When the Last petal falls (Childe x Lumine angst)

Author inspired by: Hindsight story of Lumiechi (I love her story so much it ended up me having to cry every night :>)

It was a calm day, Lumine sets foot on Wangshun Inn to take a break, 'It's been a year since I last saw Childe, how is he doing? Is he still okay?' she said to herself as she sat among the chairs, she stared at the table until Paimon decided to speak up "You know Lumine, why don't we go to visit Northland Bank for some reason? I know that while we're in Inazuma, he is all you ever brag about to Ayaka and Thoma there" a cheeky grin escaped Paimon's lips that made Lumine look away to hide her blushing face, yes Lumine has a huge crush on Tartaglia and it didn't took much time before she realized it herself

"To the Northland Bank? Sure" she agreed to Paimon and started resting her head on the table "say, if we didn't get trapped in Ritou and come back earlier as possible, would Childe still be waiting for me at the Golden house like he always does?" Lumine asked, looking at Paimon who is now giving an uneasy look "I guess so, I mean you suddenly disappeared without any trace, If I'm him, I'd be sure to stop going there everyday hoping you'd return one day" Paimon responded and Lumine just rolled her eyes "wow, thanks for the helpful answer" she replied with sarcasm as Paimon chuckled

After they took a small break, Lumine forced herself to stand up because of her broken bones that she kept from Paimon, she walked slowly but carefully, avoiding any enemies on the track. After a few minutes of walking, they finally reached the foot of the City of Contracts, Liyue. Her smile widen when everyone in town saw her and congratulated her for coming back alive

"Wow, I didn't know that they knew you were going to Inazuma" Paimon exclaimed and Lumine chuckled, they walked towards the city, greeting everyone with smiles they came across, when they were nearly at Northland Bank, Lumine stopped for a while, fixed her hair and face and looked at Paimon "how do I look?"

"You look fantastic" Paimon said with a big smile on her face, giving Lumine some courage before she go ask the counter where Childe is. Lumine walked a few steps until she reached the door, she breathe in and out to calm herself down, when she entered the room she walked like no one can ever see her except the counter itself. She made her way across the room and asked the counter "uhm hi excuse me, do you know where Childe is?"

"Master Childe? Oh I'm sorry, I'm afraid he isn't available at the moment, he took a day off to plan his proposal to his fiance" the lady from the counter replied. Lumine's smile faded when she heard the words "proposal" as if her whole world turned upside down, gathering all her courage, Lumine asked once more "w-wait, he's getting engaged?" "Yes, if you wish to see him, he's at the Golden house" the lady from the counter replied again, without having second thoughts, Lumine bowed to the counter and ran outside the door, she didn't mind her broken ankle, all she want is to see Childe

As soon as Lumine went out of the door, Paimon came into her "where is he?", Lumine looked at Paimon and whispered the words "Golden house". 'Proposal? He must be insane!' Lumine thought as she sprinted down the way to the Golden house, preventing her tears to escape her eyes, as she was on her way up to the grand entrance of the Golden house, she heard a familiar voice "Camila, will you marry me?". Lumine's heart broke as soon as she heard those four words escape from Childe's lips, she was about to turn around when suddenly Childe accidentally noticed her and called her name, without thinking, Lumine rushed down, sprinting again to the forest, together with Paimon.

"I should've not took that commission on Inazuma, I should've told Childe the reason why I leave, I'm so stupid" Lumine whispered to herself as soon as she entered her room, feeling a little heavy, she was about to jump to her bed when suddenly she heard her name again

"Lumi! Lumi where are you?!"

'That voice' Lumine thought, she looked to the window to see Childe, screaming her name on the streets, trying to look for her

"Lumine!"

Childe looked everywhere desperately searching on where Lumine was hiding, he was about to give up when he saw Lumine walking down on the stairs, a robe covering her body and her hair down "I'm here"

Childe looked at Lumine, head to toe, mesmerizing her beauty, he completely forgot he was still mad at her for leaving without a word. As soon as Lumine stood in front of Childe, they were both quiet, gathering all her courage, Lumine decided to speak up first

"Childe I, I'm sorry" she said "I'm sorry if.. I didn't told you anything before I leave.. I-i honestly want to tell you but-"

"You can keep your explanation to yourself" Childe cut her off that made Lumine speechless "I should be the one talking here, not you, why did you leave? Didn't you know how long you disappeared?! I was worried sick and you didn't even" Childe inhaled and starts to pull his own hair because of disappointment and Lumine could just barely sob quietly

"I'm engaged now Lumi, and from now on this will be our last communication with each other" Childe said coldly as he turned his back on her and walked away

Lumine froze because of what happened, she couldn't speak, she understands that Childe is mad at her but he could just let her explain to him everything, a tear escaped Lumine's eyes, her heart broke even more, she returned to her room, closed the door and cried her heart out at the pillows.

The next morning, Lumine didn't bother herself to wake up, she wants the earth to bury her alive even if it takes forever, she turned over, facing the wall when suddenly she heard her door open, "Hey rise and shine sleepyhead!" Lumine knew who that voice was and she didn't payed any attention to it, his words last night echoed at her mind all night

Childe sighed and went up to her, sat down on her bed and gently stroke her hair "I'm sorry for saying those mean stuff to you, I'm just mad that you didn't show up for a year" he said and he kept stroking her hair, Lumine faced him and sat up straight "you don't have to be sorry because in the first place, it wasn't your fault" she replied in a cold tone, Childe didn't like this because for some reason, it hurts him so much. He hugged her and he was surprised that she hugged him back, they were like that for a few minutes until Lumine broke the hug and started to lay down on the bed again

"Hey! Get up! You have a lot of things to do you know!" Childe said, grabbing both of her arms, he gently lift her up and sat her down "o-ouch.." Lumine exclaimed when Childe accidentally touched her broken shoulder

"Hey are you okay? Is there something wrong? Are you wounded?" Childe asked her and Lumine just nod then looked down to her feet, Childe knows she can't lie so he didn't buy her nods, he quickly lift her up and walked towards the exit of the inn

"W-where are you taking me?" Lumine asked and Childe remained quiet until he reached Bubu Pharmacy "Is Dr Baizhu here? I need serious medical assistance here" Childe asked the staff at the counter, the man nodded and started to go to the back where Dr Baizhu is, Childe slowly put Lumine down on a chair, making sure she can sit up and afterwards he stood straightly beside her, making sure he can keep an eye on here

"Well if it isn't the traveler herself, how can I help you two today?" Dr Baizhu asked as soon as he saw Childe and Lumine, "well doc, I think my friend here has some broken bones to begin with?" Childe said, leaving Lumine still quiet

After Lumine gets treated, she hurriedly stood up, thanked Childe and started to walk away, all of Childe's doing confused her 'why is he doing this to me?' she asked herself as she made her way to Guyun Stone Forest, she can't forget what she saw that night, what Childe told her and what he's doing the day after. All of this confusion made her mad

Childe quickly followed her as soon as she walked away, but for some reason, he lost track of her, not knowing where she'd gone to, he took out his map of Liyue and tried to look for her in different places, especially in the worst place possible. He was about to give up when suddenly he remembered the only place Lumine could've gone to. Guyun Stone Forest.

He hurriedly his way down there, avoiding enemies as possible, he didn't know why he's doing that, he didn't know why he was chasing her all this time, all he knows is he's worried about her and might do something ballistic

As soon as he reached his destination, he looked everywhere for Lumine, he was about to give up when he heard some singing 'that song' he said to himself and tried to locate where the singing came from

"And this is me praying that, this was the very first page, now where the story line ends" the singing kept going on and louder, sign that Childe is nearly there, he froze for a moment to see Lumine, sitting at the edge of the cliff and singing her voice out "please don't be in love with someone else, please don't have somebody waiting for you" Lumine sang that made Childe frozen in place, he was about to call her when suddenly a loud crash startled them, Childe and Lumine looked at where the loud noise came from.

Lumine was shocked to see Childe there, still confused, she ignored on what's happening and tries to find out where the loud noise came from, she froze in place when she saw Osial's wife rise up from the ocean. Not thinking twice, she charged in there without any warning, Childe saw how she charged in and tried to stop her but he was too late, she got defeated that easy.

Childe looked at Lumine so helplessly while falling at the cliff, when he got to his senses, he caught her in his arms, unconscious, he ran away from the scene and went straight back to Liyue

Childe was about to enter Liyue when he saw a familiar figure looking straight at him, it was his fiance, Camila, he cursed under his breath and tried to walk up to her and tell her everything, he knows Camila, he knows how understanding she is. As soon as he got up to her, he explained to her everything and Camila just nodded, signaling that it's okay and he should take Lumine to a doctor, Childe smiled down on Camila and kissed her left cheek 'no wonder I fell in love with you' he whispered to himself and just smiled. He feel Lumine twitching as if she's trying to wake up, he excuses himself in front of his fiance to take Lumine back to her inn

As soon as he took her back, Paimon charged in to him "what did you to her?!" Paimon asked and Childe kept quiet as he gently lay down the unconscious Lumine, he faced Paimon and told her everything, Paimon's jaw went open as she faced Lumine with tears in her eyes "I hope I could help you, but I can't" she said while her tears escaped her eyes, Childe really can't understand what she meant so he quietly left her room and went back to Camila

Lumine woke up a few minutes after Childe left, Paimon by her side, she kissed her forehead and left her a note at the table near the bed, she knew it was her birthday few minutes later and she knew she had to do something memorable for this day

She stepped out of her inn, looking sideways and try to remember where she was and how did she end up in Liyue, she sighed when she remembered what she saw, "good thing I still had this promise necklace and ring he gave me before I left for Inazuma" she whispered as she made her way to the Golden house

"Traveler, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" One of the Millelith asked as she shushed them "be quiet, is Childe in there?" Lumine whispered to them and they just nodded, 'perfect' she said to herself as she put her necklace and ring to the original box, wrapped it like how Childe gave it to her and walked straight to Golden house without any hesitation, as she went nearer and nearer, she felt her heart shattering with every memory of her and Childe here, every spar, every chatter, every smiles and chuckles, she all remember those that broke her heart even more, she stood straight, wiped her tears and went up the stairs. "I'm sorry if I took so long to come back, Childe" she whispered underneath her breath "if only I could got here sooner, you wouldn't meet Camila, or so I thought" she chuckled as her tears escaped her eyes once more "h-here's the promise ring and necklace you gave me, I'll just leave it here, i-it would be a shame if your fiance caught me wearing those" she chuckled, trying to hide her sniffles and placed down the box on the door "I won't be needing that anymore, and I just want to say, I'm happy when you're happy even if it's breaking me" Lumine said "if only I got here a little sooner" And she walked away

Paimon woke up the next morning only to find Lumine not around, she stretched her arms and noticed her rose is in its last 10 petals, she froze in place, 'no no' she said to herself and flew out the window looking for her everywhere 'I can't lose her, not on her very important day, no' she thought as she flew as fast as she could

Keqing, who's busy with Lumine's secret birthday party, accidentally bumped into the flying, tired and crying Paimon, "hey hey what's wrong? What's the matter?" She asked, Paimon tried to kept her cool and told Keqing everything

Keqing froze in place when she learned everything "we need to find her as soon as possible", "earlier the better" Paimon said

"and the more, the faster we can find her" Childe said as he walked down to the two of them, handing out a medium size box "I saw this as soon as I opened the door of the Golden House, I knew that this was familiar and decided to open it, my eyes froze when I saw Lumi's necklace and our promise ring" Childe continued, Paimon and Keqing looked at each other like they were speaking through their minds, Keqing sighedafter a few minutes and nodded as Paimon turned her head to Childe and told him everything, he maybe is engaged but Childe's tears escaped his eyes when he learned that Lumine had a curse laid on her ever since she was born, she didn't intentionally leave Liyue, she need to go to Inazuma and she didn't had any time to tell Childe about it. Childe was heartbroken from what he learned and as soon as he found out, he started to go looking for her and he swore that he won't stop until his eyes met hers

Hours and hours of looking for Lumine, Childe finally found her at Jueyun Karst, holding a pot containing a rose and almost staring at nothing, she's sitting at the grass, looking so peaceful. Childe smiled softly, thinking that he found her before the others would

"what are you doing there? Leave me alone, Childe"

Lumine's cold voice filled the atmosphere, without looking back, Lumine stood up and stared at nothing "Childe for the last time-" her eyes widen when Childe got a hold of her chin and as his lips brush into hers. Lumine froze in place as Childe slightly let go of the kiss "that was fun" he whispered down her ear, enough to give shivers down to her spine and at the same time butterflies in her stomach, a part of her wanted this but a part of her knew this was wrong

Lumine looked at her trembling hands after she slapped Childe with it "what the hell is wrong with you?!" she said, glaring at Childe "let me let you remember that you're already engaged so stop!" tears started escaping her eyes as Childe silently watched those roll into her cheek "Lumi, why didn't you tell me..?" he asked and she suddenly looked at him "w-what are you talking about?" she asked back and picked up her flower pot and was about to left the area

"why didn't you tell me about you're curse..?" Childe said and Lumine almost dropped her flower pot when she heard his question "Childe, I don't have anything to say to you" she replied coldly and started to walk away "so this? this is nothing for you?!" Childe yelled at her, showing her the box in which she put the ring and necklace Childe gave her "like I said in the letter Childe, I don't need those anymore so will you please excuse me?"

"Lumi, I need to know the reason why!"

"What if I won't tell you? What are you going to do? It doesn't make any difference okay? I'll still die when the last petal fall from my flower okay? There's nothing you can do about it so stop already! Go back to Camila and leave me alone!"

"I can't let you like this! It's your birthday!"

"It is my birthday and do you think I care about it even a little?!"

Childe went quiet when he saw the last second petal from Lumine's flower, fell to the ground, Lumine started falling on her knees, her eyesight was blurry "I-i guess this is time I'll tell you everything" she said as Childe stood there, looking like a puppy who's about to lose its owner

Childe let her rest on his arms, while she explain why she need to leave, that she didn't mean to leave him alone, that she badly wants to be with him but she can't, she knows she has a little time left and she wasted in avoiding Childe for a year, she didn't mean any of that, she just wants Childe to be mad at her so when she dies, he doesn't have to suffer so bad

"a-and now, I can finally rest knowing that you already found the one who you think will take good care of you and love you forever, something that I can never do" Lumine chuckled as she let her tears roll down her eyes "Ajax, I never regretted that I met you, I.. love.. you.." she whispered underneath her breath as she closed her eyes completely "the last petal.. fall" Childe whispered as his tears kept rolling down his cheek and kissed Lumine's forehead for the last time "Lumi, I love you too, sleep for now my love, next time, in another life, I swore to the Archons that I'll choose you and no one else"

-end-

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