Dark Secret

Chapter 7: Fears and Dark Wishes

"Ha!" came Lumine's short battle cry. Startled, the small group of monsters soon turned to dust, and Lumine collected the treasures.

"You've gotten better, Ojou-Chan!" Childe stated. "There's not a single scratch on you."

Lumine stared into space before giving a curt nod.

Childe narrowed his eyes at her silence. Even after the whole shouting match they had, Lumine had been exuberant, even yesterday night, she was still a record player, going on, and on, until she finally fell asleep.

"Paimon, take this mora, and go to Liyue Harbor to get us some food," he said, handing her 100,000 mora. "Don't eat all of it on the way back!"

Paimon eagerly nodded. "Okay, okay, Piamon won't!" and with that, the eager, and hungry pixie vanished.

Childe turned to Lumine, her back facing him, and stared at the ground before her feet.

"Lumine what's wrong? You're off quiet today..."

She didn't respond, instead, just made a little sound. He soon realized it was Lumine trying to hide tears, tears, and her tears were winning over her.

"H-hey Lumine, what's wrong? If it's your brother again, I'll beat him up for making you like this!"

"N-no, n-not that..." she mumbled.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nightmare... they can come true, you know?

"Oh, Lum-"

"No. Mine came true." she took a deep breath, into Childe's clothes, which smelled like snow blossoms. "Aether...and the Abyss... I-I had a nightmare like that on my fifth day of helping out in Mondstadt, back when Stormterror was still corrupted."

"Lumine, just because one comes true, doesn't mean that another will come true..." But Childe knew himself that that wasn't true in every case. Lumine's case. His case. At least his worst one. It was a long time ago, and he was young, but he remembered it as clear as day. Of course, Childe, the 11th of the Fatui Harbingers, still told no one. Not his family, not the Tsartisa, or even Lumine. Only a particular blonde male worked with things worse than Fatui.

"Childe... why do I feel guilty every time I'm around you? Is it because I'm replacing you with Aether, and then ditching my brother in the dust?"

"No, of cour-"

"Before you say no, answer the please: Aren't I selfish? All I wanted was to find Aether, and not worry about anyone else's troubles. But, somehow, I always get dragged into every little problematic detail and face a god. Did I ever sign up for this? All I ever wanted to do was find brother..." Lumine let her tears fall freely but didn't make a sound.

Lumine's tears... out of every single person in Teyvat... she is the only one that can remain silently crying while in the sight of someone else...

"Lumine, no matter what way you put it, you aren't selfish. All you're doing is putting your family first, and that's not being selfish."

"B-but... I never help others... I have to get dragged in..."

"Does it matter? You still play your part, yet always never yell, or get upset. You only show true colors when necessary, or being pushed. Even though you worry about Aether, you rarely refuse, and you accept your fate and move on."

"...Do you see that much in me?"

"Of course! Yes, we may have our tassels with each other, and yes, you're just as strong as everyone else is in this world of family. You care about someone, while still having happy memories of your past. It doesn't show anything but kindness and caring, while a little mixture of the bitterness of your past. You're not ditching Aether at all. Yes, maybe a worry you have in mind might come true, but every time you fall down that hole, you have to pick yourself up again."

She considered his words for a moment. "Thank you... Ajax. You know..." she wiped her tears as she spoke. "You're a different person when you're not doing work for the fatui..."

Childe's face turned red. "J-just wait till our next duel!"

Lumine chuckled. "I think I'll look forward to it this time."

"Y-you!"

"Hey, I'm back with fo- huh? Why are Lumine's eyes all red, and Childe's face all red? Hey, did something happen while Piamon was gone, and you guys aren't telling me?!"

"I'm fine Paimon, see? Childe and I laughed until we cried, that's all!"

"A-alright then... let's eat then... just remember to take it easy with laughing next time though!"

Childe settled himself in the grass. "Well? Bring it out, or did you already eat all of it, emergency food?"

"Hey! PAIMON IS NOT EMERGENCY FOOD!!!" the duo laughed at pouting Paimon, and a mysterious blonde, hidden away in the shadows spoke to himself.

"I remember something like this as well, Childe... stay by her side, and help her see the cruelty of this world."

A/N: # Aether Just Pulling A  Number At the End There, LOL