we can join a club together, if you’re up for it.”
“Depending on the club, I’d be happy to. It would give us more time to see each other.”
Ajax froze, quickly realizing what he’d said. Lumine’s eyes widened, and she coughed in embarrassment.
“Yeah,” she agreed quietly.
There was an awkward silence before Lumine cussed in her native tongue and pulled her skewer back. “Ah, my marshmallow!” It was completely blackened, and she groaned, gingerly prying it off the skewer and throwing it onto the grass.
Ajax observed her actions and reached into the bag for another marshmallow, “I’d offer for you to take mine, but I know you wouldn’t take it. Here’s another.” He leaned over and stuck the new marshmallow on the end of her skewer in the old one’s place with a smile. “There you go.”
Lumine’s cheeks warmed at the sweet gesture. Ajax knew her better than anyone - well, besides Aether - and him treating her that way made her heart skip a beat.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
They stayed quiet for a while, making s’mores and the occasional joke. Once they had their fill of s’mores, Ajax pulled out two champagne glasses and the champagne from the picnic basket.
“Can I pop the cork?” Lumine asked, reaching for the champagne. Ajax happily obliged, letting her take the bottle. She got up and turned away, undoing the seal on the bottle before beginning to loosen the cork.
The cork flew off the bottle, and Lumine laughed as the force made her lose her footing a bit. Ajax laughed along with her. In the light of the fire, he thought she looked breathtakingly beautiful.
She sat down with the foaming bottle and poured the bubbly drink into the two glasses as Ajax held them. Once both glasses were filled and the bottle was on the ground, the pair raised their glasses to each other.
“To a new school year,” Lumine started.
“And to new beginnings,” Ajax added.
Clink. The two sipped on their champagne and talked until it was almost midnight. Ajax walked Lumine back to her dorm, and on the way back to his own, he got lost in his own thoughts.
‘I need to make Lumine mine this year. I’m not going to lose her after college.’