Two Faced // Tartaglia (R18)

The Truth Untold

It was a promise for me to be fulfilled to you. How can I go against it in the end?

Astrea mused in her bed, thinking of the past. The memory of a pink haired girl with crimson eyes entered her mind. The mischievous smile on her face reminded her of someone in the present.

A couple of days have passed since the battle at the ruins. The Honorary Knight was casually sitting at a park in Liyue with Astrea, their shoulders touched and she was leaning her head on it as well. They held hands for a while as Astrea was reading a book by a renowned philosopher to her. She recalled one of the quotes of the book was,

"Death left its old tragic heaven and became the lyrical core of man, his invisible truth, his visible secret."

Lumine didn't respond at first, yet a certain wave of sadness entered her heart. She held the other girl's hand tightly and spoke.

"Someday, even after all 3 of us went our separate ways, I want you to stay with me, Astrea....."

The black haired girl became speechless as she turned the pages of her book.

Lumine wondered if she regained all her memories about being in another world, would her close relation with Astrea continue to change? Would her feelings for the Fatui Harbinger would gradually disappear? The fact that she slept with him once didn't leave her mind. There were questions that remained unanswered.

Astrea brought Lumine home that one time since the knight had no tasks to do with Childe and he was busy with his Fatui work. She served some lavender tea, Lumine enjoyed the small quality time that they had while Paimon fell asleep at the couch due to the soothing music from the piano.

The sight of Astrea playing the piano was burned into the back of her mind. It became one of the memories the blonde would always remember.

"Back then when I had my family with me, I would tell them I love them everyday. But ever since I lost them to the Fatui invasion, I find it impossible to feel the same fondness nor utter the same words to other people." She confessed.

"I can imagine how painful that must've felt. I wish I could be with Aether right now and leave everything behind."

"We're two lost souls without family members it seems."

"Childe is the only one with existing family members." The blonde commented.

Astrea pulled over the piano covering and stopped playing. She recalled his stories about his family in Snezhnaya and assumed he told Lumine the same thing at least once.

"Such luck being a Fatui, I suppose." The black haired girl grimly spoke.

Lumine smiled and hugged her.

"Listen, you have me and you're no longer alone anymore. This may sound unbecoming, but you have Childe as a friend too."

Astrea didn't respond to the statement. She decided to leave that part hanging for a while.

"To be honest, the other day I..." Lumine whispered.

"I hugged Childe for the first time and it felt so comforting. He comforted me when I was sad and said someday I'll meet my brother. We embraced each other for a while and I saw a side of the enemy I never thought I would."

Astrea closed her eyes and hugged her back, keeping the fact that she already knew the truth due to Ajax confessing to her during the spar.

"He cares about you a lot, Lumine."

The blonde released herself from the embrace and sighed.

"But Astrea, I've seen the way he looked at you."