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Sometimes, Lumine wonders whether being unable to quit is a blessing or a curse.
Most people know where to stop, call things off when it's needed and hide once they sense danger coming their way.
But that's always been her problem. Lumine isn't like most people - she has never been. She's too stubborn to quit and too prideful to lose and honestly, she doesn't know whether it will change.
Even so, it's embarrassing; really.
At this point Lumine isn't even sure who exactly she should curse in the back of her mind - her friends for provoking her and suggesting she wouldn't be able to tell her crush to play a stupid game with her or herself for accepting the bet.
People from Teyvat are obsessed with the idea of fate leading one's life. The gods use all of their power to keep everything in the palm of their hand, control the nations and calm desires burning in mortal souls.
Lumine is convinced none of this situation was an archon's plan.
It was wine and liquor. She swears that it was it. She's seen some of her friends doing crazy things after drinking alcohol and now, for once, she agrees with them.
It's a little too late for Lumine to regret her decisions, though. And it's definitely too late to do anything about the situation she's put herself into when she invited Xiao into the place where they can peacefully play the game together.
Lumine glances at him from across the table.
Xiao taps the back of the deck with his fingers, slowly dragging his thumb over the edges. He seems to be lost in his thoughts, eyes focused on the cards as if he's already trying to come up with new strategies to win.
In the eerie silence of the realm, Lumine can hear every move he makes, the smallest contact with yet another piece. She can only hope her heartbeat - fast and thundering - isn't loud enough for Xiao to hear.
"Games aren't that fun unless there's stakes."
Lumine's statement is sudden and almost right away, she can see interest sharpening Xiao's gaze as he tilts his head, curious to hear more. The back of her neck prickles.
"We should add some... maybe."
For a moment, neither of them speak, the silence - heavy and almost deafening - settles between them.
Mindlessly, her gaze drops onto her fingers as she toys with them, nails grazing over the soft skin. Waiting for an answer is unnerving even if Lumine knows Xiao contemplates his answer. Especially when his eyes narrow down at her.
"What kind of stakes?"
She takes a deep shaky breath. "Well, I've heard there's one card game that's really popular these days. You have to, um, take off an item of clothing every time you lose a round."
Lumine keeps her head low as she answers Xiao's question, slowly and carefully, intent not to let her emotions show on her face. Thankfully, her voice doesn't waver.
"The loser is whoever ends up taking off all their clothes, or whoever wears less in the moment when the game ends."
"Interesting." Xiao hums thoughtfully, his expression unreadable - stoic and calm as always. "I have never expected you to enjoy that kind of game. Or to propose this idea to me."
Slowly, Xiao leans back on his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.
Lumine tries her best to keep her emotions to herself but she can't really do it when she feels a ping of nervousness growing heavy and bothering in her chest. She can't complain about it or his words, though. Not when she's the person who brought it all upon herself.
Xiao pauses for a moment, before speaking again; "Don't you mind me watching you undress?"
"I–" Lumine swallows, face guarded as she tries to pretend his words didn't make her feel anything at all.
Oddly enough, Xiao doesn't seem to notice her inner struggle - and if he does, none of it shows on his face. His expression remains as stoic and unreadable as always and something about it makes her even more flustered.
"What? N-no!" Lumine blurts out, her throat gets dry out of the sudden. "I mean - you can't be so sure that you're going to win, Xiao. Results of playing games are always unpredictable."
She watches him tilt his head, not sure whether he does it because of his interest in what she's saying or doubt. It doesn't help that he doesn't say anything. He just watches and waits - for what, Lumine doesn't know.
"Also, don't forget that you're talking to a professional Genius Invocation player here!" she smiles sheepishly. "You can ask anyone and all of the people I played with would tell you that I'm really good at this game."
Xiao pauses for a second, then hums. "I see..."
After the silence falls between them again, Lumine half-expects him to reject her offer. It's not really like him to play mortal games, anyway, and the stakes only made it more... complicated.
She watches him blinking slowly. He didn't expect any of that for sure.
"So you want to watch me take off my clothes." Xiao adds suddenly, a bashful afterthought that's enough to. She feels warmth rushing to her cheeks.
Even if she tried to shrug it off with a quiet 'I didn't say anything like that', it wouldn't work.
She doesn't reply.
The meaning of his words hangs heavy in the air, filling the still air of the realm. Lumine ignores it - or tries to, at least - desperately pushing down lust that starts to seep into her purely from the tone of his voice and mere closure.
It's just the two of them here. All alone. In a place nobody can find them.
And they're about to play a game where that requires them to get undressed.
Only a fool wouldn't see that this whole situation is not as innocent as it might seem.
Xiao lets out a quiet sigh but nods, nonetheless. "I'm fine with the idea if you are."
Lumine blinks slowly at his statement, dumbfounded. It takes her a moment to actually comprehend his words.
"A-are you sure?" she questions him, still surprised by his answer. "You don't have to agree if you don't want to; you know that, right? It's okay if you–"
"Lumine." a shiver runs down her spine at the unsaid order in his voice. Suddenly, her mind goes blank. "Just start the game."
She thinks it's the way he looks at her right after calling out her name that gets her. Just like that - after one sentence from Xiao - her body moves on its own. Before she can overthink everything once again, Lumine finds herself shuffling the cards and rolling the dice.
The game is nice at the beginning. Harmless, even.
Lumine's deck is a good one but so is Xiao's. though, his luck with drawing cards doesn't seem to be great - or at least she thinks so, based on how well he plays.
Unlike most people's tactic, his playstyle isn't based on many elemental reactions and something about it makes her relax a little. It shouldn't be hard to beat him.
She flips over a card she wants to use as slowly as possible, weakly attempting to taunt him. The only response she gets from Xiao is a quiet huff but somehow, it's enough for her to know what he's thinking about.
Her antics don't work on adepti.
Nevertheless, even if her efforts to make him smile are rather pathetic, Lumine can sense that he does find her entertaining. That's enough to make her heart swell with confidence.
Especially when his next moves are exactly what she predicted. Using one of the cards he drew, another normal attack and a quick change to the next character.
The whole game should be an easy win.
Lumine believes so until the first round ends and she watches Xiao stand up from his chair to strip. That's exactly when she realizes how big a mistake she made.
Xiao's moves seem to be excruciatingly slow when he's taking off his shirt and Lumine finds herself losing her mind. Instinctively, her eyes trail down to his exposed chest.
His beauty leaves her speechless.
His muscles shift and the cloth drops from his fingers onto the floor, his actions seemingly careless. Her eyes trail with a rapt focus the way his jawline clenches, her gaze going down his chest to stomach and the hip bones that draw her attention towards–
Abruptly, she forces her attention upwards, her cheeks burn at the reminder of what might happen after the following rounds.
"Are you enjoying the game, Lumine?" his husky voice incites something within her, molten and distracting.
Xiao is toying with her - she knows he is. Although his question sounds innocently, it's laced with something she can't quite place a finger on. Something incandescent like a spark of repressed fire that makes her even more fidgety than she was before.
She should thank archons that Xiao isn't insane enough to ask her to take his shirt off for him because–
Lumine inhales sharply. A mere thought about this is enough to make her die inside.
Her hands curl in her lap, fisting the material of her rumpled dress.
"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that, Xiao?" she clears her throat, pretending to look at the cards in front of her just so she doesn't have to face him. "You said you're not very familiar with the game and now you're losing against me."
"Hm... Then maybe I should take it more seriously."
Xiao's reply is instantaneous, effortless. The tone of his voice is composed to an almost cheeky degree and Lumine can't help but think that he's actually not oblivious of the mounting tension in the room and heat simmering in her stomach.
Or maybe he is.
It's possible that she's just overthinking it, letting the guilt whisper soundless worries into her ears to eat her up alive.
"Oh? Do you have some tricks up your sleeve, Xiao?"
The moment that follows is quiet.
And then, a hint of amusement flickers across Xiao's face, betraying his cool façade.
"Perhaps." he answers shortly, his voice pitching a little soft. A little deep, making something prickle over her skin.
Her lungs burn as she stares up at him, blinking in the sunlight, her heart thudding. His face splits into another grin and Lumine holds in a breath.
Xiao's smiles are rare.
Most of the time they're fleeting, disappearing in a heartbeat. Yet each one of them seems to be engraved in Lumine's heart. It remains vivid in her memory - the soft gleam in his golden eyes when the corners of his lips turn up, the scrunch of his nose and the faint blush on the tips of his ears that's barely visible when he turns his head away from her gaze.
Now... It's not like that.
His smile seems to be fainter and more dangerous than usual. It reminds her of the glistening blade that swings down to claim the life of its prey, captivating her.
It feels like madness.
The air becomes thick with tension as the game continues.
Unlike the first round, the ones that follow feel like hell. Each of them is thrilling - both Xiao and Lumine are always dead even. He manages to win - it's just beginner's luck, she swears she has everything under control - and she ends up having to take off her dress and then, her boots.
She's painfully aware of his gaze on her as the material falls onto the floor and she stands in front of him almost bare; but she doesn't try to look. Playing the game is her only reason for doing it, after all, right?
Nevertheless, it's hard to ignore the way his sharp eyes stare with the kind of concentration she has only ever seen on him during his battles.
Usually, Xiao doesn't want her to follow him to the domains. As he says, the karma accumulated there might harm her since she's not one of the yakshas nor does she belong to this world.
Sometimes, though, Lumine wonders if Xiao doesn't tell her to stay away during that time because he doesn't want her to see that side of him. Covered in dirt with blood dripping from his hands and clothes, panting loudly with a manic look in his eyes. There's nothing in his mind then - solely a sense of responsibility.
He has to get the job done. Protect the liyue and its citizens. Get rid of monsters and evil spirits, at all costs.
To have that kind of attention focused on her now makes Lumine even more nervous and restless than she's already been.
Perhaps, she should have expected that.
Even if the stakes weren't exactly her idea, she was the one to propose them to Xiao. She has an inkling of his feelings - his small shy smiles and silent romantic gestures confess more than he could bring himself to say directly. She knows how she feels about him, too.
Yet it didn't stop her today from playing this dangerous game with him.
A sudden quiet tap on the desk brings her out of her thoughts.
Lumine watches Xiao lean forward, resting his chin against the palm of his hand.
"Are you sure this is going to be your next move?" he asks, gentleness mixing with a bit of teasing; and she holds in a breath, her fingertips trembling as she holds the card between them.
It could easily be a bluff - one that was supposed to light a spark of doubt in her, making her confidence crack and end with a wrong decision. Lumine trusts Xiao, though; and perhaps, that's why she decides to ponder over his question, nonetheless.
She swears she tries to think.
It's funny, almost, how she seems to be the only one who's affected with the results of the stakes now. No matter how much she looks at her cards, her desire-blurred mind is unable to focus on the game as much as she would want to.
A part of Lumine blames Xiao for her lack of concentration.
She can still feel the tension rising up - a slow, gradual progression that becomes too much to bear as every second passes.
Uncertainty creeps under her skin like a demon, making her nervous at the thought that she will never know what Xiao ponders over now.
Is he focused on his cards? Is he trying to read her mind to be ready when she makes her move?
Or… is he thinking about her?
It's the worst time to rack her brain for it, but with the way Xiao's watching her - focuses on her so intensely that the skin on her back prickles - Lumine wonders if the affection he shows her from time to time isn't something more than just soft sweetness. If his desire has more depth to it and she has no idea about it.
Lumine feels his eyes drag over her figure every so often. His gaze keeps on wandering up her bare legs, lingering on the lace trim of her underwear peeking from underneath her shorts. She notices him staring at her chest, too, for a moment so long that it leaves her skin burning.
It takes everything in her to stay still when her mind keeps on screaming about what he might be thinking about and telling her to run. It's an instinct - a gut feeling she should probably trust.
But Lumine just can't quit. Not when she's gone so far already.
She can't do anything else, too - it would be risky just like hiding in plain sight, right in front of the predator. If she does nothing at all, though... He might catch her.
Instinctively, she squeezes her thighs together.
Lumine is the one who's not going to lose - she's sure of that. She's leading this round and Xiao isn't as lucky now as he's been for a while before.
Still, it's not fair. It's not fair how she's winning yet feels completely at his mercy.
"It takes you a while to make a decision."
The suddenness of Xiao's voice makes her tense slightly, especially when combined with the fact that he sounds genuinely concerned about her.
And maybe, just maybe, he's right. It's been a long time since she's gotten so distracted and now she sees that it clearly isn't good for her.
It's fine, everything's fine. She just needs to focus.
With a deep breath, Lumine rethinks her moves. Using her skill should be the best option now. This way, in the next round she can use her burst right away.
"Yes, that's my final move." she answers firmly. "You can go ahead. It's your turn now, Xiao."
Lumine hears him hum under his breath, a brief smile showing on his face before disappearing when he finally makes a move.
It takes a flip of a card for all her confidence to crumble down.
She won't have to use her burst anymore. There won't be a next round.
Xiao won.
Lumine stares blankly at her downfall, her fingers shaking and her lips slightly parted. She doesn't even catch a moment when Xiao gets up from his chair, silently making his way over to her.
"You played well, Lumine."
"Oh... Thank you." she stutters at the dark gleam in his eyes - a look she can't quite place nor fully understand.
When did he move so close to her, anyway? Can't she see her surroundings properly?
Perhaps, it is a good thing they're in her abode and no danger hides around the corner. The game is over so now the stakes, too, can't harm her... right?
She stares up at Xiao as he takes another step closer to her, the sheer closure making her startled.
It's agonizing for Lumine. To be this close to him. To watch him and be unable to do anything but wait, hands shaking in anticipation for something, anything.
"But it seems that I won."
Lumine's lips part but before she can ask him why he's acting so differently, Xiao leans in and then, she feels his mouth on hers.
A quiet gasp escapes her, eyelids fluttering shut when he draws her into a kiss, his lips moving torturously slow against hers. There’s an edge of something there - ravenous and hungry - lying hidden just beneath the surface, in his heartbeat.
It must be the impulse that surged within him, Lumine thinks. It must be a lust of sorts - one that's awfully similar to what she always feels running wild in her veins when he's around - which drives her to kiss her like this. Desperately, as if she's something Xiao needs but has been deprived from it for way too long. As if he wants to devour her whole.
It's all-consuming and addictive.
So Lumine returns every one of them with the equal fervor, letting herself drown in the intensity of him. She feels Xiao's hands travel up her skin, leaving transparent patterns all along.
As she loses herself in his kisses, she can't help but think that his actions solely managed to get control of her conscience. Now the only thing on her mind is a constant whisper that she wants more, she need more–
Suddenly, Xiao pulls back.
Her eyelids flutter as his hot breath ghosts over her parted lips.
"...Xiao?" she whispers, her voice overshadowed by the sound of her pounding heart.
Lumine feels breathless, panting quietly as his hand slides tantalisingly close to where she aches and needs him. It takes everything in her to bite back a whimper and force herself not to grind up towards him.
His feather-light touch is clearly not enough - not anymore when her desires consume her, slowly but surely.
Xiao takes a deep breath, remaining calm when a quiet whisper leaves his mouth.
"I'm not done with you yet."
There's no room for Lumine to move or to back away when he pushes her against the table. Her hands are braced against the wooden desk.
The cards from her deck lay abandoned somewhere next to her. She didn't catch the moment when they slipped away from her grip.
Lumine couldn't care about it now, though. Not when, spurred by affection and desire, Xiao chases her lips.
It's hard to breathe when he's like this - his body pressed tightly against her, his mouth sliding over the curve of her jaw excruciatingly slowly - and Lumine thinks she might lose her mind any given moment.
Every passing second molds into another, each of them filled with delicate yet passionate kisses. Until he nips at the skin between her breasts and she arches up into his touch with a whine.
Xiao seems more impatient than usually.
Although he tries to pretend the desire doesn't swallow him wholly, the look in his eyes betrays his rather calm expression. His moves are rushed, fingers greedily grasping at the material of her shorts along with her panties to slide them off in one swift move.
He doesn't bother to take off his gloves, the cold leather brushing against the sensitive skin of her breasts. The touch feels so new and foreign that it leaves her whining at the smallest contact.
Even when his hands slide down her stomach, determined to not only leave none of her body untouched but also to go even further. To reach between her thighs and make her forget about everything that's not him.
It has been too long since Lumine was last with anyone...
How funny. She doesn't even remember it, her memory blurry now that Xiao is all she can think about.
The feelings she's been holding in herself and trying to repress, ever since they've started to bloom in the darkness that time when he's caught her from falling down at the Jade Chamber, drown her. Perhaps, that's why every little sensation makes her feel too much, becomes suffocating–
Lumine bites a gasp as his touch ghosts over her sensitive skin. She feels him gliding across her folds and then - before she can comprehend anything that's happening - he's knuckles-deep inside her.
She's already wet and eager, shamefully so. Her arousal coating his leather glove as he curls his fingers exquisitely inside her, making her back arch.
"I must admit, you're quite skilled at this game. But still..." Xiao muses, his voice is low and husky like a sin. Lumine can feel it against her skin, a feather-light hot tremor that sends a shiver down her spine.
When Xiao's body pins her down, it's hard to stay still when his fingers are buried inside her, moving at an excruciatingly slow pace.
"It's very easy to distract you, Lumine."
She bites her lower lip, closing her eyes.
He's right and she hates it. Or more like - she hates herself for being so needy and desperate.
Trying to get a grip on her self-control should be easier when she doesn't see Xiao and isn't tempted to run her fingers over his chest. But it's not.
Lumine can hear every move he makes - wet and messy, and the lewdness of it is mortifying - and shaky deep breaths bordering on moans that escape his lips. She can't try to forget about what's happening when the arousal drips down her thighs.
If anything, it only awakens within her yearning for something she can't quite name in the heat of the moment.
It seems that Xiao has won again.
Instinctively, Lumine parts her legs further, wishing she had the strength - and the ability, in the first place - to pull him closer. It's not fair how he toys with her however he likes. How, with a slow drag of his fingers, he offers her a sweet promise of pleasure only to take it away when he pulls them out.
Lumine hears Xiao chuckle, so quietly that she almost doesn't catch it.
Perhaps, it's all a little payback of sorts for what she's done to him, for the way she made him play the game only to win the bet. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if he guessed the reason behind her proposal at some point.
Xiao can always see right through her, after all.
Nevertheless, he was being patient with her. With all the tension around, he still managed to be gentle and humour her, even, as he played along. Allowed her to poke and tease him however she liked - only to have her pinned to the desk before she could even open her mouth.
A shiver runs down her spine as his thumb brushes against her clit.
"You did it on purpose, right? You were teasing me all the time during the game just to make me lose and now..." Lumine bites down a gasp threatening to escape her. "Now you're... like this. But why?"
He presses another finger inside her, pumping a few times before curling them again, putting some force to push them even deeper and–
Lumine gasps, Xiao's name on her lips like a prayer as pleasure ricochets through your entire body. She closes her eyes shut, biting back a choked cry that threatens to escape her.
He's barely begun but it already feels like she might go insane.
"I've seen the way you look at me, Lumine."
Honesty clings to every word he whispers like a poison, sweet but deadly. Her body freezes, mind suddenly blank when the true meaning of his words hit her.
"I don't know what you mean, Xiao." Lumine retorts, a little too quickly for her words to be true. "I don't look at you like anything."
"You know exactly what I mean."
She watches as he silently peers at her, his tongue peeking out from between his lips to swipe across them. Her eyes follow the motion without thinking, flickering up to his right after–
He's enjoying this, isn't he?
Every single second of her frustration is thinly-veiled with his amusement.
When she struggles to stay still when he keeps on pressing open-mouthed kisses against her throat, there's a small smile on his lips. As his lips wrap around her nipple to suck, tongue running against her skin, it urges him to do it again - with more force.
Lumine can't think about it anymore, though. Not when Xiao lowers his thumb and starts to rub circles over her clit.
She clenches around his fingers, gasping his name as she comes undone.
Only then Xiao stops for a moment - almost as if he's fighting himself. He claims to have no desires but he does and although his grip on them is tight, it slips away from his grasp when she's close.
Just like it does now.
It's all visible in his eyes - the raw honesty hidden in the golden gaze makes her stomach drop.
"I know you want me, too." Xiao slowly draws in a breath, his eyes shut close. "So please..."
This time it is Lumine who kisses him.
It's sloppy and desperate and so right. She pulls him closer to herself but he's still too far to her liking. So her hand slides over his chest, trailing even lower and lower to the waistband of his pants–
Suddenly, Xiao pins her hands above her head.
He doesn't budge when she tries to scramble away from his grasp, trying to break free. With an infuriating calmness, he reaches to take off the remaining part of his clothes and then, she feels him against her.
He's already hard, hot and heavy and wanting as he slides between her folds. She feels the tip of his cock nudge against her clit right before he pushes inside.
For a moment, he doesn't move.
Lumine bites back a whine. Being full is good but she still needs more, she aches for it.
If only she had any strength within her body to lift her hips and try to seek any kind of friction to ease the ache that threatens to rip her apart. But then again, even if she did, she couldn't do it - all because of how tight Xiao's grip on her body is.
There's something about the way he holds her pinned underneath him, spread out on the desk like an offering. Like a prize he's got for himself.
His eyes devour her before he does and Lumine wonders what he's thinking about when he watches her body, bared for him only. Her lips part to beg - for what, she isn't sure - but her voice is lodged in the back of her throat so, in the end, she says nothing.
Once Xiao acts upon his desires again, it feels like both salvation and punishment.
His moves are uncompromising, sharp and precise. Her thighs are trembling, shaky moans escaping her lips over and over again. Lumine hates that she can't just clasp a hand over her mouth even though nobody but Xiao can hear her.
Her cheeks burn in shame.
She throws her head back, her eyes closed as she tries to ignore how much every flick of Xiao's fingers affects her.
He can feel it, though.
She's trembling beneath him while his teeth scrap at her skin, tantalizing nibbles soon morphing into something more insistent, starving. Xiao mumbles her name against her skin as he sucks a mark on her collarbone.
Lumine is sure he knows it awakens the same lust within her.
"Xiao..."
He maintains direct eye contact with her - though his gaze is half-lidded, eyes darkening with something akin to greed - as he lifts her leg, wrapping it around his hips. His eyes are darkening as he searches for every hint of pleasure he's drawing from her.
The way his cock slides in and almost out of her is excruciating. Each thrust is driven by a ravenous hunger and there's nothing Lumine can do but let Xiao take anything he wants from her.
She can tell he's not even close to being satisfied. No matter how fast he goes, how many times his gloved fingers tap her swollen clit and his lips suck on her nipples, the tips of his fangs grazing against the abused flesh.
But it's too much for her. Every sensation is too sharp, too intense; and she's overwhelmed to the point where it feels like she might break again any given second.
Lumine looks up at Xiao, eyelids fluttering as she struggles to form a coherent sentence.
"I need... Please, please..."
Anything just to quell the frustration that's growing heavy within her body, heat simmering in her stomach and spilling down between her thighs. Anything - as long as it's from him.
Lumine feels the corner of his lips moving up ever so slightly against hers.
Xiao doesn't release her when he leans back - just far enough to glance at her.
His grip on her thighs tightens nonetheless. The leather of his gloves digs into her flesh and Lumine knows it will bruise by the next morning.
She doesn't mind it, though. Not when he's still buried within her and she's dizzy, blinking slowly as she tries to focus on his face.
The way he looks - although his eyes remain glazed with desire - is slightly different now. His gaze softens upon meeting her stare, and a breath hitches in the back of her throat when she notices with how much affection it's filled.
"I can never say ‘no’ to you, can I?" Xiao breathes and it sounds almost like a chuckle, quiet but delighted.
Slowly, his thumb brushes over her lower lip. He allows it to linger there almost as if he wants to deny all her unsaid worries, take them away with a touch of his hand. As if he won't be satisfied until he holds not only her body but her heart in his hands.
Lumine's breath quickens at the thought.
"And even if I can, I must confess... I don't really want to do it."