"Hey, Mina, I know you've been cooped up in here for a while, so you wanna come out with me for a while?" Lumina asked her friend, leaning on the kitchen island. Mina turned around, holding her cup of coffee.
Mina had not mentioned it earlier, but God had blessed her when Lumina decided to start wearing strapless corset tops. The one she was wearing now was white. The knitted white cardigan and dark-wash jeans pulled the outfit together beautifully. And, of course, it wouldn't be Lumina if she wasn't wearing heels. Overall, it just added to her natural beauty, her chestnut hair pinned back in a half-up half-down style, the ends curling perfectly.
That is to say, all of this was just Mina trying to distract herself from the fact that her best friend's…Ahem, assets…Looked amazing in the corset.
But she did have to admit, Mina did think she looked pretty good herself. She wore a faded blue off-the-shoulder crop top which revealed a bit of her midriff in the front, with dark-wash jeans and combat boots. After chopping off her hair, it had naturally started to curl rather than stay straight the way it used to so now it framed her face. Overall, she thought looked decently attractive—Though, there was only one woman who she really wanted to be attracted to her.
"I'm up for going out. If I'm allowed, that is," Mina smiled at Lumina.
"Well, you can only leave if you cover yourself up—" Lumina stopped as Mina turned around, wearing a black face mask, a black baseball cap, and pulling on a black bomber jacket.
"You were saying?" Mina grinned. Lumina looked her up and down, letting out a low whistle.
"Damn, Minnie, that is a really good look on you," Lumina said, her eyes sweeping up and down. Mina rolled her eyes as she smacked the other woman's arm.
"Alright, you done checking me out? As flattered as I am, we should probably head out before it gets dark," Mina replied.
Lumina stepped closer to the shorter woman, with barely any space between them, "And what if I'm not done? What are you going to do, make me stop?" Lumina teased her, looking down. Mina was a little bit annoyed that she had to look up to see the other woman's face.
She tried to meet her eyes but then faltered and looked down, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment, "Fuck you, Lumi," She muttered.
Lumina chuckled at her reaction, using one hand to pull Mina closer to her by her waist and the other behind Mina's head to rest it on her shoulder, "You're such a dork," She murmured and heard Mina scoff.
"Hey, at least I'm a cute dork," Mina said, pulling away. Lumina couldn't help but laugh and she pulled down Mina's hat to cover her eyes. Suddenly, they heard someone clearing their throat as they walked into the kitchen, "Yeah, yeah, we know, Fenix," Mina sighed as she started walking to the door. Lumina caught her signal and followed her, the two leaving the house.
They were surprised to see that people were running around, with lanterns, streamers, and fairy lights, "Oh…" Mina gasped as she turned to Lumina, "I didn't think they were still decorated for it after I left. After all, I was the only reason that they were even reinforcing this festival. Honestly, I was surprised people even allowed it to happen. I was fourteen when I said I wanted this," Lumina turned to one of the people decorating the street lamps.
"Hi, I left Sector 2 a couple of years back, I didn't realize that this festival was still celebrated?" She asked.
"Ah, after the Princess left, the Queen said that we would still continue the tradition. She didn't really explain, so we just listened," The man said, turning away.
Lumina heard a sharp intake next to her and a quiet whisper of, "Amba…" Lumina turned to her and saw Mina looking down, and watched a tear roll down her face. She couldn't stand to see Mina crying. She took her by the chin so she could look into her eyes.
"Mina, even if she couldn't be here for it, your mother would want you to celebrate this day. It's a special day to you and in that way, it's a special day to your mother. She'd want you to be happy," Lumina said to her, taking her hand. Mina looked up at her and wiped away her tears. She let out a small grin.
"You're too good, you know that? This world doesn't deserve someone as good as you. And don't think I've forgotten. Happy Birthday, Lumina Liu," Mina pulled out something, "Here," She put a lantern in Lumina's hands, "Fly it, I made the lantern. So, maybe Leon almost burning down the kitchen wasn't just a coincidence. It was the only way most of us could put our final touches on it without you noticing," She said shyly.
Lumina could only stare in wonder at the beautifully crafted lantern in her hands. To make this, someone must have had so much patience and put so much effort into it. Mina had taken the time to make this specifically for her and she wanted her to fly it. Looking at it, she could tell the detailed flowers drawn on were definitely done by Fenix with his eye for details, and she could easily make out that the Mandarin was written by Xander, of course, and all the other messages of support and love on them. Lumina realized at that moment that this was home. This was her family, and there was nothing she'd ever give it up for. She was happy with this family.
And oh God, she was completely in love with Mina.
"Thank you…." Lumina was holding back the tears, "I….I was afraid to celebrate my birthday. It always brought back bad memories, so please, help me forget them. Help me replace them," Mina took Lumina's hands in her own before smiling at the woman.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure that you'll be excited for your birthday every year from now on. Happy birthday, Lumi," She said softly, before bringing out a lighter. Lumina raised her eyebrow, looking at her with amusement.
"Should I be concerned that you have that on your person at all times?" She asked and Mina scoffed.
"If you're not concerned about me in general, then I, my friend, have failed at my duty," Mina said, and Lumina laughed as she held out the lantern for Mina to light. As soon as it was glowing, Lumina gave it a light push, and it floated up, to join the thousands of other lanterns outside.
"There wasn't much I missed about Sector 2," Lumina admitted, "But I did miss this," She said softly.
The memories of a young girl with long, light blue hair escaping from the manor just to meet up with her so they could release lanterns on this day flitted through her mind and she smiled. While her sixteenth and seventeenth birthdays hadn't been the best, she had to admit that her fifteenth was one of the best she'd had in a long time. After all, what fifteen-year-old girl gets to accompany the princess during the festival she created?
As the glow of the lanterns began to fade, Lumina turned to look at Mina to find the younger had already been looking at her.
Then, Mina reached forward and hugged her tightly, pushing her face into her shoulder, as she murmured, "We all love you, so much. We're always going to be here, no matter what happens."
Lumina let herself feel, as she wrapped her arms around Mina's waist.
This was her family. This was her home.
After they'd stood outside long enough that they started feeling cold, they decided to eventually head back to the house. Mina gently opened the door and held it open for Lumina to come inside. Out of the faint glow of the lights outside, they could all see Xander putting down one finger every second. Finally, he made a fist, and they all jumped out and Mina turned on the lights.
"Surprise! Happy Birthday!" They all yelled in unison, and Lumina's jaw dropped. She only stared in silence for a few moments, before covering her mouth with her hands, holding her choked sobs. Xander didn't hesitate to cross the room and pull her into a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder and he patted her back.
"I know, I know. It's alright, it's all going to be alright. It's time for you to make new memories. Forget about her. Your birthday is something that she should not be associated with. It's a day for you to be happy, that's what this is for. Happy birthday, A'Li," Xander said, resting his chin on her head.
She let out a muffled sound, which Xander didn't need to translate, he already knew what it meant.
She pulled away and wiped her tears, letting out a laugh, "You guys….I can't—Wow, I can't believe you did all of this for me…" She said, "And Xander, you planned it, didn't you?" She smiled. Xander shrugged, but she knew what he meant, "Thank you," She said softly.
"Alright, enough crying," Kaedan said as he helped wipe away the rest of her tears, "Now, it's time for cake," He said.
"Isn't it always time for cake?" Leon asked, eyeing the cake. Risále smacked him in the back of the head before rolling her eyes.
As Mina returned from the kitchen with candles and a matchbox, Nia went to turn off the lights. They lit the candles and Lumina somehow found her way up front. The cake was a small cake, but just big enough for the nine of them to share. It was a round, black forest cake gateau with delicately coiled chocolate pieces on top, which some had obviously been taken off. Probably by Leon, Fenix, or Nia.
They began to sing, some of them wonderfully in tune, others completely out of tune, but Lumina didn't care. To her, it sounded beautiful, a chorus of the people that she loved. At the end of the song, she blew out the candles, and Leon rushed over and turned on the lights.
There was no hesitation as Xander scooped a bit of icing and put it on her cheek. Lumina tried to duck away but wasn't fast enough. From there on, it was as if a signal had been shown, everyone began attacking her with icing. Through laughter, she fought them all off but still had traces of icing on her face and neck. Mina laughed and dragged her into the bathroom, although she had secretly been the biggest culprit of icing her.
"You really let Xander get you bad this time," Mina giggled as she wet a washcloth with warm water, and Lumina sighed, leaning back on the sink.
"No one gave me a chance to fight back!" She threw her hands up in frustration.
Mina couldn't help but laugh at this, reaching up to wipe Lumina's face clean, "Pretty sure that's the point, Lumi…" She trailed off as she realized what position this had put them in. She was leaning on Lumina, trapping the other woman in between her own body and the sink with one hand as their faces were barely centimeters apart. Her eyes flickered down to Lumina's lips for a moment, and the other woman wet them.
God, Mina wished she could have done that—
"Uh! Um! I think someone was calling me, sorry! I'll be back soon, here!" She shoved the towel into Lumina's hand and practically sprinted out the door, closing it and leaning on it, covering her lips with her hand.
This was getting dangerous.
It wasn't long before the party settled down. By the end of it, Mina was telling off Nia and Leon for eating so much of the cake. Lumina didn't really mind though, she was more concerned about the stomach aches the two were beginning to have. Owen and Fenix had handed her the necklace, which she let the younger put on her, and no, she had definitely not been sobbing the whole time, vowing not to take it off. Xander had begun to take down the decorations with help from Risále and Kaedan, while Owen and Fenix had slipped off to God knows where.
It had gotten cold and dark outside. The bell in the city rang eleven times. Lumina could not sleep. Her mind kept drifting. She sighed as she sat up and got out of her bed, heading up to the roof of the Liu mansion.
As she stepped outside, she shivered slightly at the cold atmosphere, but the cold also comforted her for some reason. She took a sip from the cup of hot chocolate she had taken while on her way up, looking out at the stars. She sighed.
Birthdays had always been bittersweet
"I got away from you. I know I did. I was happy that I escaped from you after what you did. I just want to forget about you but I keep wanting to see you hurt. I want you to regret it and God, I wish I could kill that part of me," Lumina said, the tears beginning to pool in her eyes, a feeling of confusion, frustration, and despair holding her, "Did you even care? Why did you do it? Was I not enough? Was I just…An experiment?"
"Whether she cared or not, I can't tell you for sure. But what I do know is that it was in no way your fault. You did nothing wrong, A'Li. I can promise you that," A voice said from behind her. Lumina turned to see Xander standing a few feet behind her as she was sitting down.
"What are you doing up here, Cheng-Ge? I thought everyone was asleep," Lumina sighed, as she looked back at the stars.
"I know you. I know what today means to you," Xander shrugged as he walked over and sat down next to her, "It's not that easy to get rid of unpleasant memories," Lumina sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Why? Why can't I let go of her? It's been years and she treated me terribly, and in the beginning, it was alright for me to hate her so much, but shouldn't I move on? Really, I just don't want to feel anything about her at all. I—God, I've fallen in love with someone else as well, but being here, remembering Veronica, it fucking hurts," Lumina said, tears beginning to build up in her eyes and overflowing, streaming down her face.
"...Remember why I started sleeping around with people before I met Kaedan? The break up that started it, I kept thinking about what I had done wrong," Xander shivered in memory of that, "I would keep wondering if there was anything I could have done to fix our relationship. Save it, even. I believed that I was just going to die alone. Then, I hated that girl for such a long time. I hoped that she regretted hurting me. It took me years to finally leave it alone. Before that, I had basically given up on love," He laughed.
"What happened that made you change your mind? I mean, looking at you now, obviously giving up on love didn't work," Lumina grinned, wiping away a few stray tears.
"Well, Kaedan happened. I can't say it was love at first sight for either of us, seeing as Kaedan was quite determined to ignore me and pretend I didn't exist for the first week we knew each other. When he walked into my office and explained his situation, the only thing I could think about was helping him. I didn't even realize that over time, that fondness was turning into love. It took me almost half a year to realize I was in love. And I was terrified of it," Xander explained.
He turned to the sky, looking across it, and Lumina followed his gaze.
"When he confessed to me, I knew I had to tell him that I was falling in love with him, too. But I couldn't hide the fact that I was afraid of falling in love again. And thankfully, Kaedan understood. He helped me through my insecurities and was always there for me. It helped even more because it was all coming from someone who I loved, possibly more than Layla," Xander finished.
"So, what are you suggesting I do? Talk to someone about it? I don't want to just push it on to them, it's my problem—" She was cut off by Xander.
"And that's why we're going to try and solve it together. A'Li, we might be a group, but more than that, we are all family. Talk to Mina. It worked in my case and it might not work for you, but it's worth a shot. Nothing wrong with trying," Xander said, getting up.
"Where are you going?" Lumina asked, looking up at him, confused. Xander shot her a look that said that she should obviously know.
"I'm going inside. I'm tired, and I know you are as well," Xander sighed. Lumina nodded, getting up and following him inside. Before they stepped into their respective rooms, Xander turned to her, "Your problems are our problems. Don't be afraid to share with anyone, even the kids," He said. Lumina nodded and half-sleepwalked into her room. Xander shook his head before going into his room.
On his bed laid Kaedan, ever so slightly awake. "Kae, if you're awake, I'm going to need you to move over a bit," He chuckled, as Kaedan simply rolled his eyes and moved out of his eagle-spread pose. Xander laid down next to him and immediately, he could feel Kaedan nestling into his chest. The younger didn't even ask what happened. If Xander wanted to talk about it, then they could, but right now he seemed tired.
"Kaedan?"
"Hm?" Kaedan responded, half-asleep.
"I don't think I say this enough but thank you for being so patient with me in the early days. I know it couldn't have been easy to wait for me to accept how I was feeling. I just…I'm grateful to you for helping me believe in love again." Xander said softly, and Kaedan rolled over on top of his boyfriend.
"I'd love to take credit, but that was mostly you, babe. I just held your hands along the way and let go when I had to. I love you" Kaedan murmured, pressing his lips softly to Xander's. Xander responded gently before Kaedan rested his head on Xander's chest. In a few moments, everything was quiet, like the calm before the storm.