#i digress...

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“I hear you haven’t been sleeping.”

Lumine turns from her restless gardening in her Serenitea Realm, finding Albedo strolling towards her with Paimon floating beside him. She gives her fairy friend a look, and Paimon feigns innocence with extremely low effort by looking to the side and whistling.

Lumine sighs, standing up and brushing dirt off of her hands by clapping them together, keeping her head down.

“I’m fine,” she says, the words unconvincing to everyone involved, “It happens sometimes.”

Albedo raises an eyebrow, then reaches over and gently places his fingers under her chin, tilting her face up. Her eyes are bruised purple underneath; she looks exhausted, and she pinches her lips together at his frown, averting her gaze.  

“I’m fine,” she repeats softly, as though she can convince herself to believe it if she says it enough times.

“How long has it been since you last slept?”

She does not answer, and brushes his hand away.

“I am resting,” she says instead, after a while.

“That is not the same,” Albedo replies softly.

She glances at him.

“It’s all I’m capable of right now,” she responds flatly before looking away again.

Albedo and Paimon exchange a look, the former starting to fully understand just how bad the situation is. But knows and is here now, and does not intend to let the situation go unresolved.

“Will you invite me inside?” he asks politely, and Lumine blinks at him, coloring a little at her poor hospitality.

“Yes, of course,” she says hastily, gesturing. “I’m sorry—go ahead and make yourself comfortable. My hands are dirty; I’ll follow in a moment. Paimon knows where everything is.”

The fairy salutes, rushing Albedo inside. He’s been here a few times before, but the layout changes every now and then. It is lightly furnished, the Realm too newly acquired and the Traveler too busy to outfit it more extravagantly. Still—it has very serviceable basics, and Albedo gets to work.  

By the time Lumine comes in, he has a pot of tea ready, and she blinks at him.

“What’s this?” she asks somewhat suspiciously as she peeks into the pot.

The liquid is thicker than tea, but has a similar color and smell.

“A draught, to help you sleep,” he says, and Lumine looks up at him. “Without dreams,” he adds.

Her face is unreadable, but she takes the cup he pours for her and sips at it without much hesitation. It’s a little bitterer than standard tea, but she doesn’t mind the flavor. It suits her mood.

Paimon has disappeared, and Lumine knows this is a conspiracy but lets it slide. She is exhausted. Albedo leads Lumine to the plush sofa in front of the fireplace, taking a seat next to her at a polite distance. They are silent for a while, staring into the dancing flames, and Lumine drinks two cups of not-tea in theinterim before she finally speaks.

“I’ve tried sleeping draughts before,” she says quietly, looking at her hands. “They haven’t helped.”

“Ah, but they were not brewed by me,” Albedo replies, and his confidence gets a smile out of her.

“I suppose not,” she relents, but the humor drops from her face quickly. It is another long while before she speaks again. “…Aether…didn’t come home with me. How funny that Madame Ping should gift me this realm after he…”

She trails off, her eyes distant, and though she had said nothing about her most recent adventure upon her return, there is much he can already piece together from her brief admission alone.

“I am at your service, if there is any assistance I can provide you,” he says softly, after the silence has stretched awhile, startling her back into focus.

She stares at him, the directness of her gaze harsh and searching. Her lips twist as though she might lash out, but when her mouth opens, sorrow creeps into her expression instead, and she looks away.

“I thought you found interaction with others a waste of time,” she mutters, though it is a weak deflection after all this time.

It was Albedo Paimon went to for help, after all, and not without good reason. Things between them have not been so cold and distant in a while.

“I’ll not deny it, for most cases,” he says, just a hint of amusement tinting his voice, “But after meeting you, I’d rather spend my time on you than other matters. It’s a unique anomaly.”

She jerks back to stare at him, blinking in surprise.

“I likely know the reason why,” he adds, and he looks satisfied to see her cheeks go slightly pink.

She glares at him without much heat, sipping at her third cup of his not-tea to avoid responding. But then she sighs, her expression complicated again.

“Thank you,” she says simply, and for a moment she looks so fragile that the slightest touch could crumble her.

“…May I try an experiment?” Albedo asks, and Lumine tilts her head at him curiously, nodding her permission.

He scoots closer, gently pressing her head to his shoulder. He then takes her wrist in his hand, his thumb searching out her pulse.

“What…?”

“Shhh. Close your eyes.”

She tries to look up at him, but he merely smiles and covers her eyes. She huffs, but he feels her eyelashes brush his fingers as she does as he says.

“One,” he begins, keeping his voice low, “Two, three…”    

Her breathing slows after a few more counts, though he continues for a few extra moments. Once he is certain that she’s fully asleep, he lowers her onto his lap so that she can rest more comfortably.

Paimon reappears shortly after with a rich blue blanket, looking satisfied.

“Thanks,” she says quietly as she spreads it over her, and Albedo inclines his head in acknowledgement before she disappears again.

Albedo looks back down at Lumine and brushes a strand of hair away from her cheek. What she must have gone through, to wear herself down to this point. But if she found her brother once…surely she can do so again. He will help her however he can, though he will need to hear the full story from her eventually.

But even without it…he sits there through the night, making plans in his head, reorganizing and revising until he is satisfied that a handful of them will produce acceptable results. He will discuss them with Lumine when she wakes.