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Slowly, Xiao cups Lumine's face in both hands. Her skin is soft and flawless beneath his callouses; her lashes a pale fan around eyes so lovely, he could almost weep.
"I missed you."
Lumine's laughter bubbles between them, so bright, Xiao is almost ashamed for using these karmic hands to touch her light. "I have missed you too," she says, winding her arms around his lithe shoulders. Holding him closer. Hopefully forever. "These months have been hard."
Months? Surely not. Surely, it has been centuries—no, eons—since her last visit. Endless stretches of time and loneliness, barely offset by her careful letters and thoughtful gifts. Months are but a fragment of time to an Adeptus, a mere ripple in time. And yet, Xiao has endured every moment, every second, of their separation like a man walking the gallows.
"Will you tell me of your adventures?" he asks, lost in the smell of her sweet perfume. It is always different, always changing. Xiao likes that about Lumine. She never stagnates. She evolves. "Did Paimon eat Fontaine empty?"
She laughs again. "I don't think even Paimon can eat an entire nation empty."
"She would certainly try."
"She would." A smile plays over sweet lips he longs for as she steps back. The short distance between them feels like a chasm. "But, we were too busy, I'm afraid."
Xiao isn't surprised. Lumine is a magnet for trouble. "Tell me."
And so, she launches into her tale. Of sacrifice, tragedy and prophecy. Of a lonely god, and her many, many burdens. Lumine's eyes remain dry, thankfully, but her voice thickens, and her shoulders bow beneath the weight of Fontaine's despair. Xiao is quiet throughout. Only when she finishes, her voice trailing off, does he tug her back into the circle of his arms.
"You are extraordinary, Lumine," he says, cupping the back of her head. "Your compassion is truly infinite."
Clinging to him, Lumine tucks her face into the crook of his shoulder and just—breathes.
Xiao isn't certain how long they stand there, shaded by a burly cuihua tree, nor does he care. If she is able to borrow his strength, and rebuild herself, then he will stand here forever if he must. She is nothing short of a miracle to his battered soul, so he will do everything in his power to support Lumine when she needs him.
When she finally retreats from his arms, the weariness in her eyes has faded. He brushes her hair from her face, his chest aching.
"Do you feel better?" he asks, fingertips lingering against her cheek.
"I do." She leans into his touch. "Thank you, Xiao."
"If you ever need me, all you have to do is call. Near or far, I will come."
Her smile returns, and it a rising sun at the dusk of the deepest night. Softening the sharp edges of his karmic debt. "I'll always need you."
"Then, I will always come."
Xiao hasn't known peace in many centuries. He can no longer remember the time before his contract with Rex Lapis. But standing here, with Lumine shining up at him, he thinks it must have felt a lot like this.