Chapter Text
Lumine had always been a bit too quick when it came to throwing little white lies to hold her Mom and Grandma’s questions at bay. The question of a partner was, looking back on it, not so much a white lie but a horrible big lie… especially since it had come back to bite her so viciously in the ass.
Yule was a big holiday with her family, the biggest, in fact. The whole family would come together to celebrate the end of the year and the new year. It was also the time when family would also introduce partners. For whatever reason, it had become something of a competition over the generations to see who would be having the next wedding and as one could imagine, news of a new baby or an adoption was like… the biggest win for anyone.
Now Lumine and her older twin brother, Aether, had been the odd ones out for a while with no partners over the years but ever since Aether had announced that he now had a boyfriend all eyes seemed to be on her. Her Mom and Grandma were the ones to always ask along with her nosy Aunts too and she knew that if she didn't say anything, Lumine would never hear the end of it.
Ever.
So she lied.
Now Lumine knew this was a horrible habit, to just blurt something out to shut down the annoying questions. Stopgap answers to the questions that, in her mind, she couldn't be bothered to even care about it at the time. Also it had been early spring, so by the time winter had come around, the little white lie was now completely forgotten about until Lumine opened up the usual Yule invitation that her family sent out.
Beautifully done on thick paper, decorated tastefully with equally beautiful calligraphy work, by her Grandma by the looks of it, that read "The Estellamors formally invite Lumine Estellamors and her partner to the family Yule celebrations and Yule Ball." A little note from her Grandma at the bottom saying "See you soon!" with a small heart. She could have sworn she heard the internet dial tone go off in her head as she stared at the word 'partner'.
Now the quickest way to resolve this was to tell the truth that she had lied, but that would mean making Grandma sad. Another way was to turn it down by saying she would be attending the Yule celebrations with her fake and nonexistent boyfriend but again, it would just delay it but even that could not hold because more than likely, they would try to drag Aether into this by asking him what her partner was like? What did they do for a living?
Aether was quick on his feet but when it came to words he would often stumble over them so while she could probably have depended on him if he was in on the story but she'd never told Aether about her lie. So he would stumble and give her away. It wasn't that big of a deal if they discovered she'd lied, but again, her Grandma would no doubt be disappointed. In her eyes all the grandchildren and great grandchildren now had their partners. So this Yule celebration was no doubt going to be a big one.
Lumine did not have the heart to disappoint her Grandma. Would rather die than do that.
As she pondered on how to get out of this situation, the side door opened up to her roommate, Tighnari Vulpes, a descendent from an ancient beastkin race called the Valuka Shuna, walking in with his work bag and groceries. Despite the views that some people had in this day and age, his kind here in Sumeru were very respected for their connection to the Dendro Archon. The combination of many being in positions of power, in the political side of things and the Academic side too and blessed with a hefty lifespan left quite the impression. For Lumine, Tighnari was... well, he was himself. Very down to earth and quick with his tongue and wit. His soft looking tail and ears helped add to his charm too. "I'm home." he sighed and hung up his work bag and set dinner on the counter.
His voice managed to snap her from her thoughts as she quickly looked to the clock on the wall and frowned. "Wait, it's only one? Why are you home so early?"
He sighed and turned to her. "As it turns out, my PTO was about to expire and my boss was adamant that I take some vacation time for the season. For the whole month." he grumbled unhappily.
Lumine laughed and shook her head. "You make it sound like it's the end of the world, Nari."
"It might as well be. What am I supposed to do for a whole month?"
"Relax, enjoy the holiday cheer." Lumine reached out for a certain book, one about the fungi, animals and insects of the rainforests of Sumeru, and began to open it up knowing exactly where this conversation would be headed. "Besides, I think your boss is trying to let those big projects you decided to start get finished up before you start another big one before the beginning of the New Year. I'm also willing to bet he's trying not to have so much work to do at the end of the year, cause by a certain individual."
Tighnari's ears angled back, pressed against his head and lip curled. "I don't cause work."
"Oh yeah?" Lumine said and started to read out of the book. Mushrooms that he'd discovered and amusingly if you looked up the date when these had been discovered, up to twenty new species in a single year. "I also remember the printing department in the Akademiya losing their minds when they had to reprint this book twenty or so times."
Tighnari's tail lashed in irritation at her point and began to prep for dinner. "They were being dramatic about everything. That's all."
"Ah but what about-"
The ladle he pulled out swung in her direction. She dodged to the right and got flicked in the forehead. "Enough out of you already." Tighnari huffed, though there was no heat behind his words, so she knew he was messing around with her. Cheeks flushed as he turned back to cutting up the lettuce for their salad, Lumine had made her point and Tighnari wouldn't hear anymore... because he hated to lose in an argument. "Besides, I don't really celebrate Yule. I know a lot of people do but its just something my family and I haven't taken part in. It's always been about research. My parents are also in the desert portion of Sumeru currently too and since my dark coloration, going into the desert would just result in me overheating and passing out. It sucks because judging by the very pretty invitation on the table there, that's your family's Yule celebration invitation, huh?"
"Yep."
"So for a month I will be alone." He sighed. "Its hard going solo when I have nothing to do with myself."
Okay so now she felt bad. It was true when she would leave for her family celebrations, Tighnari was usually at work at the asscrack of dawn. Lumine was about to apologize when a brand new thought made her stop. Truly her brain must have been up to no good. That kind of stuff didn't happen in real life. Just in books, fanfictions from shippers and even TV shows but... but if he didn't have anything to do this month then just maybe he could help her. "Actually... Tighnari, you said you're free... right?"
"For a month, yes."
"Do you want to accompany me to a party with the family? I need some help."
"Help? Help with-" Tighnari had walked to the table to look over the letter, brows rising in response. "Partner? You had a boyfriend?" He couldn't help but feel genuinely hurt over this. Someone had beaten him to the punch.
"No no no, let me explain!" Lumine said. "My family is really old fashioned and ever since Aether got together with Albedo I've been on the receiving end of a lot of calls from Mom and Grandma in hopes that I'll be the next one. Well I didn't really want to deal with any questions to begin with so I uh, I lied."
Tighnari stared at her owlishly before he snorted, held it, then gave in and laughed. It explained the invitation now, much to his relief. "So you," he paused to dissolve into more giggles because it was just so ridiculous to get in this kind of situation. Lumine glared. "Sorry, sorry. Heh, so you're in need of a boyfriend for the celebrations?"
"Yes. I know it's a lot to ask for and you don't have to do this for me, but if you do I will definitely pay you back for it, promise!" She clasped her hands together and bowed her head, hopeful that he would say yes. Lumine could trust Tighnari with this. He chuckled again before lightly chopping the top of her head.
"Alright, I'll help but next time just tell her you're really looking for the right person for you. Okay?"
Lumine's face lit up as she did a little victory dance. "Thank you so much, Nari!" He snorted and shook his head but internally he was actually counting his blessings. The forced vacation was not in his plans. He'd been looking forward to completing those big projects and starting a few more, but this was quite the opportunity. When Lumine had first come to Sumeru about five years ago already, she'd just enrolled in the Akademiya and was looking for a quiet place to rent out for the time being. Tighnari offered his guest bedroom, at first free of charge before she started to forcefully leave rent money in his wallet. It started this strange living situation between the two.
He was always on top of his bills so he just used her rent money for a savings they both had access to for emergency funds. She'd left her touch here and there around the house, a decoration he didn't recall even having, a few extra pillows on the couch that actually made it look nice and inviting to sit on. Tighnari considered her a housemate at this point and told her she could stay as long as she was comfortable.
They split the chores equally, took turns cooking, and sometimes Lumine would get the mail and catch a bill before he could. It was like a strange game for the two of them. Over the five years spent with her, Tighnari had realized he'd developed a crush on her and how could he not? Her confidence and charm were magnetic and her humor suited his so perfectly it felt a little set up at times. However he refused to be the first to make a move. Under normal circumstances, he would have been very straight forward with his confession but if those feelings weren't returned, Tighnari would be damned before he ruined something good between the two of them.
So he would wait until she made the first move. He could also use this to test the waters even, to see if he could woo her without being too forceful. "Well then, why don't you put your apron on and give me a helping hand with dinner?"
Lumine pouted. "But I cooked last time."
This time, he moved too quick for her to dodge as he flicked her forehead, much harder than his 'chop' from earlier. "You lummox," She gasped in mock offense. "We'll need to correlate our stories so we have everything straight. How we met, when we first started to date with one another. We could pretty easily convert a few funny stories over to make it more believable, just add the 'dating' part in."
"Oh. That's... You have a point."
"I always do." he smirked, than laughed when she gave his arm a light smack for his smart ass comment. As she got to work on cutting up the vegetables and he started to prepare the meat, they slowly put together their dating timeline, adding a little bit here and there, occasionally jumping a bit when they realized they missed something. Tighnari snuck a peak over at Lumine and felt butterflies in his stomach when he spied the light blush that dusted her cheeks and ears. It was said strange things happened during Yule, miracles and love stories were everywhere. Maybe, just maybe, this would be his first and most memorable Yule ever.