maid • kaeya

lxxiv

tw: suicide, self harm

• •

• third person •

Night had settled in Mondstadt, the moon's loving gaze gleaming inside, casting shadows of the window panes upon the wooden floorboards.

Lucien was yet to head to bed. She was leant against the railing upstairs, staring down onto landing, observing the moon's glimmer upon the various plant pots.

Today was a fun day. But, despite that... still...

She had to... It was the only option. There was no other way out of the situation she was in.

Lucien's head dropped, her eyes narrowing.

She just wished it wouldn't cause so much pain to those who loved her. But really, it would relieve them all of such a huge burden. And her suffering... would be over.

She just had to figure out how to do it, and find a good time to do it. When no one would be able to stop her. The biggest obstacle was definitely...

Lucien glanced behind her. She was stood right in front of August's bedroom door, shut and completely unaware of her presence. He had been in there since after dinner, and it didn't seem like he was going to leave now.

With a small breath, Lucien spun on her feet. She lifted her hand, before a gentle knock resounded against the door.

"Come in," August called. His voice was quieter than usual when he said that, as if he were focussed on something else.

Slowly, Lucien pushed open the door. Her eyes widened a little.

August was sitting at his desk. His showcase wasn't as full as usual and... there were a bunch of weapons on August's desk. August didn't lift his head, a small rose gold knife in his hand which he seemed to be inspecting, its sharp edges glimmering in the candlelight before him.

"Yeah?" August questioned absentmindedly.

Lucien seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. August glanced at her, perplexion filling him when he finally realised that it was her.

"Oh, hey," he greeted, setting the knife down beside some tools. "I'd have thought you'd have gone to bed by now."

August blinked when Lucien didn't acknowledge what he had said. "What are you doing?" she asked, her voice soft, just barely audible.

His head tilted. "Sharpening my weapons. I put it off for a bit too long, haha. I'm almost done now."

Lucien's gaze followed when, unexpectedly, August stood, approaching her. For some reason, her face heated up a little, as he met her with a warm smile.

"Can't sleep? What's up?" he questioned gently.

Lucien fiddled with her sleeve, her pupils dropping momentarily. She didn't really know at all why she had knocked on his door, especially at this time. Perhaps, after their outing today, she just... wanted to see him again.

"Um-" Her face scrunched when her words got caught in her throat. She didn't know why that happened. She blushed in embarrassment.

August gazed at her patiently. It seemed no matter what happened between them, in the end, she would always revert back to the timid Lucien he had first met, as if a reset button were pressed the moment the sun would set every single day.

"I just wanted to ask..." Lucien avoided his stare, "if you had fun today."

August's eyebrows raised. A few question marks filled his head as he blinked rapidly, unsure as to why she would think otherwise.