Chapter Text
There is one thing you should know about Lumine Viatrix: she has a type.
Someone tall and gentle. Smart and kind. Considerate. Someone who will be good to her, to his family and friends, and to the people around him.
Someone like Childe Vaganov, Aether’s friend, and by extension, her friend.
Obviously, he’s tall. That ticks box number one.
Gentle? Aether might say otherwise, but Lumine has always thought that Childe was gentle in his own way. In seventh grade, he’d saved a particularly aggressive kitten from a tree, which left him with scratches all over his forearm.
He’d laughed it off as she treated his arm as best as she could. It had to hurt. No, she was sure it hurt, if his pained wincing was any indication.
But he never complained. He smiled and took the kitten to school after a few weeks, gentler now, and told all their classmates just how absolutely adorable he and his family found it.
Sometimes she catches herself staring at him for too long. It’s hard not to stare when Childe Vaganov is the cutest boy in the neighborhood (barring Aether, of course) and when he’s sweet and kind, to her and to his family.
She likes him. But she isn’t – in love with him, or anything, because they’re fourteen, and you don’t fall in love at fourteen. It’s just a crush. It’ll pass, she tells herself, because crushes only last four months until it’s love, or however the saying goes.
But it’s been three months since she’s come to terms with her feelings for him, and nothing has changed.
Nothing has changed, but then Childe goes missing for three days, and suddenly, everything changes.
He’s quieter now.
It was always Aether’s concern whenever he brought up her feelings for him. He talks too much, or Archons, he’s so annoying, but nothing has seemed right since Childe’s return.
Something is wrong. He was still kind, and considerate, but it was different. Lumine can’t put her finger on what exactly changed.
There’s a new student in their grade.
He’s mean, and selfish, and horrible to everyone around him; everything Lumine doesn’t like, all wrapped up in a beautiful package. He’s beautiful, Lumine acknowledges, but that was the only thing he had going for him. Unlike Childe, who was beautiful, and good, and smart, and sweet.
His name is Scaramouche. Childe hangs out with him, whether Lumine likes it or not.
He’s insufferable.
Childe isn’t anything like him.
Scaramouche doesn’t even seem to like hanging out with Childe, which is weird, because everyone likes hanging out with Childe. Another reason why Lumine is so wary of him. Who transfers in the middle of the school year, anyway? Lumine grew up with these people, and having Scaramouche disrupt their peace is so…
“Stop staring at him,” Aether whispers sharply next to her, which snaps her out of her reverie.
Lumine rolls her eyes. She continues unwrapping her fruit roll-up.
A shuffle comes from behind them. “Who’s she staring at?” Childe pokes his head in between them, causing her to drop her fruit roll-up. “Oops.”
“No one,” Lumine says quickly. She frowns. “I was gonna eat that,” she sighs, mourning the loss of her beloved fruit snack.
“Sorry,” Childe shrugs.
“She was staring at your new friend.”
“Aether.”
“You were staring at Scara?” Childe gawks, eyes widening. His face turns to meet her gaze. “Seriously?”
Lumine flushes a light pink. “No.”
“Just kidding. She was staring at…” Aether mimics binoculars with his hands, making a show of looking for a target to pass the blame on. “That guy.”
That guy is an upperclassman that neither Lumine nor Aether had ever talked to in their lives. Lumine fights the urge to smack her twin brother in the arm. “Aether,” She warns, but she can’t help the pink from spreading from her neck to the tips of her ears. “I wasn’t staring at him. I swear.”
Childe takes a seat next to the blushing blonde. “I didn’t think he was your type.”
“I told you – I wasn’t staring at anyone,” she insists. Childe picks up the disgraced fruit roll-up from the floor and whistles.
Aether looks at him in disgust. “You’re gonna eat that?”
“No,” Childe smiles, eyeing the unremarkable senior Lumine supposedly has her eye on. “This is the perfect gift for a beloved upperclassman, don’t you think?”
Lumine shivers, then, the air turning inexplicably tense. Even Aether looked uncomfortable under the weight of the atmosphere, excusing himself from the conversation. “Just kidding,” Childe says suddenly. “What? You really thought I would give this to him?”
She exhales, glancing nervously at the senior, who was already walking out of the cafeteria. “I know you wouldn’t,” Lumine tells him. She smiles at him.
“I feel like you’ll eat this if I don’t take it away from you.”
Childe laughs, beautiful, and there is no doubt in her mind when she thinks I love him.
Lumine laughs with him.
Scaramouche Balladeer knocks her water bottle down at lunch, and he doesn’t apologize.
“I just don’t understand how someone like Childe,” Lumine wonders aloud on her bed, “could be friends with someone like Scaramouche.”
“The same way he can be friends with you, I imagine,” her twin answers dryly by the foot of her bed.
Lumine leans down to hit him on the head. “It’s a serious question.”
“I was just kidding,” Aether pouts as he rubs his newest injury. As Lumine reaches out to pat his hand, he stands up suddenly, his tone turning heavy. “You know, I don’t think we should hang out with Childe anymore.”
“Huh? Why?”
“He’s giving me the creeps.”
“You’re gonna have to give me more than he’s giving me the creeps, Ae.”
“No, I’m serious,” Aether says firmly. “Haven’t you noticed something wrong with him? You like him, so I’m sure you have.”
He’s right. Something is wrong. Lumine sits upright and faces her brother, anxious. “He’s fine. It’s just – something’s off, I know. But I don’t think that means we should stop being friends with him.”
“You saw what happened with the fruit roll-up. You were there.”
“It was a joke. He never gave it to him.”
“He scared me,” Aether reasons. “He’s scaring you.”
“He’s still Childe.”
“But he’s different.”
Lumine looks directly at him, pursing her lips. “Ae, I – ”
“Lumi, I want the best for both of us,” Aether bites the inside of his cheek. Lumine stares at him until he cracks, weak to his sister’s face. “Okay, here. We’ll be friends with him, but we won’t hang out with him as much. I have a bad feeling about him.”
“You have a bad feeling about everyone I like,” she points out.
“This is different.” She knows this is different, knows Childe is different. “Okay? Is this okay with you?”
Lumine thinks of Childe, beautiful and warm, and she thinks of never being friends with him again. This is a good compromise.
She hesitates before nodding. Aether smiles before hopping onto her bed and putting on a movie – a romantic comedy, childhood friends growing up together and then falling in love, getting married and –
Lumine still loves Childe, so really, nothing is different.
As it turns out, Lumine doesn’t actually need to stop hanging out with Childe, since he was transferring to a school in Liyue.
She doesn’t find out until he hands her a small box on the day before Christmas break. “What’s this?” She asks him, inspecting the red ribbon keeping the box together.
Her heart stutters when he gives her a lopsided smile. “Your Christmas gift,” Childe tells her. “I couldn’t leave my favorite girl out!”
In truth, she’d been a bit disappointed to find out he hadn’t given any gifts to anyone other than Aether and Scaramouche. She assumed that maybe it was because they weren’t as close as he and Aether were, but to give Scaramouche one too…well, it didn’t matter now.
She holds the gift to her ear, trying to figure out what could be inside. Childe gently gestures for her to open it.
The silky ribbon is cold to the touch as she tugs it open. Inside the box is an expensive-looking silver charm bracelet with blue seashells and stars. Lumine looks up at him, surprised. “This is…”
“I made it myself!” Childe rubs his neck nervously. “It was my first time making a bracelet. It’s not ugly, is it?”
Lumine gently touches the middle-most charm, a shiny red star, her heart pounding in her chest. “It’s really beautiful. Thank you, Ajax…I can’t believe – you didn’t have to trouble yourself with making me something this nice. I would’ve been fine with anything...”
“But I wanted to.”
“Still, it’s too much…”
“This isn’t too much for you,” Childe says thoughtfully. “Actually, this isn’t even enough to make up for what I’m about to tell you, Lumi.”
Her heart skips a beat.
“Please, just hear me out. I’ve been wanting to tell you since February…”
This – she hasn’t prepared her heart for this. He goes silent.
“Lumine, I…want you to have my sailboat collection.”
It’s like a bucket of cold water is dumped over her.
“I mean, you don’t need to take care of them if you don’t want to. They’re really high maintenance, but you know how much they mean to me. I’ve been working on them since I was a kid. So…I want you to have them. As a remembrance,” he follows up, waving his hands around.
The sailboat collection in question is an entire room filled with miniature sailboats, meticulously crafted with this father, in thoroughly cleaned glass bottles. They’re Childe’s prized possessions. She doesn’t know why he would give them to her, of all people, as a remembrance –
Huh? “As a remembrance? For what?”
“Oh, did I not tell you?” He laughs nervously. “I thought you would have heard by now. I’m going to Liyue for the rest of high school.”
Childe's words settle heavily between them. The weight of it presses into Lumine’s chest, but he only offers her a bright smile, as though he's just told her something funny.
"You're...leaving?" Her voice is barely a whisper, but Childe catches it, and his expression softens slightly.
"Yeah, it’s no big deal," he says, shrugging as though moving to a whole new country for years is the simplest thing in the world. "Liyue Tech has this program I’m interested in.”
Lumine’s hand tightens around the bracelet. "When were you going to tell me?"
He scratches the back of his neck, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips. "Honestly, I was kinda hoping it would come up on its own. I’ve known since February, but it just...I don't know. I guess it felt weird to bring it up. I didn’t want to make it a big deal."
Lumine bites her lip. He didn't want to make it a big deal. Her heart sinks a little further at his casual tone. "You’ve known for almost a year, Childe. I’m supposed to just be okay with this?"
"I mean, yeah." He laughs, almost a bit awkwardly. "We’ll still be friends, right? I’ll visit, and we can write or call or something." He shifts from foot to foot, as if he’s trying to shake off the sudden tension. "Besides, you’ll have the sailboats."
The sailboats. Her fingers brush over the bracelet again. She doesn’t know if she wants his sailboats. What she wants is for him to stay, but Childe is already looking at her with an expression that says he’s made his peace with this, even if she hasn’t.
"Okay," she manages. "I’ll take care of them for you."
His face lights up in relief, his usual carefree demeanor quickly returning. "Great! I knew I could count on you, Lumi. Anyway, don’t be sad." He nudges her playfully.
"Right." Her voice is soft, quiet, as though admitting this out loud might make it more real.
“I’d better go,” he says quickly. “I have so much stuff I need to pack and I’m already leaving this weekend! How can I fit all my stuff in five measly suitcases?”
He’s already leaving this weekend. And she only found out now. Who else knew before her? Aether couldn’t have known, he would have told her. Did everyone else know?
Childe is speaking about something else entirely, not really meeting her eyes. He awkwardly waves goodbye before turning to leave. Lumine’s ears are ringing. If he’s going to leave, she should tell him.
She catches the hem of his sweater.
“I like you.”
Childe stops mid-step, the playful smile on his face faltering as he turns back to her. There’s a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. Then, he laughs softly, almost awkwardly, and rubs the back of his neck.
"Lumi," he says gently, his voice soft and careful. "You're...one of my best friends. You know that, right?"
Her heart sinks. She forces herself to nod, even though her fingers are still gripping his sweater like a lifeline.
"You're really important to me," he continues, giving her that trademark, easygoing smile that once made her heart flutter. "I just...I guess I never really thought of us that way, you know?"
She releases his sweater, pulling her hand back as if it’s been burned. "Right. Yeah, of course. Just…forget I said anything," she mumbles, looking anywhere but at him.
Childe reaches out, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. "Hey, don't be like that. I still want us to be close, even if...you know." He gives her an almost pleading look, like he doesn’t want this to change things, like he hasn’t just broken something inside her.
"Sure," she replies, voice barely steady. "Friends."
His relief is almost palpable as he grins, oblivious to the ache settling in her chest. "See? Nothing’s changed! I knew you’d understand. Besides," he adds with a wink, "I know there’s plenty of people who like you."
She tries to smile, to laugh it off, but it feels hollow. She watches as he turns, throwing a casual wave over his shoulder.
And then, just like that, he’s gone. Her ears are still ringing.
She doesn’t see him off. Neither does Aether, for that matter. He stays home in solidarity with her, claiming sickness, or something like that. She doesn’t know what Aether tells their parents, but they leave them alone.
Aether didn’t know he was leaving, either.
Scaramouche probably knew. She curls into her blanket, trying not to cry. She’d been friends with Childe her entire life, but he didn’t even have the decency to tell her he was leaving until two days before he left. He probably told Scaramouche, but he didn’t even think to tell her.
“He was a jerk, anyway,” Aether sits beside her, stroking her hair. “I mean, who dumps their entire sailboat collection on someone before rejecting them?”
Lumine sniffles. Aether shifts his position to lie down beside her. “Lumi, you know I mean it when I say he doesn’t deserve you.”
“The other way around, I think,” she says, voice hoarse.
Aether’s eyes harden. “You’re miles out of his league. I mean, if it really comes down to it, you could have any guy you want! Well, except him,” he babbles, and Lumine looks like a puppy that’s been kicked. Aether frantically continues. “But that’s because he’s an idiot who doesn’t know what he has.”
The sailboats are still at his house. Lumine hasn’t come by to get them, nor does she have any plans to. His parents are still at his house for the foreseeable future, so she’s sure they’ll take care of them. The bracelet is back in its box, above her wardrobe, far from her hands and eyes. Aether cleared out everything that reminded her of Childe from the house and placed it in a box, soon to be returned to his parents.
Lumine sits up. “What?” Aether asks her, sitting up as well.
“Do you think I’m overreacting?”
Aether looks at her, his expression both firm and gentle. "Lumi, we’ve known him our whole lives. He kept something huge from us. You have every right to feel hurt." He reaches over and squeezes her hand. "He didn’t think it was a big deal, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t."
Lumine bites her lip, looking down at their hands. "I guess…I just keep thinking maybe I was overreacting. Maybe he was right not to tell me sooner, or maybe I expected too much. It’s not like he owed me his love.”
"Expecting respect isn’t too much," Aether says with a bit of heat. “Even if he didn’t feel the same, he owed you honesty, at the very least."
"I thought he cared about me, I guess. Maybe not in the same way, but…I thought I was important."
"You are important," Aether says fiercely. "To me, to Mom and Dad, and to anyone with half a brain. And Childe will realize that eventually. But by then, he won’t deserve your attention."
For a while, they sit in silence, the only sound the quiet tick of the clock on the wall. Finally, Lumine leans her head on Aether’s shoulder. "I don’t know what I’d do without you," she murmurs.
Aether smiles, his voice softening. "Luckily, you won’t ever have to find out.”
Scaramouche Balladeer sits next to her at the theatre.
The local ballet company is staging The Nutcracker. It just so happens that Aether actually does get sick, ergo he can’t use his exclusive, one-of-a-kind ticket, ergo her mom takes it upon herself to invite her new coworker’s lovely, intelligent son, who happens to be Scaramouche Balladeer, because of course it has to be him, of all people.
Lumine sinks into her seat, reading the program they’d distributed at the entrance. Scaramouche’s eyes follow her figure. “Are you trying to become one with the chair?”
She shoots him a sidelong glare. "Don’t you have anything better to do than criticize my sitting posture?" She mutters, flipping the page to the cast. She recognizes one of Childe’s sisters, playing the Sugar Plum Fairy. She sinks further into her seat. His entire family is probably here, too.
Scaramouche raises an eyebrow. "Not really," he replies smoothly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Besides, if I’m forced to endure two hours of interpretive dancing, I might as well amuse myself."
"Then amuse yourself quietly," Lumine retorts.
His smirk deepens as he leans back, crossing his arms languidly. “If you end up falling asleep, don’t blame me for pointing it out.”
Lumine rolls her eyes, refusing to dignify him with a response. She focuses intently on the stage as the lights dim, the orchestra striking up the familiar opening notes. The Nutcracker is a staple in their household – she’d grown up watching it during holidays, and sometimes, her family would even watch with Childe’s.
They were probably right in the front row. Lumine is thankful that her parents secured box seats for them, away from – well, his family never did anything wrong, but still. Her hands grip the arm rests tightly, trying her best to focus, but between the constant reminder of her ex(?)crush’s family and Scaramouche’s eyes trained on her like she’s more interesting than the ballet itself, it’s an uphill battle.
She does her best to ignore all the distraction, but when Childe’s sister makes her entrance as the Sugar Plum Fairy, executing a perfect series of pirouettes, Lumine’s heart sinks, just a little. She really does look a lot like him.
Scaramouche, of course, doesn’t miss a thing. “You look thrilled,” he murmurs, just loud enough for her to hear over the music.
She huffs. “Observant as always.”
“Watching you try to keep your cool is way more entertaining than this,” he gestures to the stage. Lumine feels her eye twitch. Her mom should have given Aether’s ticket to someone who would have actually appreciated the show. “I bet his family knows you’re here.”
Lumine stiffens. “They probably don’t care.”
“Sure, they don’t. Or maybe they do. Wanna go ask?”
“Do you make this a habit? Bothering people during shows?” Lumine whispers, leaning towards him so as to not bother the people around them. Before he can react, she quickly pulls away. “Oh, shh, this is my favorite part.”
Scaramouche looks at her incredulously. He opens his mouth to say something, but the instrumental peaks, and Lumine’s expression changes from uncomfortable and mildly annoyed to pure, innocent wonder.
He closes his mouth, and he turns his head to look at the stage.
Out of the corner of his eye, he can see her lips settle into a serene smile.
Coincidentally, they’re in the same homeroom for their sophomore year, so she becomes a frequent witness to his you’re all beneath me attitude. Scaramouche, she quickly learns, never seems to run out of opinions – especially when it comes to making a point just to irk her.
Her classmates have somehow appointed her as the resident Class vs. Scaramouche mediator after a routine repeat of a series of events: Scaramouche always ends up making a snide remark, the tension between the class rises, and then inevitably, they come to her to calm him down.
Like she has any control over his antics. Ugh.
What always ends up happening is they – mostly Lumine – argue about it for a bit before Scaramouche shrugs and changes the topic to annoy her. So, not-so-coincidentally, they both end up in the debate club.
Of course, Lumine grumbles, Scaramouche would never let go of an opportunity to get under her skin.
“That looks fun.” He suddenly appears next to her as she’s writing her name on the sign-up sheet. “If I join, I get to argue with you for free and as an incentive. Count me in,” he flashes her the infuriating grin she’s been seeing way too much of lately. She grimaces, and almost decides on crossing her name out.
But she doesn’t.
So, this is how she finds herself in the front row, watching as Scaramouche boldly challenges the debate club president to a debate with that same infuriating grin.
Her mouth drops open in shock. What are you doing? She mouths to him, but Scaramouche only flashes her a smirk before strolling confidently to the podium.
The club president, unfazed, meets his challenge with a nod, probably intending to make an example out of him. The debate club adviser glances between them, looking both amused and mildly concerned. He decides on a question: “Does the end justify the means?”
She crosses her arms, exasperated, but curious. Scaramouche, she knows, even with all of his…quirks, isn’t all bark with no bite. He might actually win this.
Sure enough, the debate club president can barely finish a sentence before Scaramouche interrupts, his rebuttals razor-sharp and relentless. A murmur runs through the room as every point made by the president is ruthlessly dismantled.
Scaramouche presses on, unflinching. “You say integrity matters more than results, but tell me, who benefits from hesitation? In the real world, indecision only sacrifices progress. Are we supposed to cling to our ideals, even if it costs us what we’re trying to achieve?”
Then, he glances her way, just for a moment, like he’s checking to see if she’s watching. When their eyes meet, he raises an eyebrow, that smug grin widening.
He obviously knows he’s going to win.
They continue on like that for a few more minutes before Scaramouche delivers his closing statement.
Just like that, the debate club adviser proclaims him the winner of the debate.
Lumine instinctively raises her hands to clap, but the room falls into an uncomfortable silence. She glances around, realizing the other club members were either shifting uncomfortably or frowning. Some of them exchange looks, clearly displeased, while others murmur under their breath.
She starts clapping, anyway.
The eyes that were scrutinizing him land on her instead, but she doesn’t stop. It was a clear victory, they should at least admit it!
A few people follow her lead, but they’re half-hearted, as if only to appease the tension. Scaramouche walks back to his seat beside her with a huff.
“You kicked his butt,” Lumine whispers to him when he sits back down. “But next time, try not to challenge the president on our first day. What if we get kicked out?”
He scoffs. “Why would you get kicked out?”
“Someone has to be responsible for keeping you in check, and…you’re the only person I know here,” she sheepishly whispers. She looks away from him when the debate club adviser starts talking about guidelines and other boring, serious stuff.
“So, what, I’m your responsibility now?” He half-whispers to her, reverting back to his usual smug demeanor when she turns back to look at him.
Lumine rolls her eyes at him. “More like, I’m the necessary unfortunate soul who’s stuck cleaning up your messes.”
“Same thing,” he grins at her. “For your own sake, I hope you keep up.”
Luckily for Lumine, the rest of the year continues without much incident. Scaramouche seems to have mellowed out, taking out his need for confrontation during debate club instead of the classroom. For once, it’s almost peaceful.
Lately, though, Lumine feels more than a little bored.
There isn’t anything particularly exciting at school. Or at home, for that matter. Aether has been completely preoccupied with his newfound love of photography, so he’s been out and about, taking pictures of nature.
Which leaves her alone.
Well, not entirely. A guy from history class confessed to her suddenly in the middle of free period, and she politely declined – not because she was still in love with Childe (who, by the way, you should never bring up around her), but because she just doesn’t see herself being with anyone. At least, not yet.
The guy is persistent, though. He gives her flowers in the middle of discussions and makes conversation at her locker when she’s rushing to get to her next class.
Scaramouche seems to scare him off, so she’s glad for that. “Where’s my thanks?” Scaramouche tells her when the guy scurries away.
“Thanks for being my guy-repellant, I guess?” Lumine says, exchanging the history book in her arm for her physics one. She winces.
She’s been struggling with physics for quite a while now, and it’s starting to get to her. Spending hours pouring over books and worksheets don’t seem to make any difference. It doesn’t help that she finds both the subject and her teacher painfully boring. Maybe it’s not that I can’t learn, it’s more like I don’t want to, she sighs as she closes her locker door.
“Physics again? I don’t understand why you don’t get it,” Scaramouche taunts her. “I can finish those equations in my sleep.”
“Not everyone is a genius like you, Scara,” Lumine clicks her tongue. “Plus, we have different teachers. Let’s see if you can learn under Mr. T.”
Scaramouche scoffs, crossing his arms. “You probably just don’t pay attention to him.”
“Please, anyone would lose interest after hearing him drone for an hour and a half.” She sighs. “It’s not like I’m trying to be bad at it."
“I bet I could make it make sense to you, even if you’re…somewhat physics-impaired.”
Lumine turns to look at him in disbelief. “Are you offering to tutor me?”
Scaramouche turns away. “Only because people know our families are close, and if you look dumb, it reflects on my image.”
Their parents have grown closer since the ballet, and have been meeting frequently – to the point that it wouldn’t be strange to see Scaramouche at her house when she isn’t, and vice versa. It’s a well-known fact at school that his family is close enough to hers that they have family dinners together. Perhaps even closer than Childe’s family was, which is saying something.
She gives him a playful shove. “What image? The one I’ve been saving since the first semester?”
“Imagine how long it would take to restore my image if they knew I was associated with someone who can’t pass Intro to Physics,” he shrugs. “Be grateful you’ve found an exclusive tutor, but it’s going to cost you.”
“What? You can’t just offer to be my physics tutor and then demand compensation!”
“You need a physics tutor, Lumi?” Amber, a friend of hers from history class, pokes her head in between the two. She glances at Scaramouche with a devious grin before turning back to Lumine. “You’re better off asking Diluc.”
Lumine tilts her head. “Diluc? The third year?”
“Yep, Diluc Ragnvindr,” she confirms. “He’s tutoring a bunch of students for extra credit. He got Bennett to pass Trig, can you believe it? Anyway, if you tell him Amber sent you, he should have a slot for you. I was supposed to start chemistry lessons today, but knowing you and physics…” Amber looks at her with pity in her eyes, “I’ll let you have them. Plus, I owe you one for helping me with the history midterm!”
“Really? You would give your lessons up for me?” Lumine takes Amber’s hands in her own and smiles brightly. “I owe you big time!”
Amber smiles back at her. “It’s okay, we’re even now! Unless…Scaramouche, did you want to tutor Lumi?”
Scaramouche glares at her before coughing. “You know what? I actually don’t have time in my schedule to tutor, anyway, so you can go to Dino or whatever his name is.”
“Diluc,” Amber corrects. “Trust me, Lumi, he’s a genius! Meet him in the library, discussion room A2, after class.”
Lumine nods enthusiastically. A solution to her physics troubles!
When Lumine arrives at the library, she doesn’t know what exactly to expect. She’s heard about Diluc on more than one occasion, mostly about his academic achievements, and she’s seen him around enough to know that he was tall, with red hair and a really serious face.
Seeing him up close, though, is a whole other story.
She knocks on the door to the discussion room, and she hears some shuffling before someone opens the door.
Diluc Ragnvindr is so tall that he needs to lean down not to hit the door frame. “Um, hi, you’re Diluc, right?”
He nods. “You’re Lumine Viatrix, second year, debate club,” he says as he steps aside to let her in.
“Oh! You know me?” Lumine asks, surprised. She puts her books down on the table and sits down.
“Yes,” he replies, settling into the chair across from her. He doesn’t elaborate, so Lumine stares at him awkwardly for a few moments before looking away. He clears his throat. “Physics. What are you having trouble with?”
“Ah, projectile motion…forces, energy…” She opens one of her books, trying to seem like she knows more than she really does, before giving up with a sigh. “Actually, everything. I’m sorry, they all blur together…”
Diluc takes a look at her textbook. “Intro to Physics? Do you have Mr. T?”
Lumine blinks. “How did you know?”
“I had him last year. I understand why you’re having trouble. He’s not a good teacher,” he says bluntly, which surprises her. “He doesn’t teach the basic concepts well, so it’s hard to understand the harder ones. You need a better foundation.”
“So…we have to start from the beginning?”
“More or less, yes. If you don’t understand the basics, you won’t understand anything else,” he explains, scribbling something on a sticky note. “Here’s my number for scheduling. Just text me the day before, and we can set a time.”
Lumine takes the sticky note, her fingers brushing lightly against his as she does. She can feel a slight warmth on her cheeks. "Thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to tutor me. Honestly, I think I’m a lost cause.”
“You’re not, and there’s no need for thanks. I needed one more student to fill my quota,” Diluc says simply, taking out a stack of papers from under the table. “Anyway, let’s start.”
She beams at him.
As it turns out, Diluc Ragnvindr is exactly her type – which, to recap, is tall, smart, considerate, gentle – well, you get the idea.
They meet every Friday after class. Diluc’s suggestion to start from the beginning was the missing link that helped her understand physics, and she was finally keeping up with Mr. T’s long, confusing lectures.
Lumine was glowing with all the stress she accumulated from physics gone, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the people around her. “He’s that good, huh?” Aether asks her as he’s wiping his camera lenses. “He seems like a cool guy.”
“He’s more than cool. He’s patient, and he’s a much better teacher than Mr. T,” she gushes. “And he doesn’t make me feel bad about not getting things immediately,” she looks pointedly at Scaramouche, who was taking up the entirety of the space on her couch.
“Big deal. Any tutor can do what he does,” Scaramouche mutters. “Just because he knows how to explain a few physics formulas doesn’t mean you have to treat him like he’s saved the world.”
“He’s not just any tutor, though. He actually listens to what I have to say!”
Aether looks up from cleaning his photography equipment. “Don’t worry, Lumi, Scara’s just pouting. He offered first, remember?”
Lumine hums. “He told me he didn’t have time in his schedule to tutor me, though.”
“That was – ” Scaramouche sits up, knocking over a throw pillow in the shape of a cat in the process. “Ugh, whatever.”
To his credit, Aether doesn’t fall over laughing until after five seconds had passed. Scaramouche glares at him, beginning to pick a fight, but Lumine mentally checks out, burying her face into the stuffed lion in her arms.
Whenever she sees Diluc, there’s a warm feeling in her heart.
She’s not an idiot. She’s fallen in love before – she just didn’t know it could happen this quickly. With Childe, it was a slow build-up of childhood feelings and expectations drawn from movies, but with Diluc, it’s like a spark that blazed into a fire, too fast to comprehend.
Diluc is always gentle with her, always considerate, always kind. He never rushes her, and always makes sure she understands every concept, no matter how long it takes.
Her phone buzzes, pulling her away from her thoughts. She looks at it, and a smile starts to tug at her lips. It’s a text from Diluc.
Her cheeks flush. Lumine hasn’t mentally prepared herself to see him so early in the week. The last time she saw him was only two days ago! But…
She shuts her eyes. Archons, could you be more obvious?! She inwardly berates herself, squeezing her stuffed lion. The two boys bickering turn to look at her bizarrely. “It’s nothing,” she waves them off, before sighing. He probably knows I like him already.
His reply comes quickly, leaving her no more time to beat herself up over her message.
Lumine’s heart stutters, already feeling the flutter of anticipation. She puts her phone down and smiles into her stuffed lion. Aether notices, but he chooses not to say anything.
With that look on her face, it would be hard for anyone to object to her happiness, he thinks as he watches her smile to herself. She locks eyes with him, and he gives her a knowing look.
Well, it’s okay as long as she’s happy.