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The jade-green haired man leans against the plush velvet wall, sipping on his rum and coke to quench his thirst. He’d just finish a rather empty conversation with the third stranger of the night, forcing a friendly smile and politely nodding throughout the duration. There were others in the group more social than him, Venti perhaps, along with Kazuha seemed to be getting a flock of attention.
Ah, of course, people wouldn’t take others for a wallflower in such a social setting, regardless of where they stood. All this, on top of the many walls of insincerity behind every interaction. His social battery was non-existent and all he wanted is to go home to his comfy bed.
Parties are important, he’d reluctantly admit - for getting the band’s name out there for more collaborations and brand deals. But the small talk, obligatory laughter and faking smiles annoyed him, not to mention the noisy atmosphere when he wasn’t behind a set of drums acting as his shield.
He was a drummer, always in the back, donning a mask, preferably keeping himself out of the spotlight. It was fun - being able to enjoy what he did without letting anyone know who he really was... Until the plan backfired when a closeup video taken by a fan went viral about the handsome, golden-eyed percussionist, who had a fluid affinity with a drum set.
His attention wanders across the room - catching many shifting eyes and vacancies, only stopping when he sees her.
Innocent honey orbs that held a bright twinkle, with inteyvat flowers tucked within her messy wheat-blonde bob. A pretty, sky-blue chiffon gown hugs her slim and petite figure, hands hidden in a pair of off-white evening gloves. She captures his feline-like eyes, and he soon finds himself unable to tear his gaze away.
She tilts her head, her long bangs following the gesture, a look of recognition registers on her face.
Surely, they had met somewhere.
Green and teal locks, a signature purple diamond on his forehead, an intense golden gaze...
Ah, he’s her brother’s bandmate.
Stay calm, Lumine! She’s inwardly panicking, only managing to flash a small smile. Just go over and say hi; chill.
They had met very briefly a couple of times when she dropped some of Aether’s stuff in their shared apartment, long enough to exchange glances but never long enough to exchange names.
Lumine wants to ask her brother for Xiao’s number - but knowing Aether as the naggy, overprotective one, she’d avoid it, only hoping to cross paths with him and asking the man in question directly.
She takes a deep breath and makes her way to him through the crowd of bodies.
Don’t make it awkward. He thinks. Just look away.
Too late.
She was making her way through the crowd of bodies toward him.
“Lumi!” A voice beside him calls out over the noise.
“Ae!” She crushes his band mate in a tight embrace.
Oh, siblings – right - she was probably looking at Aether.
It had been ages since their last meetup, that being a month earlier when she dropped some clothes off. He listens in on their conversation - she had been modelling for the past year, making a name for herself. No wonder she looked way too familiar; he’d seen her delivering things to Aether at their apartment.
“Lumine, Xiao. Xiao, Lumine.” Aether broadly gestures to them both. The two gave a polite bow, albeit the awkwardness within their interaction.
“Aether!” Venti yells from across the room. The male twin sighs, rolling his eyes, swimming through the crowd to find the leader, leaving the two alone.
“So...” Lumine fiddles with her cup of fruit punch. “... we finally meet.”
“Uh, yeah.” Xiao replies flatly, caught off-guard by her question.
Way to kill a conversation, idiot.
There were a few moments of silence between the two, filled with the booming music from the oversized speakers. They quietly basked in the atmosphere and taking in the energy of the party. Lumine notices how Xiao shifts uncomfortably against the wall, probably thinking of a topic to keep the conversation going.
“You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” She gives a sheepish laugh, taking a sip of juice.
Unlike his usual self, she had ignited a fire in his soul - and he wanted to know more about the alluring girl. She was fitting enough to be a princess who could probably light up a whole town with her smile. Despite those flattering thoughts, his pride forces brash words out to put up a confident façade.
“What makes you think that?” He counters, finishing the rest of the rum and coke, feebly attempting to calm his nerves.
“Well...” The firefly hesitates, pouting and carefully eyeing his expression, thinking of a way to reply. “You seem like an introvert who’d rather be at home on his bed?”
Xiao adverts his eyes to look across the room. “Not wrong.” The room suddenly felt warmer, and his cheeks were probably flushed. She had figured him out way too fast. He silently thanks his lucky stars for the colored lighting that hid his blush.
Another bout of silence settles.
Lumine would often find it easy to match the other’s energy, no matter how awkward the person would be. But this one time, being stuck with her brother’s handsome bandmate had her wires scrambled. The mysterious air surrounding him and dismissive answers he gave served to feed her ever-growing curiosity. It takes all her willpower to keep her eyes on the mundane scenery before them.
“Maybe we can hang out sometime -” The words left her mouth, giving no time for her to shove them back down her throat. She internally screams.
Holy shit.
The first proper meeting and she's already asking him out?! As friends, of course. Definitely as friends. The unspoken rules when meeting someone for the first time had just gone straight down the drain.
There must be something in the fruit punch.
Her hold on the cup tightens when he doesn’t reply. “I-I mean you don’t have to -” Lumine tries to correct herself.
He wasn’t expecting such a straightforward question. “Sure. That sounds nice.” Even over the loud music, Xiao manages to catch every single one of her words. Lumine’s mouth hangs open, honey eyes shift to meet his, widened.
Time truly seemed to stop when shades of gold clashed - nothing seemed to matter around them. Be it Venti making ruckus on the right or a drunken altercation happening on the left; it didn’t affect the attraction they shared for each other.
Mesmerising.
She lets out a chuckle that reminds him of the Mondstadt windchimes. It brings them back to reality and Xiao desperately hopes that his poker face was still intact because his mind was empty and his thoughts - emptier.
Everything feels weird, to feel this way toward someone he’d just met. The butterflies in his stomach were uncontrollable, wanting to break free. His heart was pounding way too fast for his liking and mind just filled with Lumine, Lumine, Lumine.
Lumine doesn’t think twice, scribbling on a napkin and passing it over to the drummer.
Her number.
“Call me.” She grins playfully, giving him a wink. “I’ll pick up when I can.”
Xiao opens his mouth to reply but was promptly cut off by a tall ginger shoving him brusquely aside.
“Lu! There you are!” He gives a hearty laugh, hand wrapping around the firefly’s shoulder. Xiao feels a vein pop in annoyance, immediately hiding the napkin.
“Childe!” Lumine returns his energy, giving him a side hug. She was surprised to see one of her international close friends here, counting that he was barely in Liyue, often in his home country of Snezhnaya. They had modelled together before, proving to be a power pair - every magazine they both posed for always selling out.
“Thanks for taking care of Lu!” The ocean-blue eyes glinted dangerously despite his thanks.
Xiao doesn’t flinch and instead, forces a polite smile that leaked venom. “It was no problem.”
Lumine could recognize the **blue and green lightning clashing between the two, tension building up exponentially and she starts pulling at Childe. The last thing she wants is a real fight ensuing at this party.
“L-Let’s go grab something to eat!” She drags the Snezhnayan national away, leaving the shorter Liyuen hanging.
Their leave was just in time for the band to go home for the night. Kazuha and Aether were holding a blacked-out Venti, who, by this time, couldn’t even stand.
He’ll get back at Venti for this, somehow.
They were leaving the party earlier than expected - he hasn’t gotten more than five sentences in with her. Xiao looks back into the room, trying to spot the blonde for the last time.
It proves to be a mistake.
Because all he sees is her, laughing and smiling at the ginger while his hands linger on Lumine’s arm. He feels his heart crack, a bitter feeling surfaces within him, jealousy, at how close they were - and how she showed such a candidly beautiful smile to that man.
They had just met, there shouldn’t be anything of this sort - right? Xiao was not usually one to confront his feelings, preferring to box it up and leave them somewhere untouched.
So, why was he so utterly pissed at Childe?
Please don’t be in love with him.
“Ah! I forgot to ask for his number!” Lumine exclaims, facepalming when she reaches home. She could ask Aether for it...
No, he’d be way too suspicious about it.
Not the nagging.
Not the endless questioning.
Anything but that!
A week passes and Aether notices Xiao’s increasing restlessness. The drummer who would usually finish his almond tofu in a couple of seconds, was boredly poking at it. “Are you good?” He takes a bite of the fish and rice Kazuha had cooked up.
“Are you good?” He takes a bite of the fried fish and furikake rice Kazuha had cooked up.
“Do you have Lumine’s address?”
The blonde chokes on the food, slapping his chest to help. Xiao, the most emotionally aloof person he knows, asking for his sister’s address?
“...Why?” His obsessive brotherly sense kicks in and he cocks a blonde eyebrow.
Xiao sticks his spoon into the guitarist’s cheek. “Give it.”
“No!” Aether was adamant on giving up his precious sister, she wasn’t allowed to date -
“I’ll do your chores for a week.”
”...No!” The unknown reasoning behind Xiao’s need for Lumine’s address makes him antsy - though it does sound good to have no chores.
The pause before his rejection feeds Xiao’s motivation. There was room for negotiation. “Two weeks.”
Persistent. Aether grits his teeth. Doesn’t he know how to take no for an answer?
The blonde sighs, dejected. As much as he hates cleaning the house, he was still unwilling to give his sister up for such a ridiculous exchange. “... Tell me why. You could’ve asked for her number.” He cocks an eyebrow at the green head.
Xiao pauses - he has her number!
The napkin!
He panics, running to the laundry room - and sees the clothes they had worn to the party spinning in the machine.
Fuck. It’s gonna be a mess of shredded tissues once this was done.
There goes the only lead he has to her besides her overtly curious brother.
He sticks his head out.
“I’ll pay for a new guitar if you don’t ask anything else.” A very tantalising offer indeed; and the drummer would rather pay than to explain his feelings. The guitarist narrows his honey eyes at his fellow bandmate, who had a faint blush of red on his cheeks - and it dawns on him.
Ah, why didn’t he catch it at the party? It was a dead giveaway - Xiao is and had been smitten for his sister.
“... Don’t you dare do anything funny to her.”
Xiao snorts at the ridiculous suggestion, taking a spoon of his tofu. What was he? Some pervert?
“Money in by tonight.”
“Deal.”
“I didn’t expect you to come without dropping me a text first.” Lumine could hear her heart thumping loudly in her ears, making it hard to focus on a simple task, like finding him a drinking glass.
“The napkin…” Xiao hesitates, turning his gaze to the floor. “Went into the washing machine…”
Lumine laughs, a melodic chime to his rather sensitive ears.
“So, I’m assuming you asked Ae for my address?” She fills the glass with freshly filtered water. “Why not just ask for my contact?”
As she turns to walk away from the counter, he stops her. Xiao slides the glass out of her hand and place it back down on the counter.
“Xiao?” The firefly stumbles back, shrinking away from the handsome drummer.
His arms cage her in against the counter table. “Are you with him?” His minty breath tickles her lips, golden eyes drilling through her honey orbs. His adorable canines peeks through when he speaks - cute.
“Childe…?” She shuts her mouth when she catches the discontent that instantly plasters on his face.
He’s jealous. Lumine shakes her head vigorously, too stunned by his sudden moves.
“Good.” Such a seductive whisper, smooth like butter, blessing her ears. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”
She stays quiet in his arms, forgetting how to think; all in a mess just from one move, one sentence.
Does she want him? Yes.
Does she want to kiss him? Yes.
Does she want him to stop? Hell no.
And she lets him know.
“Don’t.” Her voice was small, petite hands resting on his toned chest. Each sharp angle could be felt through the thin cotton of his oversized shirt - calling for her to trace every nook his body has to offer.
“Hmm?”
“Please, don’t… stop.”
“Aether is going to kill me.” Xiao lets out a deep chuckle that sends a pleasurable tingle down her spine.
Xiao’s control nearly snaps at how she traces up his neck to thumb his cheek adoringly, brushing through his green locks tenderly before looping her arms around him. Lumine was so… irresistible. The way her long, blonde lashes fanned when she blinks; her luscious, pink lips begging to be kissed; and her cheeks - so rosy and smooth.
He sits her on the counter, slotting himself in between her parted legs that welcomed his presence.
So close.
A small tug; a small push and their lips would meet in a sweet, satisfying lip-lock that would put Xiao’s jealous streak to sleep. His heart nearly stops at the arresting smile adorning her pretty face.
“You were jealous, weren’t you?” She questions, tone teasing.
Xiao’s dominant façade cracks and he flusters; lips pressed into a thin line - that was the last thing he expected her to bring up.
Roles reversed.
Had he been that obvious the entire time? He did try his best to suppress the look of discontent when the ginger’s name was brought up.
“J-Jealous?” A feeble attempt to cover his rather wounded pride. “I’m not that immature.”
“Hmm…” Lumine twirls a lock of his teal hair around her finger playfully. “So… you’d be okay if Childe took my first kiss?”
His golden eyes snap to her face, widening as he processes every syllable of her sentence. The usual soft boy vibes shattered along with his heart. Xiao would be willing to lose to anyone - except for this particular ginger who dangled Lumine in front of him and enjoying his pissed off look.
Lumine gives a mirthful giggle which dies out almost immediately when she sees his darkened expression.
Yet, she still continues to tease, chartering into a complete danger zone. It was the first one-on-one meeting with him, but a part of her yearns to see him snap and claim her.
His eyes flashed a dangerous glint, cat-like pupils locking onto her, like a predator cornering its prey. A glower was apparent on his usually stoic face - holy shit - Lumine knew, she fucked up.
“His kiss was soft and mmf-“
She was yanked toward him harshly, his fingers tangling in her hair, given no time to react as he mashed his lips onto hers. Feral, pure, desire seeps through his kiss into her obediently parted lips, effortlessly pulling a lewd mewl from her.
So immorally delectable.
Xiao was a good kisser - good, being a criminal understatement. At the back of her mind, karma in the form of jealousy swirls as she wonders if he had done this with other girls to be so wickedly seductive. Those thoughts, however, can wait; Lumine can’t think straight when his tongue piercing drags along her lip, the coolness within the hotly passionate kiss - it makes her moan so deliciously, filled to the brim with ecstasy.
“I’m… mmf… kidding…! Xiao - A-Ah…” Xiao doesn’t let her finish her words, pulling her back in to meet her lips every time she attempted to speak.
The firefly decided to give in; she’d be more than willing to surrender if it meant she got to taste more of him. His slight frown was adorable, so possessive; observed and branded into her mind through her half-lidded eyes. Ultimately, she returns him with a rather loving and saccharine kiss - toning down the veracity; one filled with all her emotions she has.
Lumine, who’s never believed in love at first sight, was now falling for a stranger - she’d probably fallen when their eyes first met at the door of the shared apartment.
Xiao smiles smugly against her divinely supple lips, and returns her tsunami of affection, tongue snaking through her parted lips to explore her mouth. There was truly something about that tongue piercing that Lumine loved. His hands drops to find their home on her bare waist - Archons, the jealousy quells with the sound of wet, sensual kisses and the smooth feel of her milky skin.
The sound of him muttering “Mine” and a few curses in between their many lip-locks drives her wild. It was provocative and erotic to see such a soft and quiet man go crazy like this. Lumine silently feels a sense of pride, able to see him hot and bothered because of her. Her body quivers in anticipation, tongue flicking against his to rile him up further.
It works - and he ruts up, hard, against the sensitive juncture between her thighs, giving it some much-needed friction. Lumine whines, despairingly submissive against him and Xiao gives a parting nibble to her kiss-swollen lip before pulling away.
“X-Xiao…” She chokes out his name weakly, her hands coming to rest on his toned chest Lumine won’t lie - she was lost in his alluring eyes and liked the attention he gave, even allowing herself to get tipsy on his passionate kisses.
“Yes?” Xiao gives her lop-sided grin, reveling in the mess he’s made of her.
“I…” She grips his oversized shirt; a surge of courage sweeps through her. Xiao was here, waiting for whatever she had to say; his head tilted to the side innocently, the messy jade-green and teal streaks following the flow.
“I like you, Xiao.”
Soft, but Xiao, being ever so attentive to her, and only her, catches every word. Her nimble fingers move to undo the first few buttons of his shirt and she grips it, leaning in, planting her lips onto his pretty and well-contoured collarbone. Lumine was sure that if he minded, he’d stop her; but he doesn’t. Instead, he thrusts his hip up against her again, a couple of baritone, pleasured moans and pants fills her ears, mixing with some of her own - unbelievably melodious.
Lumine takes this as a chance to reaffirm herself to him.
“I like you-” Another open-mouthed kiss on his flawless neck “so -” Another to his jaw “- so much.” And she ends with a sloppy lip-lock on his awaiting mouth.
Xiao just knows Aether will chase him down for giving into his sister’s desires. Although nothing really matters when all logic has been thrown out of the window. Lumine just takes his inhibitions, shattering them one by one with each move, leaving none behind. He didn’t really mind - because either way, he was going to make everyone know that she was his, not Childe’s or anyone else’s.
“Mmh…” She can’t control the irrepressibly lewd noises that bubble up against his lips to show how much she really wants the drummer.
He pulls back from her fervent kiss, taking in the wanton look she had on her pretty face.
Captivating.
Xiao gently brushes her hair to the back, noting how attractive her rosy ears are before cupping her tinted cheek. Lumine sighs contentedly, leaning into his warm, loving touch. Things felt so right with him - as though she had known him for years. She never knew someone, with the someone being Xiao, to be so affectionate and liberal with his ministrations.
She was hooked onto it.
He slips his free hand under her shirt, a smirk tugging on his lips when he realizes she had nothing else under her top. Lumine gasps, blushing deeply - zoning back in almost immediately at how effortlessly he sets a blazing hot trail of fire on her skin with each stroke, with each caress. She wants more, to have him all to herself and he notices it burning bright in her honey orbs.
“Will you let me show you...” He mumbles sweetly into her ear, giving it a bite, remedied by a slow lick. “…How much I want you?” Xiao lets out a low chuckle when he feels her squirm in his arms - gripping onto his shoulders as she pants hotly.
So pliant, so eager.
It calls out to his desire to explore her, to cover her in his bite marks, to call Lumine his.
“Please…” Lumine barely manages to plead as she falls into him, enchanted.