couples therapy: a chilumi fanfiction

chapter 8: is he bribing you?

Anastasia was not exactly what Lumine expected of the matriarch of the Ivanov family, but at the same time, she was exactly what Lumine expected of Ajax's mother.

Stern, but kind. Headstrong, but gentle.

"Make yourself right at home, Lumine. You're basically family now." Lumine tried to ignore the blush that arose on her cheeks. She was NOT going to fall in love with Ajax's family. "You managed to tame our Jaxie, which is a miracle in itself. We would love you even if you were some scrappy little street fighter."

The irony of that statement was not lost on the blonde. If it hadn't been for the kindness of a woman that was not too unlike Anastasia herself, she probably would've actually ended up as one.

"You're too kind, Mrs. Ivanov." She took in the family's living room as Ajax brought their bags inside. It was cosy, and warm. Lived in, the way Lumine liked it.

"Please, call me Anastasia. Or even better, call me Mama." Anastasia brushed her off, chuckling. Although the comment was obviously meant to be lighthearted, it tugged at Lumine's heartstrings. Mama. The last time she had called anyone that name had been, what, 12 years ago? She was so young.

"Will I be staying in a guest room...? Or I can just sleep on the couch, I don't want to intrude."

"Nonsense!" Anastasia busied herself, entering the kitchen and beginning to cook. "You'll be staying with Jaxie of course. His room is in the basement, so feel free to be as loud as you want! I've always wanted grandchildren..."

Unfortunately, Ajax had to choose that exact minute to walk in. "Mama! We are way too young for kids, calm down. Ne zastavlyay Lyumine chuvstvovatʹ sebya nelovko, ona i tak dostatochno nervnichayet ."*

Turning to Lumine, he switched back into Liyuean, the language they all spoke. Both himself and Lumine were fluent in two languages - Snezhnayan and Liyuean for himself, and Mond and Liyuean for Lumine. "Here, I'll show you to our room." He led the way down the stairs into the basement, and she was greeted by a rather large bedroom. Much larger than anything she ever grew up with.

Across from the king sized bed, there was a flat screen TV and multiple gaming consoles. A desk was on the other side, with various papers stacked on top of it. Next to the walk in closet was a door, presumably leading to the bathroom.

"Nice room," Lumine smiled, standing nervously by the entrance.

"Come on in, make yourself at home. I'll set up an air mattress for myself, you can sleep on the bed."

Lumine crossed her arms. "It's your room. I'll just sleep on the floor, I've done it many times before."

"And I'm going to make sure you never have to sleep on the floor again," Ajax shot back in a low tone. That low tone... it made Lumine feel things. She tried hiding her blush, and stared intensely at the floor, before she came up with an idea.

"Why don't we just share?" She proposed, not wanting him to sleep on the floor either. Plus, it wasn't like he had a small bed.

Ajax stopped in his tracks.

"Not like that of course!" She quickly clarified.

He grinned slightly, exhaling. "Don't worry, I know what you meant." He considered the pros and cons. The pros were that neither of them would be sleeping on the floor, and that he would be sharing his bed with an incredibly pretty woman. The cons were that he would be sharing his bed with an incredibly pretty woman he couldn't kiss, cuddle, or fuck.

"Alright, sounds good. We'll share the bed." He eventually decided. At least I have a drop dead gorgeous woman in my bed. I'll count that as a win.