couples therapy: a chilumi fanfiction

chapter three: tick tick boom

Lumine liked her schedules.

They kept everything together - that way, nothing would slip through the cracks. She had a whiteboard on her wall that detailed everything she had to do that week, and an agenda as well. Every morning, she would follow the same morning routine down to a T.

The morning of her first therapy appointment with Ajax wasn't any different than most. She woke up at 6:30 after not enough hours of sleep, and washed her face before silently beginning her makeup and skincare routine (Mona didn't wake up until 8:00 if not 12:00). By 7:15, she was saying goodbye to Paimon, and grabbing her bag before heading to the meal hall for breakfast.

Lumine knew a few other early risers, and sat with them each morning for breakfast. She was running a few minutes late, so by the time she had made her way to their table with some coffee and a pastry, they were all already there.

"Good morning Lumine," Keqing, a second year economics major, chimed as she sipped some tea. She was incredibly smart and on top of things, albeit she worked herself a little too hard sometimes. Lumine would have to remind her to sit back and relax in the months leading up to exam season.

"Hgrhhh'' Lumine heard Amber grunt out, her face planted on the table. Although Amber woke up early like the rest of them, it was not by choice. She had archery practice at 8:00 every day, since she was one of the top archers in Teyvat.

"Hey guys," She smiled and sat down. Besides Keqing and Amber, there were two more people sitting with them: Eula, Amber's girlfriend, and Xiangling, a second year culinary science major.

"What's on your plate today?" Eula asked.

"Just the usual," Lumine flipped through her agenda. "Chemistry, Biology, a few labs... oh, and an appointment."

"Ooh, what's it for?" Xiangling was kind-hearted, but sometimes she didn't understand the concept of privacy.

"Just uni stuff." Lumine wasn't ashamed of needing therapy, but she didn't want to shout it from the rooftops. Although she sat with these girls every morning, she wasn't particularly close with any of them. They didn't share any classes in common, and they lived different social lives.

With Lumine's social life being virtually non-existent, that is.

The rest of her morning went by in a blur. She attended her classes, cried over how many readings she was given for that evening, studied in the library with Yanfei (a child law prodigy) for one of her electives, and grabbed some lunch on her way to the health centre.

Ajax was already waiting outside for her, looking at his phone. He had the cutest phone case, with a little narwhal on it. He wore a red button down that was unbuttoned at the top, and had turquoise sneakers that matched his phone.

"You ready?" He asked as she walked up to him. He completely dwarfed her in size - she was barely 5'2", whereas he easily passed 5'10". She nodded, and they walked into the centre together.

---

Ajax didn't care about schedules. He changed what he did everyday, and didn't take any morning for granted.

This particular morning had started with an early morning swim. He had always felt at home in the water, whether on a beach or in a pool. Luckily, he was able to be a part of the university swim team during his very limited free time, and loved to practice.

The rest of his morning was relatively uneventful, besides some texts from his Tsaritsa asking if he would be coming down tonight. His answer was instant, and consistent with every other time he had been asked. His answer would always be yes.