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“Do you believe in heaven?”
Lumine lifted her eyelids. If she was struggling to sleep moments before, the drive to get a semblance of rest had all seeped out of her thanks to the sudden question posed by the man lying next to her in bed. She let out a sigh. The ticking of the clock in the room echoed loudly in her ears, piercing the silence that carried his anticipation for her response.
Tick. Tock.
Each passing second, a moment closer to tomorrow. The dreaded, unpredictable tomorrow.
She finally turned to him; the rustling sounds of her movements against the sheets were practically a scream in the pin-drop quiet. Next to her, Childe had his gaze fixed to the ceiling, at the glow-in-the-dark constellation stickers of his childhood bedroom.
“I don't know about heaven,” she began, “but hell is what you and I will go through if we don’t get some sleep.”
Childe rolled over to his side. His usual smug demeanor was absent and his eyes were subdued, even in the dark. By now, Lumine could read the Eleventh Harbinger’s energy like her favorite book. Tonight, he wasn’t the raging tide of combat nor the rip current of mischief and mayhem- his two default fronts.
No, right at this moment he was a still lake—a rare page in the multitudes of Childe.
“I’m serious,” he said, minty breaths tickling her face from their proximity, “do you believe in it?”
Lumine didn’t immediately answer. She took in his expression, wondering where the conversation would lead. The flat tone of his whispers hid any hint of detectable emotions.
“I never gave it much thought,” she finally said. A flashback of her adventures in Teyvat ran through her mind. Defeats. Victories. Partings. Reunions. Despair. Happiness. “But I’d like to think there’s a place out there for good souls who suffer throughout their lives and some form of retribution for bad ones who haven’t received their due.”
There was no reaction from Childe. He merely stared at her with a somber face.
“What about you?” Lumine asked.
“I was never the religious kind, but I share your sentiment on the possibility of divine retribution.”
Lumine raised an eyebrow. “So are you considering getting spiritual at the last hour?”
“Heh, not really.” Finally, he relaxed. An outline of a chuckle formed around his lips. “But if there is heaven and hell, I know I’m heading straight to the pits of hell.”
“Childe!” Lumine chided, “Don’t joke about that.”
“I’m not. I know who I am, and what I’ve done. I’ve killed more than I could count-”
“You’ve also saved people.”
“Not enough to erase my sins. Besides, I’ve come to terms with it. If I die in the next few days and find myself in a sea of fire, I won’t wonder why.”
Lumine pinned the man underneath her. Supple breasts pressed against hardened chest underneath the covers. She glared at him. Childe retaliated with a serene smile which irritated her even more.
“You won’t die,” Lumine remarked, as if that fact was an absolute.
“See, normally that’s my mantra.” The Harbinger gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “But you and I know that tomorrow will be different.”
She knew. On any other day, death was a joke she wasn't afraid to indulge in. She, a Descender and a traveler who was trying to uncover the secrets of the world. Him, a feared Harbinger of the Fatui with Abyssal powers running through his veins. Flirting with death was a regular Tuesday for them. Against impossibly strong enemies and often, against each other. But both of them knew that the mission they were about to embark on would be of a calibre neither had experienced.
Tomorrow – along with the Tsaritsa and her Fatui army, Aether and his closest Abyss Order allies along with many of the friends she had made throughout her journey from every nation of Teyvat – they will infiltrate the gates of Celestia in an attempt to topple the Heavenly Principles before her rise from dormancy. Their main objective was to bring down the Four Shades to crumble a large portion of Heavenly Principles’ omnipotence. And if all went according to plan, they would proceed to destroy Heavenly Principles herself.
Teyvat would reclaim their own fate.
It would be an arduous battle. Lengthy and most likely, lethal. They weren’t courting death anymore. They would be jumping headfirst into death’s open door.
“And even if tomorrow is different, so what?” said Lumine. “You can still claim your premature victory and boast about how you will conquer the world.”
She heard him chuckle once more. “I don’t think delusional acts of grandiosity are what we need right now. I love a difficult fight, but even I know when the stakes are too high.”
The traveler huffed. “You’re an idiot.”
Childe blinked. “I thought I was being sensible for once.”
“Yes, but your timing is off. Way off. Why can’t you be your usual annoying, overly confident self right now with your shit-eating grin? That’s what I need by tomorrow. Not a brooding ginger!”
Childe laughed. “Well, my bad then, printsessa.” He gently pulled her down to him. Lumine found the side of her face pressed lightly against his chest. His heartbeat reverberated in her ear as Childe caressed her back.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Steady and alive. Lumine could feel her own heart gradually matching his, drumming in a unison beat. The tension that gripped her from their earlier conversation slowly dissipated. Lulled by the chorus of their heartbeats and tucked within the safety of his arms, she felt her eyelids growing a little heavier.
“I was thinking of when we’ll be able to spend time like this again,” said Childe.
“Stop thinking,” Lumine drawled, “thinking is not a good look on you right now.”
The red-head ignored her protests and continued. “Then I thought about the possibility of death and what lies on the other side for me if, the Tsaritsa forbid, that I do somehow die during this upcoming war –”
“Can we just go to sleep?” Lumine grumbled.
“And you know what? I’m actually okay with death. It will suck not to be with my family anymore, sure. Or that I won’t be able to fight with anyone. But at least I’ve given my all during this life and live with no regrets. If there’s an afterlife and I’m destined for hell, at least…I already know what heaven feels like.”
That piqued her interest. Lumine lifted her head and found Childe’s gaze fixed on her. Though the room was dark, Lumine swore she saw a rare shimmer in his eyes. Like the softness of moonlight being reflected on the surface of a calm ocean.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
He smiled a little wider. Childe pulled Lumine closer to him, until the proximity of their faces was merely inches apart.
Lumine found herself holding her breath. In the air she could feel the weight of unsaid words and pent-up feelings coalesce, closing in on them and leaving little room for escape. She was torn between yielding to the pull of Childe’s tenderness or to swim against the tide by throwing a snide remark, derailing the conversation.
She chose to remain silent.
“For most of my life, I only knew the battlefield. It’s the only thing that gave me fire and purpose. That, and fulfilling Her Majesty’s will,” Childe began. “I envisioned that my end would probably come during a fight against an impossibly strong opponent. And then the Fatui will find my corpse and bury my coffin in a tomb of ice, just like they did with Rosalyne. La Signora, if you remember her.”
“I do,” Lumine replied. How could she ever forget? The Eighth Harbinger’s death was her first exposure to the lethal power of an Archon. She gave him a rueful smile. “That’s a morbid outlook on your future.”
“I accepted that possibility the day I joined the Fatui. I mean, I’ll always give my all to survive, but I can’t deny the other outcome. People tend to say ‘rest in peace’ to those who passed, but peace was never an option for a Harbinger, whether they are alive or dead. Especially for someone like me.”
He paused. Childe combed his fingers through her hair. His eyes remained fixed on her, unmoving, as if looking away for a second would break him.
“But being with you, I now understand peace and the idea of heaven that they write of in plays and books.”
“Childe, don’t –”
“No, Lu, let me speak, please. I need you to hear this. Otherwise I will have some regrets that I might take to the grave.”
Lumine swallowed. By now she was accustomed to many sides of Childe, but his vulnerability- that experience was something she could count on one hand in the years she had known him. She was the same with him, she supposed. Being emotionally exposed was a different degree of nakedness than merely baring your body to the other person. There was no retraction, no cloth to hide behind once the deed was done. The years of clandestine tryst she had with the Eleventh Harbinger were fun and comforting – a nice respite from a world full of bloodshed and secrets. But even after many shared moments of physical intimacy, neither Lumine nor Childe ever gave their new relationship a name. They never named the reason why, in a crowd of people, their eyes would easily wander to each other in a magnetizing pull, nor the drive that pushed their bodies together in the darkness of the night.
Unnecessary. Naming it gave it permanence, and permanence was something neither of them had the luxury to indulge.
Yet here was Childe seemingly bearing it all, breaking the unwritten rule that had been established between them.
She could hear something akin to desperation in his voice and that was enough to dissuade any resistance within her.
“When things are peaceful, I tend to get restless. I never understand why that is the eventual end that everyone seeks. It’s boring. But ever since we got together like this…I began to understand. When I see you lying next to me, all I want is to extend the days and do nothing but be with you. I rest in peace when I’m with you. It’s a type of peace that I welcome, one that I do not want to escape from.”
Childe caressed her face. Each scrape of his fingers felt like tiny sparks against her skin, as if this was the first time that he touched her like this. He stopped by her mouth, his thumb rubbing circles at the corner of her lips.
“I thought there was nothing more exciting in life than a good fight. But Gods, the first time we kiss. No – whenever we kiss, that brought me to a high I never knew was possible. I don’t think I can compare that to anything but paradise.”
Lumine felt her heart picking up.
“And when you laugh…that sound is more beautiful than the Moon Goddess’ hymn. Whenever we’re apart, I would find myself praying to hear your voice. The mere sound of you calling my name is enough to wash all of my weariness away.”
She gulped.
“Ajax…” breathed Lumine. His name rolled off her tongue with a surge of emotions that was difficult to quell. The name that she used whenever she wanted to call out to him, stripped off his Fatui identity and his dark past. The person behind all the masks.
“You don’t have to say anything back, moya zvezda. In fact, you don’t have to say anything at all. I just really want you to know all of this. For all the gods I’ve met throughout my life, you are the only real spiritual experience I’ve had and the only one who managed to get me on my knees and I– mmph!”
She kissed him. Because if she didn’t, Lumine was sure she would blurt out something she would regret. No, not regret. But she had suppressed those thoughts and sealed them in a box deep within herself.
Three little words. They were there, at the tip of her tongue. A forbidden knowledge she tried her hardest to recall and forget, only for them to resurface whenever the smug, ginger-haired Harbinger shows up at her doorstep.
She felt him grow pliant underneath her. Childe’s lips languidly kissed hers back. She swiped her tongue over his lips, and was immediately met with his eager response. Lips clashing between gasps of breaths, they spent the next few moments tasting each other, as if they were the air they needed to live.
The flame that had been sated earlier that evening began to burn with a new intensity.
But something felt different about this fire.
Carnal wasn’t the right word to describe the heat. It wasn’t all-consuming like all of their previous passionate trysts. Lumine wanted him. Oh, she wanted bad. But she didn't only want his body. Gods, she wanted…she wanted…
Lumine peppered kisses along his jaw and lowered herself to the curve of his Adam’s apple. She flicked her tongue against his skin. His wanton grunts spurred her on.
Childe let out a cry the moment she bit on the patch of skin near his clavicles, sending her name to the sky in an ardent plea. He shuddered as she circled her tongue over the mark she left on him.
Lumine moved lower, brushing her lips against the scar that marked his chest as her hands worshipped his chiseled torso. The knot in her core tightened with each feel of his taut muscles beneath her fingers. She placed a chaste kiss over his heart and brought her attention back to his face. In that momentary pause, Childe swiftly took hold of her lithe frame and flipped them over, pinning her underneath him. There was a fervor in his gaze that was beyond his lust for her body.
He regarded her with such reverence, Lumine thought she could combust right then and there.
“Ajax…”
“You don't know the hold you have over me,” he whispered.
Childe dove for her. He nipped and tasted, smoldering her with passion-filled whispers like a fervent prayer.
“Ngh…ah!” she cried as Childe’s finger found her dripping core. His thumb circled her clit and his mouth closed in on her breast. A flick of tongue against a hardened nub. The graze of his teeth on her skin. He curled a finger inside her. It was a merciless onslaught of pleasure; her body was an altar which he must keep ablaze.
Their lips met in a searing kiss as he entered her. Lumine let out a muffled moan and wrapped her arms around him, anchoring herself from the shockwave of being completely filled by Childe. How many times had she had him inside her? Yet each time, she was surprised by his size that she was able to take all of him.
“Fuck,” Childe panted as they moved in unison, “you feel so good.”
He was hitting that spot inside her, one that made her see white. It drove her to the brink of madness; the warmth of his body on her, the feeling of his cock moving against her walls, his intoxicating smell of ocean and musk. It was beyond ecstasy, and Lumine was, admittedly, addicted. He was a sin unlike anything she ever experienced, calling her back to him again and again.
She felt herself climbing higher and higher in the throes of pleasure. Her walls began to quiver around him, her breaths becoming ragged and rapid. Childe brought a hand and placed it just below her navel, lightly pressing on her tightening muscle.
“Come for me, starlight,” he coaxed.
Lumine yielded. Her vision turned to stars, and she let out a loud cry as her walls convulsed around Childe's cock. Childe shortly followed, stiffening on top of her with a string of curses rolling off his tongue. His cock pulsed, and she was flooded with his warmth. Archons, Lumine never said it out loud, but she loved being filled by his cum.
It was as though she was truly one with him, body and soul.
Childe collapsed on top of her, a heaping mess of sweat, tangled hair and ragged breaths. They spent the next few moments in silence as they climbed down from their respective orgasmic highs. In the stillness and quiet, bliss enveloped them, a holy spirit that blessed their union.
He rolled off her, and Lumine wasted no time climbing on top of him, plopping herself on top of his chest. She swept off his bangs to the side — a small act of aftercare — and he watched her with an almost childlike adoration.
“There’s nothing on earth or heaven that can compare to you, I want you to know that,” said Childe.
Her breath hitched. There he goes again, verging on the forbidden threshold of their relationship.
Three little words rang loud in Lumine’s head, desperate to morph into spoken oaths and heartfelt promises.
“I hear you,” Lumine decided to say instead, giving Childe a light peck on the lips.
Coward, Lumine chided herself in her head.
But if Childe had an issue with her response, he didn’t show it. Lumine rested her head on his chest, focusing on the sound of his heartbeat once more.
“When the war starts,” said Childe, “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you, whatever the cost.”
He wrapped his arms around her. Protective. Possessive.
Idiot, that’s my line.
Little did Childe know that Lumine had made the same promise to herself, and she intended to keep it.
Whatever the cost.
They say freedom always comes with a price.
And the price for Teyvat’s freedom was…a star.
“Lumine,” Aether sobbed as he held her in his arms, “...why?”
Lumine gave her brother a weak smile. That simple action almost took all of her remaining strength. Everything felt numb. Even breathing was almost too much.
The sky above them was painted crimson. The fake firmament that enveloped the world had been shattered.
Teyvat was free. Free to create their own fate. Free to pursue the stars without being shackled the moment they reached closer to the truth.
“It’s…the only way everyone can survive this,” Lumine replied. She coughed, feeling as though her lungs had been trampled upon.
“There has to be another way,” Aether lamented.
Perhaps. But time was not on their side. She couldn't take seeing many of her friends lying on the verge of death. Aether was slowly losing control of his power as the war went on due to Heavenly Principles’ authority. Many of the places she had spent years adventuring and making memories were in shambles.
Lumine saw Childe in his Foul Legacy form, fighting like a madman against endless footsoldiers of Celestia. Fighting for the future of those he holds dear.
That was when Lumine made the decision. Though the Heavenly Principles had awakened, she had been considerably weakened — the Four Shades had been eliminated. She was not the omnipotent ruler of Teyvat anymore. She was simply a Descender. And there was only one other Descender present whose power was untouched by the influence of the Three Realms and the power of the Abyss.
Lumine was the only one who could match her. She was the only one who could do it.
Supernova immolation.
A star for a star. A life for a life.
It was a bet with everything at stake and nothing to lose. Nothing except herself.
And when Lumine crashed into the grounds of Celestia like a fallen comet, battered and numb with her consciousness waning, she saw the Heavenly Principles — no, Phanes — disintegrate into scattered lights. And as those lights descended to the ground, life re-emerged. Perhaps those were the remnants of Primordial One’s love, making one last amend to Teyvat.
Lumine had won the bet.
“Aether…” Lumine spoke with great difficulty, “After this… you’ll have to travel through Teyvat and help them rebuild…and protect them from Abyssal destruction.”
“Lumine…”
“You’ll make plenty of friends…and witness gods, humans and dragons working together to create their own destiny. See the Teyvat that I know. Promise me…”
Aether shut his eyes, his face contorted into a pained expression. Finally, he met her eyes, a pair of twin amber orbs locking, racing against time.
“I promise,” her older brother spoke, voice unwavering.
“Moya zvezda…”
Oh.
There was only one person in the world who called her that. She peered to her side. Childe limped towards them, his Foul Legacy Transformation disintegrating as he neared, revealing a bruised and tattered Harbinger. He dropped to his knees right next to her.
God, Lumine wanted to erase the broken look on his face so badly. She had hoped that he wouldn’t see her in this state.
“You—” Aether began apprehensively.
“Aether…” said Lumine. He glanced at her. She smiled at him. He sighed. With great reluctance, Aether turned to Childe and gently passed Lumine’s helpless form to him. Childe held her with trembling arms.
“Lu…” the Harbinger whispered. “Why did you do this? I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you.”
“Funny…because I promised the same thing to myself.” She mustered a weak chuckle. “…I won this round…Ajax.”
His eyes widened. She could see anger flashing briefly on him, but Childe immediately buried his face at the crook of her neck.
“Idiot,” Childe hissed through gritted teeth, “why are you being such an idiot at a crucial time?”
She felt dampness against her skin. Lumine lamented the fact that she was too weak to even move her arms.
“I guess…you started to rub off on me,” she replied. Childe pulled her closer to him. Lumine closed her eyes, ingraining his scent in her memory.
“Hey Ajax…” she began. Blue eyes met gold. The hint of tears was no longer on his face, gone in a flash. Snezhnaya doesn't believe in tears after all. “Live a good life…with Teucer and Tonia and the rest of your family.”
“You're so cruel, starlight,” returned Childe, “how can you tell me to live when the reason I want to live won't be by my side.”
Lumine smiled. With all the power left in her, she slowly lifted a hand to the man's face.
“I love you too, Ajax.”
He stiffened at her words, staggered by her confession. But he soon gathered himself, a hand reaching for the one placed on his face. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm.
“You are the cruelest woman I've ever known.”
She knew, and she wouldn't apologize for it. It was cruel of her to profess her love on her dying breath. But it was also cruel that he was a mortal and that if she had lived, she would have to spend centuries mourning a love that passed as quickly as a blink in her non-mortal life.
Fate was cruel. Everything about this was cruel.
Perhaps sacrificing herself was a selfish act on her part. It was her way to escape the cruel, infinite loop of fate.
Lumine shuddered. Her surroundings suddenly felt cold. Darkness became an alluring lullaby she couldn't resist.
“I'm so tired…” she muttered.
“You can rest now, Lu,” said Childe. He placed a chaste kiss upon her forehead. “I love you, always.”
She lifted her gaze to him one more time.
Lumine thought she would fear death.
But as she stared at his ocean eyes, the only thing she could feel was tranquility.
Perhaps this was what Childe meant when he told her that he could rest in peace when she lies next to him. In his arms, she found peace.
She closed her eyes, and everything disappeared.
Aether stared at the rock in front of him. It was non-descript, planted at the edge of a cliff in Mondstadt among a sea of windwheel asters, dandelions and inteyvats that he personally planted. The gentle breeze brushed past him, blowing away some of the heaviness inside his chest.
“It's been a while,” he muttered.
Silence. Only the wind spoke for him.
He heard the rustling of grass and footsteps closing in. He turned to the sound.
Aether saw him. Red hair and blue eyes. He was taller and bigger. There was a hint of facial hair along his jaw and a vertical scar that now marked his left eye.
What was his name again? He had so many names. Oh right, Childe.
The last person to hold his sister as she slowly disappeared right in front of his eyes.
He still harbored some resentment towards Childe over that. Lumine was his only family after all. But that was what Lumine wanted and he couldn't deny his sister her dying wish.
Childe noticed him and gave him a quick nod. He stopped by the rock on the ground and knelt, placing the bouquet of flowers in his hand next to it. It was a bouquet of inteyvats. Aether wondered whether the man had grown the flowers themselves like he did.
“I haven't seen you around,” said Childe. His gaze remained on the rock as he spoke.
“Been busy. Traveling around Teyvat and keeping the Abyss influence in check. Keeping my promise to her,” Aether replied in a flat tone. He glanced at the taller man. “You're here often?”
“Every year, without fail. For the past twenty years.”
Ah, it's been twenty years. Aether hadn't noticed. Other than the day he had chosen this location to build a symbolic grave for Lumine, he had not been here again until today. The pain was still too raw.
Twenty years was barely a dent in his long life but it still surprises him to see how much mortals can change in that period of time. They truly are short-living creatures. It was almost pitiful.
“Are you still with the Fatui?” Aether asked.
Childe sat on the grass by the makeshift gravestone. “I quit a while ago.”
“But you didn't quit the lifestyle,” Aether remarked, an indirect nudge to the increasing scars on the man's physique.
Childe smiled. “I'm more or less a freelance adventurer taking the most difficult commissions now. It's an honest life and I get to spend more time with my family without dulling my blades. I guess that can be considered as a ‘good life?’” he reached out for the stone, tracing his fingers over its surface. “I only want peace and quiet with her. Otherwise, it's a hard pass.”
Aether scoffed. “There's still time to try.”
The red head shook his head. “If I have to be honest, right now I'm just counting down my years.”
Aether didn't reply. An understanding passed between them, one that didn't need any words to express. They were both two individuals who had gone through a loss so profound and irreplaceable that the only way to free themselves from the hauntings of past memories and what-ifs was death.
“Hey,” said Childe as he looked up to the sky, “do you think I can meet her again?”
Aether lingered on the question. He had seen many possibilities; rebirths, reincarnations. Beings whose will was so strong that they manage to break the shackles of destiny in their next life. Lovers who find each other over and over again in different circumstances. And was there an eternal place up there where souls would rest? Do stars like Lumine and him deserve a place up above?
“I ask myself the same question,” said Aether.
Suddenly, it began to rain.
Stars do not go to heaven.
They are fated to travel galaxies and illuminate the skies with their blinding light.
An eternal beacon of guidance for those looking up to the sky.
But sometimes, miracles happen.
Once in a while, in their endless life cycle, a star can turn to life.
And when life begins, a star will cease to exist…
A few millennia later, in a different galaxy…
“And then the travelling toy seller - who is secretly a Snezhnayan prince in disguise - saw the beautiful Mondstadt princess trying to escape her palace guards…”
“Ooh and then?”
Lumine paused by the door. She peered inside the room. A five-year-old girl with auburn hair was looking in awe at the man sitting across her on a small, pink colored bed. The man had deep blue eyes and hair that matched the little girl's. Aside from her golden eyes, the girl was practically a spitting image of the man.
Her daughter, Astra, and her husband, Ajax Ivanov.
She leaned against the wooden doorway, her lips curled into a fond smile as she watched the father-daughter bond. She always knew that Ajax would be a wonderful father from the way he doted on his younger siblings. But goodness, the moment Astra was born, she immediately became his raison d'etre. Doting was a grave understatement. There was probably no other tangerine princess more spoiled in the country than their little Astra. Ajax, who was skilled in several martial arts, an excellent sharpshooter and who was once feared back in high school for his reputation as undefeated during brawls, would immediately turn to putty by a single glance from the little girl. The tall, muscular man was at her beck and call, and absolutely no harm could happen to his little starlight.
Lumine actually had to talk him out of taking revenge on a little boy who accidentally kicked some sand into Astra's eyes in the playground once.
It was amusing to watch.
Whoever wanted to date her daughter in the future has an impossible wall to climb.
And to whoever would be Astra's first heartbreak, well, good luck to them.
“From the tree he was hiding in, the prince aimed his bow at the guards. He had three arrows at once.” Ajax continued. He aimed with his hands, pulling on an invisible bowstring.
“Whoaaa,” Astra chirped.
“When the princess got close enough, the prince said, ‘Hey girlie, hold still.’” That got a giggle out of Astra. “He let go of his arrows, scaring off the guards. The prince quickly jumped down the tree in front of the princess and whisked her away with him to safety.”
“And then they live happily ever after?” asked the little girl.
“Eventually, printsessa. But first they both went on many adventures together. That's when they started to become closer, and finally they would fall in love.”
The excitement in Astra's eyes was impossible to miss. “Papa, can you tell me some of their adventures?”
“Of course–”
“Tomorrow,” Lumine interjected as she stepped into the room. “It's time for bed.”
Seeing her mother, Astra immediately pouted. “Aw mama, just one?”
Lumine shook her head, trying her best to repress a smile. That face would immediately work on Ajax. Thankfully, Lumine had a stronger will when it came to her daughter's whims. It wasn't easy, but she managed.
“You've got school tomorrow, schatzi,” replied Lumine. Astra grumbled some more. It was adorable.
Ajax laughed. “Well, the queen has spoken. I'll tuck you in, solnyshko.” He stood up and walked over to where Lumine was to reach for the light switch behind her. Before he returned to Astra, Ajax leaned down to whisper in Lumine’s ear. “After this, I’ll put you to bed.”
Lumine elbowed him lightly, but the warmth that crept on her face betrayed her feigned annoyance. She walked over to Astra and placed a kiss on the girl’s head.
“Good night, Astie.”
“Mama,” said her daughter in a sleepy voice, “can Paimon sleep with me?”
Lumine chuckled. “Maybe tomorrow. She’s already asleep downstairs.” Paimon was a female tuxedo cat that showed up on their doorstep around a year before Astra was born. Chatty little thing. Once, she wouldn’t leave Lumine’s side. Now, the feline has decreed Astra as her favorite human.
Lumine turned and walked out of the room, but she didn’t miss the suggestive wink Ajax gave her before she closed the door. Lumine huffed, though a smile remained plastered on her face.
That was Ajax for you. Ever mischievous. Ever a handful.
But he was her handful Ajax.
Lumine let out a contented sigh as she rolled onto her stomach. She was bone-deep exhausted. But, oh, she was also extremely sated. Her husband truly knew the workings of her body.
Ajax trailed fleeting kisses along her spine before settling down next to her in bed. Lumine turned her head to him. She was met with a pair of ocean eyes that looked at her as if she was the world.
“God, I can never have enough of you, lyubimaya,” said Ajax.
She smiled. “You're pretty addictive yourself, red.” Lumine scooted closer to him and settled into his arm. They spent the next minute in cozy silence, enjoying the closeness and warmth of each other's bodies.
“Hey, Ajax…” Lumine began.
“Hmm?”
“What's Snezhnaya and Mondstadt?” she asked.
“Oh, those,” said Ajax. “They're just places I made up for Astra's bedtime story, but I'm thinking of incorporating them in the game I'm working on at work. Snezhnaya is inspired by Slavic regions, and Mondstadt is Western Europe. But mainly German.”
Lumine smiled, amused. “Let me guess, the prince is a reckless redhead, and the princess is a short blonde?”
She heard him chuckle. “Damn, how did you know?”
“‘Hey girlie, hold still?’ Those were your first ever words to me. Back when you butted in my fight.”
“Butted in? Sweetheart, I saved you. If I didn't send a flying kick to that robber, things would be quite bad for you.”
“I had things under control!” Lumine argued.
“That asshole had your arms locked behind you; that did not look promising,” argued Ajax.
“I had a plan,” she scoffed.
“Agree to disagree,” said the red-head. “Well, whatever. Great things happened thanks to that meeting. We got married. Astra was born. Snezhnaya and Mondstadt will soon exist…and whatever other places I can think of next for the game.”
Lumine hummed and began to trace random patterns on the man's chest with her finger. “How do you come up with these ideas anyway?”
“...You will think I'm weird,” said Ajax, a little reluctant.
“Not any more than usual,” replied Lumine without missing a beat.
“Well, to be honest, with this story, I kind of… dreamed of them.”
“Dreamed?”
“Yeah,” Ajax nodded. “For as long as I can remember, I have had these episodes of…strange dreams. They don't come frequently, but when they do, they're pretty consistent and tell the same story. In that dream I wield a bow, but I also use many other weapons made of water. I fight all sorts of monsters. And I come from ‘Snezhnaya’, which in some way is a little similar to my town back in Russia.”
“I see…” commented Lumine. Ajax, though short-fused, had always been a creative person and wildly imaginative. It was because of those traits that he managed to achieve the position of creative director in one of the world's biggest gaming companies at a relatively young age.
“You're also in them, but you didn't start appearing until after we met. You use a sword and all sorts of elements. We also got together in that dream.”
“And I come from this ‘Mondstadt’?”
“When I first met you, that's where you said you just came from, though I think you weren't from anywhere in…whatever that world is in my dream.”
Lumine propped herself up on his chest, looking down at her husband with an eyebrow raised. “So I'm pretty much an alien?”
“Basically.”
“Romantic.”
“Well, it's not too far from reality,” Ajax smirked, “I literally never met any girl as feisty as you. So yeah, you're pretty much an alien species.”
Lumine gave him a playful hit on the shoulder. “Asshole.”
“Pot calling the kettle black?”
Lumine rolled her eyes at him, though in reality she enjoyed every second of it. The banter, the little spark of challenge with Ajax. They were aspects that made her so compatible with the man.
“Was that weird?” asked Ajax.
Lumine tilted her head to the side, pondering her response for a few seconds. “What if,” she began, “those dreams were actually glimpses of a past life? Or an alternate universe that we lived through?”
It was Ajax's turn to raise an eyebrow. “Starlight, I didn't know you were a conspiracist.”
“Well,” she shrugged, “anything is possible, right?”
Ajax blinked at her. Then he threw his head back and roared in laughter. A carefree and relaxed laughter that rang beautifully in Lumine's ears. She found herself giggling lightly from his infectious laugh.
“You never fail to surprise me,” said Ajax. He gently took hold of her chin and brought their lips together. Lumine's eyelids fluttered, and she closed her eyes.
Everything went still. The past, present or future, none of them existed. None of them mattered. Only she and Ajax existed within the conundrum of time and space.
He pulled back, lips pink and lightly swollen from their kiss.
“Hey Lu,” he whispered, “do you believe in heaven?”
Déjà vu. It was the first time Ajax threw that question at her, yet it seemed all too familiar to Lumine. But, as she thought of their time together, the family they have built and the life that she once fervently prayed for turned to reality by him, the answer was downright obvious.
“I don't have to believe,” she replied. She peered into blue eyes. Peace, happiness and love, they were all reflected back at her. Her heart swelled. “I'm already there.”