#i had to format this on my phone sorry if it looks weird asf 😭

[lumiconic]

♪ — NIGHTMARE

❥ summary: comforting them after a terrible nightmare

❥ characters: xiao ; lumine ; aether

❥ content: angst, fluff, reverse comfort, gn reader

❥ note: woohoo lumine content!! i hope this is suited to your liking @sh1-n0bu :D !! i am SOso sorry ab how long it took 😭

♪ XIAO

he feels the familiar ache of a bad dream, like a sickness in the pit of his stomach, as soon as he opens his eyes to a mist-shrouded world smelling of blood and that unmistakable stench of death. he looks around, his muscles tensed, chin tucked into his chest, knowing he's dreadfully unprepared for whatever horrors are conjured for him this time. 

a terrifying, sour taste of bile rises in his throat as his gaze lands on a familiar person, lying with eyes open and blankly staring at nothing, and he falls to his knees as though someone has knocked the air out of him, gasping wildly for breath and finding none. that person is you, and all at once the understanding that this isn't real is gone in a flash and he's pulling at your shoulders and crying your name as though it'll magically rouse you from the dead --

his eyes open suddenly to peaceful quiet and your arms wrapped around him, whispering soft reassurances. a leaf drifts in through the window, moonlight highlighting your concerned features as his breathing slows, posture melting into a limp exhaustion, and you pull back, clutching his hands and asking if he's okay.

the sound of soft wind and gently rushing water pours back into his ears. he places a hand on his forehead, pushing back locks of green shaded hair, cast into shadow by the awkward lighting. "just ... a nightmare," he says slowly, the words almost a prayer to reassure himself.

"it wasn't real," you prompt, achingly aware of that constant vision that appears in his mind what seems like every time he falls asleep. "i'm here, right?" he nods, taking a deep breath. you smile anxiously. "see? you don't have to worry. everything's fine." 

and it is, truly; he knows this reoccuring nightmare is irrational, but he can't remember to turn away when he's deep in his own mind, seeing the person who he loves most in the world dead on the ground. it's just impossible, for him to ignore this, because even with that nausea that clues him in, he would never be able to forgive himself if it happened in real life and he dismissed it.

his throat is drily hoarse and he breathes slowly and carefully, and your voice is clouded once more with sleep as you lace your fingers between his. "is there anything you need? water, or something to eat, anything i can help with?" he shakes his head. you being there is all he needs, a temporary solution to help convince his mind that everything is fine, and it is, and the relief hits him all at once with a bright clarity that brings a clear easiness to his face, softening the sharp, fearful features. 

you smile at him sleepily, closing your eyes. a bird sings a short note outside, and he sinks back into a deep sleep, holding your hand like a lifeline, and when he dreams this time, it's of you and him lying in a field of bright flowers and looking at the sky.

♪ LUMINE

her dream is a kind one at first, a picnic full of sunshine deep in a beautiful forest with you and aether and paimon, and she almost aches with joy at the warm smiles that surround her and the peacefulness that resides softly within her chest. 

but then the trees and the picnic crumble away and the scene flashes into midnight, clouds covering the moon, and aether's face falls into an empty, dead-eyed stare wearing a long black robe speckled with tiny stars, abyss mages appearing behind him, and paimon whirls into a monstrous version of the unknown god that stole him away from her, and you melt and reform into a horrible thing with viciously sharp teeth, and elongated limbs that don't suit your body, and she's surrounded on all sides --

you whisper her name into her ear -- "lumine! " -- and she sits up straight, panting with fear. you reach for her, fearful pity on your face, her gaze wildly unfocused as her head snaps around in different directions. she lashes out, slapping your arm away with blind, terrified fury, barely a heartbeat and a provocation away from slashing at you with her sword, momentarily unable to tell reality from that disgustingly real nightmare.

you scramble away, as far as you can get without falling off the bed, and you hold both hands in the air, whispering in a gentle voice, "hey -- hey, lumi. it's just me, okay? it's just me." she inhales, clasping her trembling hands in her lap, and holds it for five seconds, making eye contact with you. 

when the breath rushes out of her, the tension leaves her shoulders, and she slumps against the headboard, rigid and motionless with an angry expression on her face. you move closer and place a hand on her arm. "are you okay? you were saying something, in your sleep, so i t-thought -- " you stammer, tripping over your tongue for a moment as she looks at you stiffly, "i thought i should wake you up, should i not have?" 

you worry for a moment that the leftover wisps of rage, that overpowering anger that fills her and seems to take up her entire mind so there's no room left to be scared, will be directed at you when her mouth opens, brows furrowing, but it's just a heavy sigh that escapes her lips. "i ... yeah. thanks. i just need a second."

you reach over and flick the light on, throwing the room into sharp relief. you sit in silence as she stares at her hands, words on the tip of her tongue that she's unable to say yet. she knows the irrational anger that bubbles up to drown the terror and painfulness of that dream, with its hints of reality that she never wants to believe, is stifling and poisonous, but for now it just feels so much easier to let the sour irritation win rather than the truer all consuming fear. 

she feels your presence without looking up, your calm steadiness there beside her, and when her face crumples and she leans back and covers her eyes, you wrap your arms around her, and suddenly her dream feels so far away as she presses her face into your shoulder and you whisper that it's going to be okay.

♪ AETHER

he is almost painfully aware that it's a dream from the start, just from the way the deep blue sky shimmers with stars that shine from behind soft puffs of pale gray clouds. it looks too perfect to be real, and when he takes his eyes off the sky, he's sure of it, after he sees the hordes of familiar faces and you holding his hand, tucking a pristine golden petaled flower behind his ear. 

he searches the crowd eagerly and there she is, lumine, waiting with open arms and a tearful smile, and just as he brushes hands with his sister at long last, and the voices of the crowd rise to a joyful roar, and it feels like everything in the world is finally right --

he awakes with a horrible, empty longing cemented deeply inside him, a feeling like he'll never be whole again and his heart was ripped from his chest in a single blow, refusing to let the aftershocks stop. his eyes are glazed over and he shakes, body trembling with held in cries. 

your eyes widen; for all you had known, the dream he'd been having was a pleasant one, his lips forming a smile in his sleep that you were admiring when he awoke. you cup his face, unsure of what to do but wanting to comfort him in this moment, "a-aether," you say helplessly. "what's wrong?"

he bursts into sobs, clutching at you with white knuckles as tears pour down his face. you hold him tight to your chest, rubbing small circles into his back, and close your eyes with a pained breath. "it's okay, it's okay ... deep breaths ... " your quiet humming, while brutal loneliness thrums in the depths of his chest, is a paradoxical feeling. he knows you're there, knows you haven't left, and yet he feels heartbreakingly alone and like he'd give anything in the world for you to remain there. 

it gets easier as time goes on, as everything; as the moments blink by, your voice dimming to a softer whisper, he finds his eyelids growing heavier again, and the constant longing in the back of his mind lifts slowly like a fog bank dissipating, until his mind is as clear as it's going to get and he drifts into a dreamless gray mindscape. 

his dream is an unfathomable reality, a happy ending where he gets to stay with you and his sister and all the friends he made in teyvat; something he knows would be nothing short of a miracle to come true, and maybe the sudden sourness was a warning by his own subconscious that this was an impossibility. 

but at least he hopes -- at least he wishes with all his heart and maybe allows himself to believe it could be his reality -- that you'll be always with him, the one constant on whose side he can still stand by the time his journey comes to an close.

and if that could be the one dream of his that ends up coming true maybe it could be a shield from the inevitable sorrow that will accompany the end; after all, you are the most perfectly unbelievable thing of all, and he counts his lucky stars every day that you're with him.

thank you so much for reading, and pls leave a like + reblog + follow if you enjoyed!!